Hygienic Flooring for Homes
Easy-to-clean Flooring with Antibacterial and Antimicrobial Properties
We all want our homes to be a welcoming, comfortable and safe space for the whole family and that starts from the flooring up! The long lasting impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and following winters with unusually high levels of influenza, childhood viruses and a general ‘unwell-ness’ of a nation, the importance of antibacterial, antimicrobial and germ resistant flooring is more of a focus with flooring brands than ever before.
Contamination of your home is as easy as walking in with dirty shoes, spilling your drink or even just the presence of food particles. When these contaminants work their way into crevices (even teeny tiny ones!) and fibres, colonies of microorganisms are created and multiply. yuck.
Choosing a beautiful floor for your home with the added bonus of antibacterial/antimicrobial properties is one of the ways we can protect ourselves from the invisible threats posed by bacteria, dirt and contagions.
For the most part, flooring companies have focussed their attention on creating flooring with high levels of bacteria resistance in industries with high footfall. A need for commercial standard flooring which meets health and safety standards and sector specific regulations has meant decades of research, development and unfathomable costs to create high performance flooring. However, as society has responded to a world post Coronavirus, residential flooring has benefitted from the work put into commercial flooring and some incredible ranges of antibacterial, antimicrobial, easy-to-clean and super hygienic flooring for the home have been released. Not only are these floors brilliant at supporting a clean and safe environment, but they are also stylish, contemporary and beautifully designed - a modern solution for the modern home!
The kinds of bacteria which generally find their way into our homes can also be the cause of odour, staining and unnecessary wear and tear to the surface of the floor. Hygienic and antibacterial flooring is not only helpful to support our general health but can also help provide a comfortable and welcoming environment.
The Benefits of Antibacterial Flooring in the Home
You may ask yourselves why you would need to invest in specialist flooring in your home. Beyond protecting you from the growth or spread of microorganisms that can cause illness and infection, flooring that is manufactured to be antibacterial or those which are coated with antimicrobial substances are highly durable and easy to maintain! We all have better things to be doing than spending hours scrubbing and cleaning our floors or applying specialist products to kill germs. Another bonus of flooring which is designed to be antibacterial and antimicrobial is that as well as being hygienic for the whole family, they are better for the environment and safe for children and pets as they don't contain or transfer harsh chemicals.
There are some really great benefits to hygienic flooring. Antimicrobial flooring is a fantastic option for families with children and for those with allergies as it is non-allergenic and helps protect against common household allergens such as mould and mildew! Mould and mildew are fairly common in British homes due to our climate and propensity for dampness. You get bonus features with antimicrobial flooring as it is man-made and so additional characteristics such as water resistance and anti-slip technology.
We have used both of the terms Antibacterial and Antimicrobial so far…but what do they mean?
What is the difference between antibacterial and antimicrobial hygienic flooring?
The term antibacterial will be familiar to us particularly if you remember certain shouty adverts for cleaning products. Antimicrobial may be less familiar as a term. When asked what the difference between antibacterial and antimicrobial flooring the quickest explanation is that antibacterial solutions protect a surface from bacteria (as the name would suggest) and antimicrobial solutions also protect from bacteria but they also protect against microorganisms, fungi and mould. Both have the properties to inhibit the growth and spread of certain bacteria but for a wider range of protection antimicrobial flooring shields against the growth and spread of bacteria, microorganisms, parasites and viruses.
Floors with added antimicrobial agents are generally better protected than those which are covered with an antibacterial agent, as it defends against a much broader range of damaging organisms. Furthermore, manufactured antimicrobial flooring tends to have a top coating which provides a bacteria resistant barrier.
Hygienic Flooring for the Home: Luxury Vinyl Tile
Hygienic flooring is a fantastic option for the home, particularly in kitchens, bathrooms, hallways and utility spaces. Here we focus on one of our most popular LVT brands with some excellent examples of beautiful and hardworking hygienic floors for your home.
Hygienic Flooring for Your Home - Amtico
Amtico remains a popular choice for home flooring and the brand is continuously striving to create innovative and attractive LVT ranges. The ‘Form’ collection is just that! With the exception of Barrel Oak, Amtico’s Form collection is created with Amtico’s antimicrobial technology. Created on-site at Amtico’s Coventry factory, the Form collection benefits from ionic silver built into the product,to protect against the replication and respiration of potentially harmful bacteria. In testing, the technology has been proven to reduce the presence of bacteria by more than 99% over 24 hours!
Image replicated with thanks to Amtico
LVT is a brilliant product and Amtico LVT is manufactured just up the road from us in Coventry... This is what they say about how it's made... "Our luxury vinyl tiles are made up of multiple layers of high-quality materials such as PVC vinyl and resin compounded with plasticisers and stabilisers. These materials are then compressed under pressure and high temperature to create a hard-wearing flooring product. Each Amtico luxury vinyl tile is manufactured with multiple backing layers as well as two performance wear layers and a Quantum Guard urethane treatment layer which makes our floor extremely durable and flexible...[We] guarantee superb quality, high performance and the ability to withstand heavy use. We're so confident in the strength of our products, they all come with long-lasting warranties to give you years of beautiful flooring."
Image Credit: https://www.amtico.com/flooring/testerpg1/
The Signature and Spacia collections now also feature antimicrobial technology with incredible independent testing demonstrating that 99.9% fewer bacteria and 85.5% fewer viruses were present on the floor’s surface after 24 hours, when compared to an untreated control. Amtico can boast that the antibacterial properties of their flooring is proven to kill MRSA and E-Coli on surfaces as well as SARS-CoV-2 (the virus responsible for Covid-19). The ionic silver also prevents the growth and spread of mould and mildew! Amtico LVT flooring is the stylish way to keep your home clean and hygienic.
Amtico LVT: Inspiration
Amtico Form: Mineral FS7S4350
With its delicately dappled texture, this cool and natural grey has an authentic, rustic feel.
Amtico Spacia - White Marble SS5S2618 and Black Marble SS5S2621
Opulent and striking, use Black Marble to add grandeur to your space. Pair with White Marble for a classic Checkerboard floor.
Amtico Signature - Sanctuary Grain AR0W8270
Strong cocoa tones flow through this unique wood grain to blend effortlessly with a subtle twist of dusky grey-blue.
Antimicrobial, Antibacterial and Hygienic Floors at Hamilton Flooring
There are many reasons to choose antimicrobial hygienic flooring for your home. It may be to protect children who regularly play on the floor, perhaps you have pets who like to bring the outside into your home or maybe the peace of mind that a hygienic flooring system brings is why antimicrobial flooring is the best choice for your home. Whatever your reasoning is for antibacterial, antimicrobial and hygienic flooring, Hamilton Flooring can advise on the best options for your space and support you through the design process as well as preparation, installation and advise you about flooring aftercare. This article has focussed on Amtico flooring, there are other flooring brands with wonderful hygienic properties. Find out more by exploring our website or getting in contact today.