Flooring best suited for pets

For pet owners, choosing the right flooring for your home is a decision not to be taken lightly. Pets undoubtedly cause more wear and tear (scratches, dirt, stains) to your flooring. This is why we’ve put together this pet-friendly flooring guide that will hopefully help you in choosing the flooring best suited for you and your pets. We will examine several pros and cons for different flooring types, as well as several tips on how to prevent further damage on existing floors.

Before you begin reading further we thought it would be best to outline the five primary considerations when looking for pet-friendly flooring options. Whatever option you decide on we recommend keeping these qualities in your mind when making your decision.

  1. Resistance to scratches
  2. Resistance to damage (wear and dirt)
  3. Potentially water-resistant
  4. Pet traction
  5. Pet comfort

Why we recommend twist and saxony carpets over loop

Dogs and cats nails are definitely a big concern when it comes to some flooring types. Depending on your dog or cat's breed, their nail length could cause permanent damage to certain flooring options. That’s why when it comes to carpets we highly recommend saxony and twist over loop. This is due to loop carpets having a looped yarn that can easily be caught and snagged by pet's nails causing damage.

Saxony and twist carpets are comfortable underpaw and offer a soft landing solution for pets. They come in a variety of colours and in most cases we recommend heathered carpets as they will help hide any scuffs and dirt marks more effectively, especially the flecked style appearance. Saxony and twist carpets made from polypropylene are stain resistant, making it easily cleanable with a dilute bleach solution. These pros make both loop and twist carpet an effective choice for your pet-friendly home.

Vinyl flooring

Vinyl flooring make ideal choices for most pet owners. Compared to other flooring you can find affordable options for vinyl and it can be installed almost anywhere in your home. Vinyl offers a safe slip resistant surface that will provide great traction for your pet and help avoid any nasty scuffs and scratches from their nails. It's also a practical option due to the material it’s made from, making spillages easy to clean and helping provide low levels of allergens.

Laminate flooring

Although laminate might not be your first thought due to it’s surface reducing yours pet’s traction dramatically, there are still great options to make it work in your home. Instead of choosing a high gloss look we recommend going with a textured or embossed finish to help reduce the chances of your pet slipping. If you’re considering laminate in your living room, you could contemplate adding a rug in the centre to provide extra traction for your pet. Some laminates are also water resistant making them ideal in case of any spillages.

Some top tips to help prevent damage to your floor

We’ve outlined a few quick tips below that will help minimise damage to your flooring and make it last longer.

  1. Clip your pet’s nails regularly to help prevent scratches and marks on your flooring.
  2. Whilst some flooring offers water resistant finishes, we always recommend you clean up any accidents as quickly as possible.
  3. Food and water bowls create a lot of unexpected damage to your flooring caused by traction. We recommend putting a mat underneath to help prevent this and also catch any excess water from spillages.
  4. Use doormats at all entrances to help catch dirt and debris when returning from walks outside.

We hope you’ve found our pet-friendly flooring guide helpful in choosing the perfect floor for you and your pet!