You should not be careless in this regard because statistics show how often bathroom falls end up with a fatality. Every part of the bathroom?s base floor, including the shower and standing areas, needs to have non-slip materials installed, while aligning with your choice of design and style.
Manufacturers are well aware of the safety element, and thankfully, the market is ripe with a large variety of non-slip bathroom flooring options for your home. There are several non-slip bathroom flooring options to choose from. We recommend any of the following options:
The safest bathroom flooring options
- Non-slip vinyl flooring
- Natural stone
- Bamboo or cork flooring
- Linoleum
- Rubber flooring
Non-slip vinyl flooring
The top choice for non-slip flooring is definitely vinyl. Apart from its practicality, affordability and the wide array of available styles, vinyl flooring has a higher tendency to withstand heavy traffic and moisture. This makes it a perfect choice for your bathroom and other high traffic areas, like entries and the kitchen.
Slip resistance is a must for several manufacturers, which explains why you can easily find a vinyl flooring style in the markets. The material is resistant to water damage and staining, particularly because it is waterproof. Manufacturers ensure it is resistant against heavy traffic, as well. Vinyl flooring holds up against the heaviest of traffic, including wheelchairs, kids and pets.
While no flooring option provides a 100% non slip guarantee, there are products that offer higher protection than others. Luckily, vinyl products come with built-in padding, unlike ceramic tile, for instance, should you take an accidental fall.
When shopping for your vinyl bathroom flooring, we recommend looking for vinyl products with extra underlayment. This will minimize the impact of the fall on your body, so you avoid serious or fatal injuries. The flooring experts at Floor Crafters are well educated with the vinyl products that have this extra feature, as will make recommendations based on the style you like.
Vinyl is not just affordable, but also quite versatile. Vinyl can look like ceramic tile, wood, and other flooring materials, so you can get the style you envision and the safety of non-slip vinyl. Vinyl comes in large sizes, but you can install it with minimal seams to fit a small bathroom. You can also find it in plank or tile styles. Floor Crafters has hundreds of options for vinyl flooring, and can also install it for you.
Natural stone
If you?re working with a bigger budget, natural stone is the ideal anti-slip bathroom flooring option. No one can deny the aesthetic attraction and durability benefits of natural stone, and one can almost sacrifice their precious savings for it.
Natural stone is not only slip-resistant and safe; it's in a class of its own. Manufacturer?s texture the stone to mitigate the slip factor. Textured or sandblasted stone is usually the best option for a non slip surface.
The only drawback with natural stone, is that it is a higher-end flooring option, and not in everyone?s budget. You?ll note, however, that natural stone has the highest performance ratings in terms of safety and also features a fantastic resale value, should you plan to sell your home down the road.
Cork / bamboo
You may not find cork or bamboo flooring in bathrooms often, but they are a good option for certain bathroom settings. Many people prefer these two products due to reduced sound travel, but other features also add to the attraction. You can incorporate bamboo or cork into your bathroom flooring as per any trendy design and style.
These two products can be both a blessing and a curse at the same time, so you need to give careful consideration before going for this option. Bamboo and cork are both slip-resistant materials that tend to absorb moisture quickly, so you will hardly find any wetness on the surface, significantly minimizing the chances of slipping on it. On the other hand, this same feature could be problematic by accumulating mold and mildew. Mold can easily form if the moisture trapped inside does not dry fast and thoroughly, so anyone in a particularly humid environment should take this into consideration.
If you do plan to invest in a cork or bamboo flooring, planning in advance can save you down the road. Make sure the area where the flooring will be installed has sufficient ventilation, so that moisture dries out quickly and does not build up. The professional design and install team at Floor Crafters can tell you if the area has adequate airflow, and can make recommendations on improving it, if it does not.
Linoleum
Many mistake linoleum for vinyl, but they are actually two entirely different products. Linoleum is not only a great flooring option, but it is also water-resistant and more eco-friendly than vinyl flooring.
Linoleum flooring is manufactured using a combination of natural products such as jute, cork, or limestone and linseed oil. You can opt for an anti-slip sheet or a resin solution to mitigate the slippery surface of linoleum. Apart from that, since this material turns into a water-proof bathroom flooring, it is quite easy to clean and makes a perfect choice for your bathrooms.
The biodegradable element means you can protect the environment and yourself against harmful chemical releases.
Rubber flooring
Rubber flooring is generally never high on the list of preferences because it does nothing for trend, style, or aesthetics. However, the reason we mention it here is because of the absolute slip resistance this flooring option offers.
Rubber may not be pleasing to look at or feel nice under our feet, but it can be the best in terms of safety. You should consider this option, especially if you have seniors living at home with you. Even when rubber flooring becomes wet, it does not turn slick and thus minimizes the chances of an accidental fall by a far measure.
The extreme protection factor makes it a desirable option for many because, even if one does fall accidentally, the rubber flooring works as a cushion for the body. It helps absorb most of the shock from the fall and can protect your body from serious injury.
However, when you plan to invest in a rubber flooring plan, it is best to do some research first. As limited as this material is in terms of style and design, the safety factor alone makes it one of the more costly options.
Best flooring for bathroom
Ceramic or porcelain tile
The most popular choice for bathroom flooring all over the world, is porcelain tile. It is waterproof, cost-effective, and stylish, making it a top choice of home owners worldwide. Porcelain features a textured, rich, and solid feel that is quite similar to stone, without the high cost of natural stone.
We love that it combines the best qualities of all other flooring options into one. A luxurious texture like stone, waterproof like vinyl, and elegant like wood, uplifts the look of any bathroom in your home. Porcelain belongs to the ceramic tile family, but there is a slight difference between the two. Tiles that have a 0.5 percent rate of absorbing water belong to the porcelain category.
Flooring for bathrooms
When you?re planning a makeover for your bathroom, you must keep a few considerations in mind before you make the final decision. Bathrooms nearly as high-traffic as the kitchen, and have 2 or more water features housed within (sink, toilet, shower), so water resistance and slip ability factor are important when choosing your new flooring.Bathroom floors should be resilient enough to handle the pressure of sweaty adults, dirty young kids, and even wet pets, if there are any in the house.
To review, here are the different flooring options that Floor Crafters recommends for your bathroom:
| Type of Flooring | ? Pro's | Con's |
| Cork | ? Beautiful & Stylish ? Non-Slip | ? Highly Absorbent of Moisture, which may cause mold issues |
| Ceramic and porcelain | ? Timeless Style ? Durable ? Affordable ? Good for DIY'ers ? Waterproof | ? Not always non-slip without treatment ? Very hard surface to fall on |
| Engineered hardwood | ? Beautiful ? Many substrates, colors and styles ? Non-slip if no wax applied ? Moderately priced | ? Not recommended for bathrooms ? Easily damaged by water and high traffic |
| Natural stone tiles | ? Top choice in high end homes ? Waterproof ? Non-Slip ? Durable ? Long lasting ? Aesthetically pleasing to most | ? Cost ? Not for DIY projects |
Shower floor options
Shower flooring rises above the style and aesthetics and gives priority to practicality and functionality. You need to primarily remember that a shower floor faces extreme exposure to water, so your floor plan must be highly water-resistant.
- Tile Shower Base -?You can choose from a wide range of tiles for your shower base floor. You may also opt for a ready tile floor pan. These plans consist of composite plastic materials or fiberglass and chrome drains. The design must feature easy drainage with plumbing and a waterproof epoxy so that the tiles adhere to the bottom and sides. If you opt for tiles, make sure you use waterproof materials for setting them and coat time and again as needed.
- Molded Stones -?Molded stones are not only classy but also high-end for shower bases. The synthetic plastic and natural stone make a durable combination as well as a luxurious appearance. High quality molded stones are resistant to mildew and mold and usually don?t require grout.
- Acrylic Pans -?Acrylic pans fall into the medium price range and are a little flexible in terms of customization. Acrylic bases are generally easy to maintain and clean as well and less vulnerable to cracking.
How to choose best tile for shower floor
Perhaps the most important feature of a bathroom is the tile on the shower floor, and this is why you need to take the right route when selecting it. Here are things to consider:
- Budget -?You must first set the budget within which you intend to get your shower flooring done. Markets showcase an unending variety of tiles. You can find something within every price range, style, sizes, and shapes.
Once you have a budget, you can turn your attention?to finding the best tile option?for you. You can pick from natural stone, porcelain or ceramic. Porcelain is more water-resistant, while ceramic has the lowest price. Porcelain also has a through-body composition, which is another advantage. - Color scheme -?It can be quite tricky to build a color palette, but starting with the vanity and cabinet colors first gives you a better direction. Once you are sure of what color scheme your cabinets and vanity will have, you can easily follow the same with your tiles. Most tiles come in fairly neutral colors.
However, many interior designs are testimony to the fact that lighter tiles make a better choice, especially when you can jazz up the look with bright accessories like knobs, etc. - Size -?Size is never a constant in the world of interior design. The new standard is the 12x24s that now make the smaller, once preferred size look outdated. Modern trends seem to favor bigger tiles, but the choice is still entirely up to you. If your tradition suits your taste and your bathroom size better, then select the uniform smaller sized tiles.
Subway tiles and basket weaves will be the best choice if you plan to go the traditional route. If you envision a transition yet timeless shower floor, then we recommend the 4x16 subway tiles. This site will give you the classic yet contemporary modern look you are seeking.
Safe flooring for seniors
When living with senior members in the house, style and design take a backseat in comparison to safety. Remodeling a bathroom where seniors and aging family members are living requires extra consideration in terms of safety.
You need to ensure whatever material you use is moisture resistant and prevents slipping and accidental falls. When it comes to materials that would make poor choices for bathrooms of seniors, ceramic tiles, hardwood, glass, and such, as well as hard, slippery materials, are a big no-no.
These materials aren't flexible and can get slippery very quickly. Furthermore, they do not cushion the bodies in the event of a fall, and so fatal injuries are inevitable. The better options in terms of safety are rubber or non-slip vinyl flooring for seniors? bathrooms.
Final thoughts
When remodeling or designing your bathroom, perhaps the most essential part of the project is the flooring. From tiles to safety elements, there is so much thought you need to put into each detail.?Floor Crafters Flooring Company?makes sure your bathroom flooring project is as hassle-free and perfect as can be, and will make recommendations based on your style, requirements and budget. If you?d like?a complimentary consultation with a professional flooring expert, contact us today at?(720) 669-7230?for your next bathroom flooring project, and we will help you design the perfect floor for any bathroom in your home.
