Thursday 5 July 2012

Today's Review: Laminate Flooring

Let me tell you something about having kids. That nice carpet you have? It's not gonna be nice for long. That nice carpet you had your eye on? Don't get it. Of course I'm talking about spillages and the like, and you may scoff and recall the time you spilled a glass of water on your mum's carpet and that turned out fine. But you have no idea how bad it gets. You've got your standard drinks, sure. But nothing prepares you for the glue, paint, food, sauces, not to mention the accidents that occur during potty training. Soon your carpet is clogged up with all manner of stains, rough bits and sticky bits. So it's time to rip it up and start again.

That's where laminate flooring comes in. It's made of wood, laminated wood! All that poop that got mingled with the fibres before, you can just wipe that off. Drink spillages can be soaked up completely with a towel. Bolognese sauce can be cleaned up with just one baby wipe. Laminate flooring is the safe haven for parents everywhere.

Well, until your kids smack their head on it. Of course there's a flipside to laminate, in fact there are several. It's a bastard to lay, making sure it's all slotted together properly, cutting it to size, fitting the edging. Then when it's done you're left with a slippery surface that hurts you if you or your loved ones fall over. Sure, carpets aren't the softest of things, but they're better than a slab of wood. Laminate is less comfortable than a carpet too, surprisingly. Sure, it may be nice and cool in the summer, but if you lie on it in the winter you're gonna have a bad time.

Well, I came into this review thinking the bad would almost outweigh the good. But to be honest, I don't know how many carpets or rugs I would've gotten through by now if I didn't have laminate flooring. Despite the bad points, at least I can say that my floor is clean, and it's damn easy to keep that way. Give me this stuff over some sticky old fabric any day.

My rating: 4/5

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