Finance Friday: Does your home have a kid-friendly floor?

If you’re planning to do a summer home improvement project and you have children, you will need to keep them in mind when you look at floor options.  Unfortunately, kids can be incredibly hard on a home so it is wise to use kid-friendly flooring. With craft disasters, frequent spills, and general rough housing abound, little ones can greatly impact a floor’s longevity and therefore, hurt a home’s resale value later on down the road.

By choosing kid-friendly flooring solutions you not only keep your children safe, but also help your home retain its value and in some cases, should you choose the right flooring, can actually increase your home’s value.

What Does “Kid-Friendly” Mean?

“Kid-friendly” can mean a variety of things when it comes to flooring options. Not only should a kid-friendly floor be resistant to slips and falls, it also needs to be low in allergens and easy to clean. Durability is key when it comes to kid-friendly flooring, and it should be able to hold up under a variety of conditions. Kids are messy by nature, and if your flooring stains easily or requires chemical treatment to stay in good condition, it will be a challenge to keep up with it.

Benefits of Kid-Friendly Flooring?

Kid-friendly flooring provides two main benefits:  keeping kids safe and helping your home retain value.  This type of flooring helps a home retain, if not increases, its value because it is able to withstand everyday wear and tear.  Should you choose to sell your home later on down the road, you won’t have to worry about redoing hardwood floors or replacing carpet prior to the sale if you choose kid-friendly flooring.  These types of flooring are mess resistant, tough, and many are eco-friendly which make them a selling high point.

While kid-friendly flooring is overall beneficial to a home with kids, different types of flooring do provide unique benefits.

Rubber Flooring

Rubber is the most kid-friendly material for flooring available. While you may not wish to have rubber flooring in the living or dining room, it’s an excellent choice if you are planning to redo a child’s bedroom or a playroom. Rubber flooring is hypoallergenic, easy to clean and extremely stain resistant. It is also soft to land on, which is an important consideration if you have a young climber or future gymnast.

The only seeming drawback to installing rubber flooring is the cost.  While it is more expensive than vinyl or laminate flooring, it is more ecofriendly and energy efficient as it serves as extra insulation and retains heat better than most.  These extra benefits make it more appealing to buyers, and thus increase the value of a home.

Bamboo Flooring

Bamboo is a beautiful, eco-friendly flooring solution that is not only appropriate for a child’s room, but will also look fantastic in any room of the house. Bamboo is incredibly durable and resilient, meaning that your child can be a child, and you won’t have to worry about scuffs and tears on your floor. Even if bamboo does get scratched, it can be easily refinished.

Also, because it is eco-friendly, durable, and beautiful, it has an incredibly strong appeal to buyers.  So while it may be more expensive than laminate or vinyl, like rubber flooring, it is well worth the additional cost.

Laminate Flooring

Laminate has all the beauty of hardwood, but is much more durable and far less expensive. Laminate can be applied directly over your previous flooring and is easy enough for “do-it-yourselfers” to install. Most brands of laminate are scratch and stain resistant. As a bonus, if an area does get scratched, you only have to replace that panel instead of the entire floor. Laminate flooring is easy to clean, requiring only sweeping and mopping.

Vinyl Flooring

Vinyl is a versatile flooring choice with a variety of styles available. Some vinyls have the look of laminate or hardwood, while others allow you to create colors and patterns similar to linoleum. It is also inexpensive and easy to install. Vinyl tiles are typically stain and scratch resistant, and they are also easy to replace so you don’t have to fuss or worry should a kiddo scratch up an area of the floor. Plus, vinyl flooring is hypoallergenic and inhibits the growth of bacteria, viruses and fungi.

Consider the qualities you are looking for in a kid-friendly floor and speak with a flooring professional to determine the flooring solution that is best for your home and family.

Guest Post Bio: This is a Guest Post by Samantha Peters, a contributor on the personal finance blog Paid Twice.  Sam enjoys writing about ways to ensure that your money is working hard and earning you the highest rates of return.  Sam lives in sunny San Diego, California where she enjoys live with her puppy Leona.

 

* Image Credit: Freedigitalphotos.net

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