5 reasons Why Wood Flooring is Child-friendly

When looking at options for safe and healthy flooring for your home, a big deciding factor for many parents is how well the floor can withstand wear and tear caused by children. Dirty shoes being run through the home, toys being thrown around or dropped, and food and drink being spilled are all part of having a bustling home with active kids. Therefore, you’ll want to choose a flooring type that can withstand tougher treatment and high foot traffic.

Engineered wood is an ideal option for kid-friendly flooring as its not only more durable and hygienic but easer to clean when compared with other flooring types such as carpet.

Here are the five reasons why wood flooring a great choice for your family.

1. Safe
2. Durable
3. Easy to clean
4. Hygienic
5. Comfortable underfoot

Safe

We understand the importance of the health of your children and wanting to create a safe living environment for them.

As wood is one of the most natural, eco-friendly and sustainable materials, it is a perfect choice of flooring for those wanting a healthy and safe home for their families.

Low VOC

Engineered wood flooring is available with low VOC finishes, which means it doesn’t contain any harmful toxins that can be emitted into the air. All our Forte wood flooring collections have a low VOC water-based polyurethane finish with no added formaldehyde which means that the finish or lacquer used is non-toxic with low VOC levels, creating a healthy indoor environment for your family.

Hypoallergenic

Wood flooring is hypoallergenic as it is made from natural materials that don't emit any harmful toxins or irritants. This means children with allergies can enjoy playing on wood flooring without having their symptoms flare up or worsen as it's less likely to attract dirt or dust mites than other flooring options such as carpet.

*While wood flooring may be harder than carpets for example, they are considerably softer than polished concrete or tiles for when a child has a hard fall or knock. 

Durable

When deciding what type of flooring to have installed in your home, durability is an important consideration, especially for families with kids where there is the risk of the flooring being damaged by toys or from items being dropped or thrown around.

Engineered wood flooring is always finished with a coating to protect it from damage, which makes it a very durable flooring surface and increases the lifespan of the flooring. If glued down, an engineered wood floor can be resanded up to 5 times (depending on the veneer thickness), giving it a lifespan of 30-50 years. 

At Forte, all of our flooring collections have hardened finishes that have been specifically designed to minimize surface scratching, with our matte finish and brushed texture helping to hide marks/scratches.

Generally, the more coats applied, the better protection there is from scratching and staining. Therefore, nearly all our flooring products have a 7-layer polyurethane finish for ultimate durability.

However, while engineered wood flooring is an excellent option for durability, there is still the risk of them being scratched. There are several ways to fix scratches or make the damage look less noticeable – read our helpful tips here. 

Easy to clean

Engineered wood flooring is relatively low maintenance and easy to clean which is an important aspect when choosing a flooring type that is suitable for children and that is likely to experience many messy accidents in its lifetime.  

Weekly sweeping and mopping are all it takes to keep the floors looking their best. Food and drink spills as well as muddy footprints are also easy to clean and can be wiped up using a damp cloth or mop with a microfiber pad.

To learn more about cleaning your wood floors, read our helpful article here.

Hygienic

Wood flooring is a lot more hygienic than carpets when you have kids. Not only is it easier to clean up spilled water or food off a wood floor, but it is more resistant to odours too and less likely to house parasites such as fleas and ticks.

Being a natural material, it also doesn't have fibres that can house bacteria or mites like a carpet does, creating a cleaner and more hygienic living environment that is better for your health.

Wood floors are easy to keep clean and dust-free by sweeping or wiping with a damp cloth. This makes them an ideal flooring choice for homes with children, where messy accidents are bound to happen.

Comfortable underfoot

While engineered timber flooring may not be as warm or soft as a carpet, it is more comfortable and softer underfoot than polished concrete, tile or laminate flooring. 

As children spend many hours on the floor playing with toys, reading books or crawling if they are babies or toddlers, it is important that the floor is comfortable.

Timber flooring is therefore a great choice where additional warmth and softness can be added to the floor by introducing area rugs in rooms where children are most likely to play. Rugs are easy to remove and clean or replace when needed.

If you are considering installing an engineered wood floor in your home and would like more information about the cleaning process or fixing scratches and dents, download the Forte Care Guide here or read the article on our website. 

Alternatively, to discuss any aspect of care and protection of your Forté floor, email our Forté Care Team at support@forte.co.nz