Benefits of Cork Flooring

When you're looking for flooring for your home, your first thoughts probably turn to solid hardwood floors or maybe engineered wood flooring.

Have you considered cork flooring?

While cork flooring may seem like an unusual and exotic choice, cork floors are becoming very popular because of all the advantages they offer homeowners.

Cork flooring is water resistant, which is a great advantage. You don't want to let water stand on your cork floor anymore than your solid hardwood floor, of course, but because cork contains a waxy substance called suberin, it is very resistant to water. This is why corks are used as stoppers for containers of liquid such as wine.

Cork flooring is very resilient. Cork is made up of countless cells, rather than layers of material, so it is very resistant to damage. For sheer durability, cork floors stack up quite favorably against solid hardwood floors and engineered wood flooring.

Cork floors absorb sound. This is great if you have a home or an area in your home that needs extreme quiet, of course, but the acoustic benefits of a cork floor are also very obvious in an ordinary home, particularly when people upstairs can't be heard from downstairs. If you are used to hearing the floor squeak and knowing someone is outside your office or bedroom, you will be amazed by the quiet of a cork floor.

Cork flooring is insect-resistant and antimicrobial. Termites and microbes cannot survive in cork floors, which makes them particularly healthful. Homeowners with young children will be very glad to know the floors are relatively germ-free and safe for their children to play on.

Another advantage to cork floors is that because they are solid floors, they are hypoallergenic. Anyone who's ever suffered allergies in a carpeted room can understand exactly how many allergens get caught in the fibers of carpets, whereas with cork floors, they are as clean as they look.

Finally, cork flooring is very affordable, when compared to solid hardwood flooring, engineered wood flooring, or bamboo flooring. Cork floors certainly deliver a great value for the price.

Many people find, once they investigate cork flooring, that it is the perfect solution for their flooring needs.