The best laundry room floor checks off all the boxes: waterproof, easy-to-clean, and durable. It may even make you want to wash and fold clothes!
Tips for choosing a laundry room floor
• Water-resistance. The laundry room is a very moist environment with a high risk of spills. Because laundry rooms tend to be very humid and moist, hardwood is not usually recommended.
• Durability. Laundry room floors have to be able to wear well. These floors need to withstand foot and paw traffic, plus all the spills that tend to happen in a laundry room.
• Cleaning. This tip for choosing the best laundry room floor is especially true for laundry rooms that double as a mudroom. The best laundry floors are easy-to-clean (like when someone tracks in muddy foot or paw prints!)
• Style. In addition to tough and easy-to-clean, the best laundry room floors are stylish and can complement room décor. Fortunately, there are a ton of laundry room floors available at local stores in all styles and colors.
Best laundry room floors
Tile
Tile is a top candidate for laundry rooms because they are extremely durable and look great. These floors are extremely durable and long-lasting, showing little wear for years after installation. In laundry rooms with radiant in-floor heating, tile naturally conducts the heat and makes the floor extremely comfortable underfoot.
This laundry room floor can be installed in a basement because it is water-resistant. For do-it-yourselfers, tile is a fairly easy installation, requiring only a set of tile installation instructions and a few tools.
Tile comes in a variety of styles and colors. (Ask a local flooring pro to see laundry room floors that fit with the decor.) Some tile floors even resemble wood (without fear of water damage). If staining is a worry, tile floors can be installed with a darker grout to hide stains from spills and foot prints.
Pros: Water-resistant, durable, easy-to-clean, do-it-yourself project, natural conductor of heat, available in a wide variety of colors and styles
Cons: Grout may need to be scrubbed, feels hard underfoot
Luxury vinyl plank
Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) flooring give laundry rooms the look of wood without the worry of water damage. LVP floors are more water-resistant than laminate flooring and are available in a wide variety of luxury vinyl plank styles that resemble wood flooring (narrow or wide plank, any color).
In addition to looking like a beautiful wood floor, LVP is water-resistant, durable, and easy-to-clean. This laundry room flooring wears well, looking great even in high-traffic laundry room. For maintenance, luxury vinyl plank only requires a regular sweep and dry mop. LVP may scratch or gouge (especially when moving around heavy appliances). The risk of floor damage can be minimized by adding felt pads to appliances and furniture and using casters or soft cardboard when moving around heavy items.
Pros: Water-resistant, durable, easy-to-clean, looks just like wood, do-it-yourself project, available in a wide variety of colors and styles
Cons: May scratch
Luxury vinyl tile
Luxury vinyl tile (LVT) is softer than tile but with all the benefits of tile. LVT wears well, making it a long-term solution for a laundry room. This laundry room floor is available in many styles and colors suitable to match any décor.
This vinyl floor is water-resistant, durable, and easy-to-clean. LVT can handle any spills that happen in a laundry room, and only need a quick wipe-up for cleaning. To keep it clean, luxury vinyl tile only needs a regular sweep and dry mop.
Pros: Water-resistant, durable, easy-to-clean, softer than tile, available in a wide variety of colors and styles
Cons: May not look upscale
Sheet vinyl
Sheet vinyl flooring is one of the most durable floors on the market. Because it doesn’t have seams or grout lines, sheet vinyl isn’t vulnerable to water damage. Some sheet vinyl flooring has even survived minor basement flooding—making it a good fit for a laundry room.
Modern sheet vinyl is available in many colors and styles that can fit with almost any laundry room decor. These durable laundry room floors come in styles that mimic tile and wood. The only disadvantage of sheet vinyl is connected to its style; sheet vinyl floors may require a good scrubbing to deep clean flooring indents.
Unlike its vinyl flooring counterparts, sheet vinyl is not an easy do-it-yourself project. Sheet vinyl is typically installed with an adhesive, making the install process more complicated.
Pros: Water-resistant, durable, easy-to-clean, softer than tile, available in a wide variety of colors and styles
Cons: Not a DIY project, needs good scrubbing to deep clean
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