Kitchen Tiles And Other Flooring For Your Pets
OUR KITCHEN IS THE HEART OF YOUR HOME
Though many could argue that your kitchen is the heart of your home, to some it really is where the action takes place in your house. Not only do you cook in the kitchen, you can chat, snack, and eat in the kitchen. In certain families, the kitchen is where you gather to discuss important subjects and events of the day. Because the kitchen is a focal location of your home, this means your kitchen gets a lot of use and foot traffic. When constructing or remodeling your kitchen, you might be faced with a decision of what flooring to go with. Though aesthetic might be a big factor for some, most homeowners try to make their remodeling decisions based on functionality.
When it comes to determining which flooring material would be right for your family, you will have to examine each family members needs. By family members, this can mean both your human and animal family members. If you have pets like cats or dogs, your flooring decisions can be swayed to benefit them. For example, some types of flooring don’t do well masking hair and paw marks. Certain breeds have large claws that can scratch up the flooring and degrade the look of your home. In this blog we will discuss different types of flooring and why tile is the best for you and your whole family.
HARDWOOD FLOORING
Though wood flooring may look nice in a home, it is not the best choice if you own a pet. Hardwood is susceptible to water damage and staining. More importantly, hardwood flooring in any shade or material is easily scratched. Pets often can get carried away when playing and come barreling through your kitchen. If you have hardwood floors, odds are your pets will leave behind tracks and damage. Hardwood flooring isn’t cheap, so when you do install hardwood floors, odds are you spent a large amount of money to make them look nice. At the same time however, you don’t want to gate your dog out of the kitchen, or any other part of your house for that matter. Also, hardwood flooring does not mask sound. If you have a large breed of dog, their claws can make echoing sounds that are almost constant, depending on how active your animal is. Best choice for kitchen flooring is to go with an option you know will be good for you and your pets.
LAMINATE FLOORING
Laminate is like the younger brother of hardwood flooring, as both are similar but differ in small ways. Laminate is almost identical to hardwood flooring, but is far easier to clean, especially if you have pet. Though laminate floors are quite durable, they are known to be slippery, which can be stressful for your pets. Importantly, if you prefer high-gloss laminate flooring, this will reduce traction even more. When pets aren’t allowed proper traction it can cause them distress and even cause them harm, from accidental falls and nasty slips.
CORK FLOORING
Cork flooring, though seemingly a nice alternative, is still not a great choice for your pets. Cork flooring is water-resistant and requires little maintenance, which are both positive features; however, the flooring is still permeable to scratching. Depending on the shade of the flooring, your animal can still add scratches. Probably the biggest reason not to get cork flooring is that it is easily indented by heavy weight. For example, if you place cork into a kitchen, it could be indented by equipment such as chairs, a stove and a refrigerator. Also, cork flooring isn’t the most durable. Though it is a sturdy material, with as much traffic as your kitchen gets from humans and animals, your cork flooring won’t be able to cope.
STONE FLOORING
Stone flooring is a nice choice for flooring because it is durable and scratch resistant. Not only that, it is also very easy to clean and allows for optimal traction. A drawback for stone flooring is that the material can be cold and require some maintenance, such as cleaning. Typically, because stone can be so cold, you will want to lay down some carpets on your floors to keep heat in. This, of course, defeats the purpose of having nice flooring in the first place.
Stone flooring also can be susceptible to stains, so if your animal is not properly potty trained, this may be a problem for you. Also, accidents and spills can happen, so if you are prone to clumsy spills, stone flooring isn’t the ideal choice.
TILE FLOORING
Tile flooring a great type of flooring for several reasons. For one, tile makes cleaning simple and easy. Tile is durable, as well as scratch-resistant. Because of these two benefits, your pet can freely roam, without scratching up or damaging your flooring. Tile flooring can be a great choice if your pet sheds hair often. If your dog sheds, you may have difficulty keeping up with cleaning up all of their hair. If you have light-color floors, you will be able to see all the hair that has collected in your kitchen. However, if you install dark-colored tile flooring, the hair can be camouflaged and more easily cleaned up than other genres of flooring.
Also depending on the size of tile you get can determine the ease of traction in your kitchen by you and your pet. For example, if you get large, glossed tile pieces installed, your dog may have trouble getting around your home. However, if you get small, lightly glossed tile installed, you pet can actually gain traction throughout your home.
TRANSWORLD TILE
Transworld Tile has been serving Southern California for over 30 years. With our experience, we know what makes a successfully tiling-job. So, if your kitchen could do with some improvement, our kitchen tile is the way to go! Visit us online or call us to learn more about our tile. We will be able to give you quality tile to truly transform your kitchen. Contact us today!
