Pros & Cons of Vinyl Kitchen Flooring

There was when vinyl kitchen flooring was all the rage, but as with any home building materials, vinyl flooring fell out of the consumer’s good graces. Vinyl was replaced with indoor/outdoor carpeting, stone, tile, laminate and the always-popular hardwood. But vinyl has come full circle and is once again a popular and sensible choice for kitchen flooring. If you are considering re-placing your existing floor with vinyl keep these pros and cons in mind.

Pro Vinyl Kitchen Flooring

Vinyl is easy-to-clean. Crumbs and other debris can easily be swept up with a broom and spills and stains are easy-to-remove with a string mop and bucket of warm soapy water. The modern flooring cleaning devices that vacuum up debris and mop with a squirt or solution and cleaning pad are also acceptable cleaners for vinyl kitchen flooring.

Vinyl is easy-to-install. Vinyl comes in a long role like carpeting or in small 12 x 12 inch tiles that are very easy-to-install. Some of the 12 x 12 inch vinyl tiles come with adhesive backs and a peel-and-stick installation method that makes it a cinch for novice do-it-yourselfers to install.

Vinyl is inexpensive. Compared to the many other flooring choices, vinyl is probably the least expensive, but that doesn’t mean the product is made cheap or looks cheap. A variety of vinyl grades allow you to compare quality and thickness to get the right floor for your household.

Vinyl is durable. Footstep after footstep, year after year, vinyl holds its own. As with any flooring material, the better the quality product you start with the longer it will last under normal wear and tear.

Vinyl is versatile and decorative. There are a wide range of colors, styles, thicknesses and textures to choose from in vinyl flooring. Shiny or matte finish, realistic looking stone pattern, cushioned or not and the list of choices goes on. Vinyl is also versatile enough to be used on other surfaces besides just the kitchen floor. Use leftover vinyl from a home improvement project to create decorative wall art for the kitchen, re-cover a countertop surface or re-face cabinetry.

Cons of Vinyl Kitchen Flooring

Thin vinyl can tear. Care has to used when installing it or moving furniture around on it. Heavy furniture left in place for a period of time will cause permanent indentations in the vinyl.

Vinyl with high-gloss shiny finishes is slippery when wet and some types will need to be waxed regularly to maintain a high-gloss shine.