6 Best Flooring Options for Pet Owners

As a pet owner, you have some unique concerns when it comes to your flooring. You need something that will be able to weather your pet’s claws, hide dander, be easily cleaned, be a comfy nap spot and still look good in your home. What’s the best option for home owners with pets? In order to really know what your best options are, you have to consider the top contenders, look at cleaning tips and then consider the worst options.

The Best Options

As a pet owner, you want to find a floor option that can withstand the special strain that a pet can put on things, while still looking good and providing comfort for you, your family and your pets. Some of the best flooring options may be:

1. Bamboo Floors

Bamboo is possibly the best flooring option for pet owners. It is an extremely hard surface, which means it will not scratch easily. It is a durable surface. The material itself is sustainable. It is stain resistant, which means if your pet doesn’t quite make it outside you won’t have to worry about stains. Finally, it is really easy to clean. This means it won’t house pet dander or other pet messes.

2. Cork Floors

Cork is another good option because it is antimicrobial. This means that the surface inhibits the growth of bacteria, mold and other things you do not want in your house. Cork is scratch-resistant, so you won’t have to worry about your pets prancing around. Cork is also a good material to absorb sound, so if you have a large dog or a loud set of cats, the floor will absorb some of their sound. The one downfall of cork is that it may stain.

3. Stone Floors

If you want a scratch resistant floor that is easy to clean, you don’t really have to look any further than stone. However, stone may not be the most comfortable floor option for your pet. If you have your heart set on stone, make sure to put out lots of rugs for your favorite animals to nap on. To keep the rugs easy to clean, make sure they can fit in your washing machine.

4. Tile Floors

Tile doesn’t scratch easily, it is water-resistant and easy to clean. Similar to stone flooring, tile can be a hard, cold surface for your furry friends to rest on, so be sure they have other options.

5. Laminate Floors

Laminate floor is scratch resistant, but you have to get floors that are embossed or textured if you have dogs. Again, due to the hardness of the surface you may have to add rugs for comfort.

6. Vinyl Floors

If you’re considering vinyl flooring, make sure to get something high end. High end vinyl flooring is scratch and stain resistant, easy to clean and quiet to walk on. That makes it a great floor material for pet owners.

The best flooring option for pet owners would have to be the bamboo flooring, but all of these options are good as well.

Cleaning

No matter what kind of flooring you go with, you have to be able to keep your home clean. With dogs, cats and other pets, cleaning becomes more important. Animals can leave a lot of dander, scratches, stains and dirt around your house. You have to keep your floors clean to help reduce pet odors. Regular cleaning and upkeep tasks include:

• You should make sure to vacuum or sweep the floors regularly to pick up dander and dirt.
• If you have hardwood floors or other easily scratched surfaces, you have to be ready to fill in some scratches. With hardwood floors, you can fill in small scratches by rubbing a matching crayon into the wood and then blow drying it.
• If one of your animals doesn’t quite make it outside or to the litter box, you have to get at the accident right away. Urine can have a bleaching effect on carpet and other flooring materials. You can use vinegar to help neutralize the urine odor.
• If you have flooring that is not very water-resistant, you want to make sure to put the food and water dish on a rug or some other protective surface.
• Some dogs and cats have been known to chew holes in carpet. Even something like this can be remedied. Of course, your course of action will depend on the size of the hole, but if it isn’t too big you can put in a replacement piece of carpet. When done right, you won’t even be able to tell.

These cleaning tips will help you live a happy life with your pets no matter what kind of flooring that you have.

The Worst Floors

You’ve seen the best pet-friendly floors and heard some of our best cleaning tips, but it is also necessary that you know what floors that you should avoid as a pet owner and what qualities of these floors make them susceptible to animal damage.

1. Hardwood Floors

Hardwood floors are beautiful, and many home buyers want to see them in a house. However, they are not very pet friendly. They scratch easily, they are not water-resistant, pet urine can do irreparable damage to them and they are not comfy for the pets to sleep on. Hardwood floors are great, but they are not the best for pet owners.

2. Laminate Floors

If you have non-embossed or textured laminate floors, they can be very slippery for pets, especially dogs. When dogs slip and slide all over, their hips can actually move in unnatural ways and cause major damage to their bodies. For this reason, you have to make sure to get a laminate flooring that isn’t that slick. No matter what kind of laminate flooring you get, there is still the possibility that your pet will slip and get hurt.

3. Carpet

Carpet is a bad choice for pet owners because it stains easily and can get chewed through. There are certain preventative steps that you can take to make carpeting a better option, but they just don’t compare to the better flooring options.

Hardwood floors, laminate floors and carpeting are hard to clean, easy to stain and can even be bad for the health of your pets. It is best to avoid these types of floors when you can.

Getting Flooring That Will Last

All home owners want to get flooring that will last. When you have pets, you have some extra considerations to make. Make sure to get a flooring that will be good for your health and for the health of your furry companions. Talk with a flooring expert to find out what your best option is.