It’s simply delightful to find your pet dog wagging his tail at the doorstep or your cat brushing past you fondly when you come home after a long day. One of the ways to repay this unconditional love is to ensure their comfort.
Pet-friendly flooring can keep your pets happy and safe, while ensuring that your space does not get damaged. Some kinds of flooring can affect the joints of your pets or make it tough for them to run or walk freely in the house. With pets bound to shed their fur and take a leak in the premises, even if accidentally, ease of maintenance also needs to be a priority.
Safe Spaces For Your Pets
While some people allow their pets to run in every corner of the house, there are certain spaces that are more frequented by them. Then flooring of establishments such as animal hospitals also need to be carefully chosen. So before deciding on the right flooring, narrow down on these.
Here are some of the spaces that need to be made safe for pet usage at home:
- Flooring inside homes
- Backyard or spaces at the front of the house
- Paved outdoor areas such as the patio
- Doghouse or dog kennel
- Under the litter box of cats
Here are some of the commercial establishments whose flooring needs to be pet-friendly:
- Veterinary building
- Animal hospital
- Dog boarding facility or daycare
- Dog and pet parks
- Animal training centres
Five Flooring Options For Pets
There are a number of pet-friendly flooring options such as vinyl, stone, cork, laminate and hardwood, but tiles can go a long way in making the space safe and squeaky clean. Read about this to decide on the best type of flooring option for your pets.
Tile Flooring: Tiles are among the best pet-friendly flooring options as they do not get damaged easily. These tile flooring options are durable options for dogs that often leave scratch marks on ordinary floors. They are easy to clean if there are spills and in case your pets end up relieving themselves on the floor. Post-cleaning, they will be odourless. Further, tiles do not trap allergens or dirt like carpets and rugs do, so the other members of the family won’t have to worry about suffering from respiratory diseases. Tiles also do not get discoloured even after regular use.
The germ-free tile options in ceramic and porcelain materials at Orientbell Tiles can be a great fit if you have pets. The forever tile collection does not get scratched and can last really long even with pets around. However, tiles may be a bit slippery for your furry friends. To come around that problem, you can go for skid-free options and throw in some rugs.
Vinyl Flooring: This one is safe for your pets to walk on as they don’t affect their joints. It can be easily cleaned too. The downside is that it is not resistant to water, which could lead to growth of germs and mildew. Moreover, they start looking dull and worn-off soon.
Stone Flooring: These are a common and practical option as they are easy to clean. They are mostly scratch-resistant and can handle spills, except for some porous varieties such as marble. However, they get cold and can become uncomfortable during winters and are hard to walk on for your pets.
Hardwood Flooring: Plush-looking hardwood flooring–whether you use oak, mahogany or walnut–can be easily vacuumed or mopped clean. Pet-friendly wood flooring can, however, sustain scratches and are not water-proof.
Laminate Flooring: Laminate gives the look of wooden flooring but requires less maintenance and is water-resistant. So if your young pets are not yet toilet trained, these can come in handy. But the slippery nature of laminate flooring can be risky for your pets’ safety and health. Throw in a non-slip rug if you’ve decided on this one.
Once you have created safe spaces for your pets by choosing the best flooring for homes with pets, ensure you maintain them well. First up, it’s important to toilet train your pets and give them a regular bath to minimize hair shedding. To avoid damage and scratches, clip the nails of your pets regularly. Also, place mats at all entrances of your home or establishment so that your pets don’t bring in dirt inside the premises.
All in all, get a pet-proof flooring option that keeps you and your pets happy. Tiles may be a suitable choice as they are water-proof and require little maintenance.
Author Bio:
Isha Tandon works as a Digital Content Strategist for Orientbell Limited, a leading tile manufacturer in India. Isha’s knack for understanding audiences helps her create value-driven content for her readers that not only educates and informs but is engaging and interesting to read as well. She creates lifestyle pieces that focus on interior design products, trends, and processes. She loves to travel to historic places with rich architecture.
