Selecting Laundry Room Flooring

When it's time to design or remodel a laundry room, the choice you make in flooring matters. It's important to look for a material that is durable, easy to care for, waterproof, and comfortable for standing. Your flooring choice can also make a design statement.

Take a look at some of the best and worst choices for laundry room flooring.

The flooring choice of ceramic tile in this laundry room is stunning from a design standpoint and one of the best choices from a durability standpoint.

Ceramic tile is water and chemical resistant. For easier cleaning, select large tiles with little grout or seal the floors. Tiles with a natural finish are more resistant to scratching than those with a highly polished finish. Spills should be cleaned immediately as the tiles can become slippery.

The one downside of ceramic tile is the noise level if you have a washer that is not level. This can be corrected by leveling the washer or adding noise-abating pads to the washer legs.

Laminate floors in a home are durable, comfortable for standing, easy to clean and come in a variety of finishes that look like wood, stone, or designer patterns. They are great until there is a water leak.

I can speak from experience here. I had the laminate floor installed in a laundry room and loved it. Then, a washer hose burst while I was at work and several inches of water stood on the floor for three hours or so. The upper layer of the laminate flooring cleaned up like a champ. The lower layers or inner core, usually composed of melamine resin and fiber board materials, warped.

If you choose laminate flooring for your laundry area, consider having ceramic tile installed under the washer/dryer or use a washer drip pan. Carefully monitor leaks, replace your washer hoses religiously, and turn off the water valves after every use of the washer. 

Vinyl tiles are affordable, highly durable, and easy to clean and maintain. They are simple to install and single damaged tiles can be replaced without having to replace the entire floor. Vinyl is also highly resistant to chemical stains and water.

The choice of tiles allows you to create a unique design element in the laundry room without committing to a great deal of expense. Vinyl floor tiles are available in a variety of patterns, colors, and styles that closely resemble natural products like wood, stone, and ceramic tile.

While having something soft underfoot while working the laundry room sounds nice, wall to wall carpet is a very bad choice. Imagine for a moment that your washer overflows or begins leaking. Now you have both an appliance repair problem and a room full of carpet to rip out and replace.

There's also dust and lint involved with handling laundry and carpet will need frequent cleaning to keep the dirt under control. Lastly, many laundry products will harm the carpet and cause damage that is impossible to remove if spills happen (and they do).

If you must use carpet, select an indoor/outdoor variety that will tolerate moisture.

Stone flooring adds an elegant touch and is durable, but it can be quite expensive to install. It is also important that the stone be well-sealed to prevent etching and staining from some laundry chemicals. 

Hardwood flooring is durable, comfortable for standing, stylish, and expensive. Since the laundry room is seldom a public room, the cost of hardwood is not usually warranted.

Hardwood can also be difficult to maintain due to chemical spills and moisture from leaks or drippy clothes. If you opt for a hardwood floor in the laundry room, have the flooring sealed by professionals or select prefinished hardwood designated for a high moisture area like a bathroom floor.

Sheet vinyl flooring can be very inexpensive and comes in a huge array of designer patterns including those that mimic natural stone or even wood. When selecting sheet vinyl for the laundry room, opt for the best quality (thickest) you can afford to prevent tearing should the washer and dryer need to be moved for repairs or cleaning.

Vinyl is highly durable and easy to clean and maintain. Vinyl is also highly resistant to chemical stains and water damage.

While carpeting is a poor choice for the laundry room, an area rug or gel mat is a great idea. The rug can add designer flair and provide cushioning for the legs and feet while working near the washer and dryer, especially if your laundry area floor is concrete.