Although cork flooring was introduced over 100 years ago, many people are not familiar with cork flooring and are not aware of the many benefits it has to offer and what a great choice it is for flooring.  Listed below, for your convenience, are the advantages of installing cork flooring in your home.

• Easy to Clean – Cork flooring is as easy to clean as hardwood. Simply use a dust mop on a regular basis to pick up any dirt or dust from the surface. Be sure to soak up any spills promptly with a clean dry cloth. For any sticky residue or more extensive cleaning, you may use a damp mop to go over the floor, as long as you avoid any excess moisture. Avoid using any harsh or abrasive cleaners and never use a scouring pad on your cork flooring.   

• Durable – Cork flooring is quite durable, despite the fact that it is softer than hardwood or laminate. It has unique qualities that make it impact resistant. When pressure is applied, it will spring back into place because of its structure, which consists of tiny air pockets. It also has a factory applied polyurethane protective finish, which is comparable to the finish found on hardwood so that it can withstand a lot of heavy foot traffic.    

• Scratch Resistant – Cork flooring is an ideal flooring choice for people with children and pets, because it is naturally resilient against scratches from children dropping or throwing toys or pet claws. When pressure is applied from shoes or pet claws, cork will slightly give and then spring back into place, due to its composition and softness, making it scratch resistant and accommodating to heels and claws of pets.

• Shock Absorbent – If you are on your feet a lot, you will love the comfort of standing and walking on cork flooring, due to its soft, pliable cushioning. It is naturally shock absorbent, since it contains air pockets, so it’s like literally walking on a cushion of air. Due to its makeup, it is also very accommodating and able to withstand the impact of things being dropped on the floor without denting and objects are less likely to break when they hit the floor.

• Sound Proof – Cork flooring is excellent at absorbing sounds making it a wise choice for homes with large rooms, cathedral ceilings, thin walls or multiple levels where echoes or sounds from other rooms or other levels can be annoying and distracting. It would be great for offices or theatre rooms to reduce noise levels. Cork flooring is also a quieter floor because you will not hear the sound of footsteps walking across the floor.

• Insulator - Cork flooring is a great insulator because it contains a substance that causes it to retain air so that it holds in warmth, making it resistant to cold. Most hard floors tend to be cold to walk on in the winter months, unless you have a floor heating system, which is costly to install. This is not a problem with cork flooring because it is naturally warm to the touch. It may also cut down on heating bills by adding additional insulation to your floor, because it shields against the cold holds in the warmth.  

• Moisture Resistant – Cork contains suberin, which is a naturally occurring waxy substance that causes it to be resistant to moisture. That is why it is commonly used as a stopper for bottles of wine. Since it does not absorb water, it will also naturally resist mold and mildew.      

• Fire & Insect Resistant – The same substance that makes cork moisture resistant also makes it fire and insect resistant. Suberin is not present in hardwood or bamboo flooring, so these qualities give cork flooring an advantage over wood flooring.     

• Versatile – Cork flooring is very versatile due to its ability to be installed over a concrete or wood sub-floor or even over an existing wood, vinyl or tile floor, since it is not glued, but floated. Homeowners can coordinate with any decor due to the wide assortment of styles and colors, ranging from natural to stained cork that is also available in the deeper, rich colors that mimics hardwood. Cork flooring is manufactured in the form of tiles or planks that are similar in appearance to hardwood flooring for a stylish look.

• Easy to Install – Cork flooring is installed using a floating method in which the planks or tiles are connected together through a click locking system and are not directly attached to the sub-floor, so there is no adhesive required. Cork flooring is great if you are planning to install the flooring yourself because it is so easy to install. It can also be purchased with attached underlayment so you can skip that step and install it even faster.

• Environmentally Friendly – Cork flooring is environmentally friendly because the bark of the cork oak tree is used to make the flooring, instead of the wood of the tree, so it is not necessary to cut the tree down. During harvesting, the bark is stripped from the tree by hand, so that care is taken not to damage the tree, so that it can continue to live and produce more bark. Due to strict guidelines, the tree must be left undisturbed for nine years, before the bark can be harvested again. So, no trees are harmed in the making of this product.

For all of the above reasons, cork flooring can be a great alternative to other flooring. US Floors Cork among other manufacturers create an excellent product.

So if you are thinking about replacing your floors, you might want to consider cork flooring, which can offer benefits that other flooring doesn’t have. If you have any questions regarding cork flooring, please contact www.woodwudyshop.com at 1-877-966-3983.     

At Woodwudy Wholesale Flooring we are always glad to serve you.