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huskergirl_gw

Flooring in laundry - Opinions please!

huskergirl
15 years ago

I'm going to go pick out my flooring for the bathrooms and the laundry room this weekend and I would really like some feedback from all of you on this subject. I'm going with ceramic tile in the bathrooms but I'm kind of hung up on the laundry room. It is located right next to where we enter the house from the garage and DH must walk through it to access his private bathroom - he is a farmer/cattle feeder so he comes home DIRTY - the idea behind having that private bath is to contain some of that mess before he hits the rest of the house. I'm wondering if I should be thinking about vinyl flooring in there because it seems like it would be easier to clean. Anyone have a better idea?

Comments (15)

  • carolyn53562
    15 years ago

    Porcelain tile with DARK grout will be the easiest to keep clean IMO. At our old house we had sheet vinyl in a heavily used entrance from the garage and it looked terrible very quickly. Dirt got ground into so it became permanently dingy and it got cuts in it from heavy metal objects (hammers, screw drivers, etc.) that would get dropped on it. I think the nonwax surface was worn off most of the main traffic pattern within just a few years. If you go with porcelain tile, it comes with a rating (1-5 I think) that has some bearing on durability. Get the 5. We did replace the vinyl in our old house with TrafficMaster vinyl tiles which are much more durable than regular residential sheet vinyl flooring, so that might be an option if you don't want to do porcelain tile.

    Here is a link that might be useful: traffic master vinyl

  • crzmama
    15 years ago

    Your house setup sounds just like mine...I picked ceramic tile for the bathrooms and the laundry room.

  • deegw
    15 years ago

    We used slate tiles in our laundry room and love it. It really doesn't show anything. I mop it once a week but I could probably go much longer without it looking "dirty"!

  • shelly_k
    15 years ago

    Our mudroom will be set up similarly and we have the same ceramic tile in the laundry that is in the mudroom. As long as you choose a medium to darker grout, it shouldn't show much and will be easy to clean and very durable.

  • chisue
    15 years ago

    I used porcelain that looks like flagstones -- and dark grout. It has a rough 'stone' surface. I wash it on principle; it almost never looks dirty. This is in our back hall/laundry/half-bath.

  • jaymielo
    15 years ago

    In agreement with everyone else that a ceramic will probably be fine, given you choose well. We went with a "rustic" tile with an uneven edge and a dark grout. There is enough variegation in the color of the tile that dirt doesn't seem to be a problem.

    The grout looks pretty light here with the flash, but it is actually a medium to dark grey and picks up the lighter "overwash" color from the tile. These pictures were taken during construction and show the tile at it's worst. There is actually drywall "smudges" on the tile and it still doesn't look all that bad. I'd say it adds "character". ;-)

  • terry_t
    15 years ago

    I used American Olean glazed porcelain VL03 Milk Chocolate tile for our foyer, mudroom, and laundry room. Grout was Laticrete Sand Beige and is sealed with Tile Guard One Step grout sealer (spray on). You cannot see any dirt other than clumps of mud, sand, etc.

  • oruboris
    15 years ago

    I'd caution against any tile that's too dark: I used Crossville's quartzite for most of my floor, and a dark chocolat for some medallions.

    House isn't done yet, but I can already tell that the dark stuff is going to be a bear to keep clean-- realitively speaking, of course.

    The quartzite [not actually stone, but porcelain] was choosen in part because it hides dirt very well, almost too well. Haven't cleaned it for a month [house under construction, people in and out] and it still looks very good.

    This picture [not my house, BTW] doesn't do it justice: in person, it has more color than this, including some dark speckling that makes it look very much like a real stone floor:
    {{gwi:1488449}}
    Also seems to be quite non-slip.

    I very much agree about using dark grout, though-- makes all the difference in the world.

    As a cattle and horse rancher, I have a good sense of what your challanges are for this floor. I've done two things that might interest you: I've put a shower pan and an outside entrance in the laundry. I'll be able to hose off really muddy boots and leave them to dry in the pan [has a rod over it too, for drip dry clothes, and a ring in the wall to clip the dogs to for their baths].

    Didn't work out to put this right by the door, so we have a covered porch that will make a good spot for slipping out of the shoes before entering.

    I don't ask guests to remove thier shoes, but I do want to be able to remove mine on the worst days.

  • holyoak
    15 years ago

    Am anxious to hear what you decided. We are farmers too and it is All-About-Mud at our house. Every decision I make about our house has to be balanced against the Mud & Grit Factor. We are still in the talking phase, but most of my time on the future house revolves around the mudroom and His Bathroom right next to it.

    I have been thinking vinyl for ease of cleaning. The current vinyl is 10 years old and has kept up okay and it is mostly white, lol!

    I've belly-ached for years to take off your darn boots, but that's not gonna happen. Even when he does, the mud just crumbles off his jeans. Plus there's the son and hired man that give generously to the indoor dirt pile. Did you get tile?

  • huskergirl
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    After reading everyone's advice I'm really leaning toward a darker tile and grout as most people suggested. Thanks for the help!!

  • lsst
    15 years ago

    I will be the lone vote for vinyl.
    We have acreage and LOTS of red mud and clay in our region.
    We have tile in the bathrooms and my builder pushed for tile in the laundry room. I wanted a floor that I could mop clean and forget.
    We installed vinyl in the laundry 4 years ago and do not regret it. Our laundry room is in the back hallway next to the garage entrance.
    It is so easy to keep clean. If water puddles no big deal. No grout to seal.

    Probably some day We may switch to tile. We have our land mostly landscaped so each year red mud is less of an issue.

  • crzmama
    15 years ago

    huskergirl..I came across this site while browsing for a grout sealer..thought you might be interested in it as well...

    Here is a link that might be useful: grout shields

  • robin0919
    15 years ago

    How about linoleum? You can make different patterns in it and it's also 'green'.

  • garymunson-2008
    15 years ago

    We have tile in our entry areas. We are in central Florida and sand is the main problem. Tile seems to hold up best in that circumstance.

  • newoldhouser
    15 years ago

    My husband is also a farmer and Dirt tracking was a big factor in my house design. My back hall, mudroom, laundry and DH's gun closet will all be brick flooring. The roughness of it is sure to get most of the dirt before they hit my pine flooring! But it is the real antique bricks sliced into tile not the brick pavers.