Is Vinyl Flooring Better than Laminate? 

When it comes to investing in flooring for your home, there are endless choices out there. Should you go with the natural beauty of hardwood, plush carpet, waterproof luxury vinyl plank, or inexpensive laminate flooring? Many homeowners come down to wanting something durable that can stand the test of time, eliminating carpet quickly. If you want a floor that’s great for kids or pets, you will likely settle on either luxury vinyl plank or a laminate floor.

Is vinyl flooring better than laminate?

We would argue that it might be the better investment for you, and here are a few key reasons why.

Waterproof Surfaces and Vinyl Plank Flooring

One of the main reasons why people hesitate to go with hardwood flooring is because it can be sensitive to moisture. This makes it less than ideal for full bathrooms, but luxury vinyl plank flooring carries none of those sensitivities. In fact, most vinyl planks are advertised as being completely waterproof. We explore whether vinyl floors are waterproof in our article here.

That being said, we do recommend cleaning up spills as promptly as possible and clearing out standing water within 72 hours for the protection of your floor and subfloor.

The truth is that laminate floors can’t compare with this aspect of vinyl flooring. Their core is made with fiberboard instead of the stone polymer composite core found in many luxury vinyl flooring solutions. When it gets wet, this fiberboard core tends to expand which can lead to major problems.

Also unlike vinyl, laminate floors tend to bubble and peel with exposure to water – and they definitely can’t be submerged for 72 hours.

Movement with the Seasons

Charleston is prone to hot, humid summers and dry, cold winters. This could lead to seasonal expansion and contraction of your floor – at least, that’s true of laminate floors. Because the core is made up primarily of sawdust and glue, that core can expand when humidity soars in the heat of a Charleston summer.

Likewise, it may dry out and shrink in the winter when you start to turn on the heat. This can lead to gaps between each laminate plank which are unsightly at best and difficult to clean at worst.

A newer vinyl floor (not to be confused with sheet vinyl) typically has a stone and PVC core. When it gets exposed to high levels of humidity, it isn’t likely to move around all that much. This means you can throw open the windows on a humid summer day without worrying about your flooring material.

Ease of Cleaning

No matter what flooring option you choose, you should know how to take care of it. This is often a deciding factor for many people when they consider the differences between a hardwood floor, luxury vinyl tile or plank, and laminate floors. Both hardwood and laminate do best primarily with dry cleaning. You should sweep or vacuum them regularly, only cleaning them with a microfiber pad and Bona floor cleaner.

Too much water on a laminate or wood floor can spell problems for the stability, beauty, and longevity of your floor.

On the other hand, waterproof vinyl flooring allows you to clean with a gentle, neutral cleaning product. You don’t have to worry about the synthetic material expanding or contracting with exposure to water. This means you can clean with Bona floor cleaner designed for vinyl or even by mopping it. Be sure to wring out your mop so it’s damp, not soaking wet.  Never use any type of wax polish on vinyl floors.

If you like to have options, then vinyl flooring is a lot more flexible than laminate.

Ease of Installation

There is one area where vinyl flooring planks and laminate planks share something in common: their installation. Both can be quite easy for DIYers to install because they are designed to click into place as a floating floor. All you have to do is fold each plank into the click-lock mechanism and watch your progress as you move across your living room, dining room, and the whole house.

Real wood can be somewhat harder to install, usually relying on glue or nail-down installation methods that are harder for a weekend warrior to tackle on their own. However, there are some click-lock options available here as well.

If you know that you want to save some money and invest a little sweat equity, both vinyl and laminate are going to be a good option for a determined Do-It-Yourselfer.

Learn More About Vinyl Floors at Woodboys

Whether you want to install LVP flooring yourself or just chat with a knowledgeable sales professional about wood flooring, Woodboys has the expertise you need. You can visit our Ladson showroom to see our full selection, which houses one of the largest libraries of flooring samples in the southeast. We can also come to you with our mobile showroom.

You can browse our virtual showroom here to start getting ideas for your next vinyl flooring project!