Vinyl flooring is a flexible and beautiful flooring solution that many people have decided to incorporate into their homes. It is a fantastic choice for many reasons, but taking care of vinyl flooring can be different than taking care of other floorings. To best ensure that you can adequately take care of your vinyl flooring and keep it looking fantastic long-term, our experts at Preferred Flooring have developed a few tips to help you take better care of your vinyl floors.

Clean up Water and Spills ASAP

One of the worst things for vinyl floors is letting liquid sit for long periods. Vinyl floors are resilient and can handle moisture, but letting liquid sit long-term can leave a permanent mark. Letting water sit for too long on your Flooring can result in stains or watermarks. The best way to prevent this is to wipe up any spills as soon as possible; that way, you can keep your vinyl floors sparkling clean.

Use the Right Tools

Cleaning vinyl floors requires the right tools; using the wrong kinds of cleaners or tools can scratch or mark up your Flooring. Abrasive cleaners can scratch the surface of your floors, defacing them and leaving your Flooring vulnerable to more marks and further damage. Stick to using cleaners made for vinyl flooring; that way, you won’t have to worry about your Flooring getting scratched or leaving behind any film or residue.

In addition, using the right tools to clean your vinyl flooring is paramount to ensure they are adequately maintained. Do not use any rough or abrasive sponge to clean the Flooring. Vinyl flooring, while strong, has a soft surface that abrasive cleaning instruments can easily mark up. Also, don’t use a vacuum with a beater bar to clean dirt and debris, as this can dent the vinyl. Soft cloths and mops are the best choices for cleaning vinyl flooring. We are proud to serve Breese, IL, and the surrounding areas, including Breese, Troy, Highland, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Freeburg, Nashville, St. Rose, Trenton, New Baden, O’Fallon, Fairview Heights, Shiloh, Swansea, Belleville, Collinsville, IL.

Sweep Regularly

One of the best and simplest ways to ensure your Flooring stays clean and looks good is to sweep it regularly. Removing loose dirt and debris regularly will prevent sticky buildup and make deeper cleaning much more manageable. Keeping your vinyl floors swept will ensure they last longer and look better.

Be Careful With Heavy Objects

Heavy objects like furniture or appliances can damage vinyl floors if not appropriately moved. Setting heavy appliances or furniture straight on vinyl can dent it or cause it to deform over time. Using pads on the feet of your furniture will ensure that they do not cause damage to your vinyl. Plus, using low-friction pads will make it much easier to move your furniture around, making it much easier for you to regularly clean underneath and around furniture. When moving anything heavy on vinyl, make sure to either pick it up entirely off the floor or use pads to reduce friction and impact.

Contact Us

Preferred Flooring is your local full-service Flooring professional, and we are proud to be able to help you with your home projects. If you require help or advice with your home project, do not hesitate to visit us at our showroom or contact us online or through call or text with any of your questions or concerns.

Autumn is officially here! Leaves are starting to change, Halloween is right around the corner, and your slippers save you from braving the cold floor. Lower temperatures don’t have to make your home just as chilly! Warm up your home from the ground up with these tips.

Cold Feet Love Carpet

Carpeting can get a bad reputation, but it’s a lifesaver for those living in climates with varying temperatures, like Breese, Illinois. The temperature in your home is heavily influenced by the weather outside. Different flooring options have different benefits, and carpeting is known for warming even the iciest feet.

It’s not just the fluffy fibers that make carpeting so cozy. Soft fabrics create an insulating barrier. That’s why we all love sweater season! Carpet is typically installed on top of several layers of padding. For especially cold spaces, investing in a high-quality carpet pad is just as important as selecting the carpet itself.

If trading your tile for carpet is not an option, try investing in plush rugs. Rugs may not offer the same level of insulation as wall-to-wall carpeting, but the extra padding will make all the difference. Rugs with longer threads, like shag rugs, will provide the warmest benefits. Lay down a rug pad first to maximize your new rug’s warming potential.

Warm Up Laminate with Padding

As beneficial as installing carpet can be, it isn’t the right choice for every home. Carpet is not ideal for rooms exposed to moisture, like basements, bathrooms, and the kitchen, and pet owners often prefer hard-surface flooring. While laminate, vinyl, and hardwood floors aren’t inherently as warm as carpet, you can still prepare your home for the colder weather.

When you purchase new floors from a full service flooring vendor, you have the opportunity to select your preferred under flooring. The base layers are what will help keep your hard-surface flooring from getting cold in the fall and winter. Laminate, vinyl, and hardwood take on the temperature of whatever surface they lay on. You will find your floors much more comfortable if installed with quality under flooring.

Treat Your Feet to Heated Floors

You deserve ultimate luxury, which is why you deserve heated floors! Temperatures vary significantly in Breese, Illinois. With heated floors, you won’t have to worry about winter-proofing your floors. Just turn on the radiant floor heating and relish in the moment as your whole body warms up.

Radiant floor heating is the best way to ensure your floors are nice and toasty. There are two main kinds of heated floors: wired and hydronic. Wired radiant floor heating is the more common option. This style uses wires and cords to heat the floorboards electronically. Hydronic floor heating utilizes small pipes full of hot water to warm your floors. Either option will evenly heat your floors!

Full Service Flooring in Breese Illinois

Don’t let the Illinois weather catch you off guard! Contact the experts at Preferred Flooring to get your home warm for the winter. Schedule an appointment today!

We love our pets, but sometimes our preferred flooring option is just not the best choice for our four-legged family members. Pet parents must consider durable floors that will outlast years of scratches, stains, and odors. From our team at Preferred Flooring, here are some of our suggestions, plus ways to keep your floors looking good for longer.

Durable Flooring

The biggest concern we hear from pet owners about their floors is how to reduce scratching. Claws are just a part of owning a furry friend, and the best way to deal with them is to find a flooring option that won’t scratch easily.

Tile

One of the most durable flooring options on the market, tile can withstand scratches, dents, and spills. Even the rowdiest pet would have a hard time sinking their claws into this ceramic, porcelain, or stone surface.

Because it is smooth and non-porous, tile floors are also easy to clean. You don’t need to worry about using specialty cleaning products like hardwood floors. Additionally, floor tiles also don’t hold on to odors. Even while potty-training the new addition to your home, you won’t have to worry about unwanted smells lingering long after cleaning up the mess.

Aesthetically, tile has come a long way. Modern manufacturing technology means that tile comes in all types of shapes, sizes, colors, and textures. It can even be made to look like stone or wood – great options for homeowners who want the look of a different type of flooring with the durability of tile!

Luxury Vinyl

Durable and easy to install, luxury vinyl is ideal for homes with pets. It looks identical to genuine hardwood, but luxury vinyl does not require as much upkeep. It also takes less time to install, even with a full-service flooring company, because vinyl does not require chemical sealants.

Luxury vinyl is made of layers of either wood-plastic composite (WPC) or stone-plastic composite (SPC). The top layer is a high-resolution image that gives the vinyl its wood-like appearance. These layers support the durability of luxury vinyl, making it completely waterproof and a preferred flooring choice for pet owners.

Maintaining Your Floors

Even with the most durable flooring available, nothing will look brand-new for years to come without the proper care. When it comes to pets, the best way to care for your floors is to care for your pets!

• Trim claws regularly. A regular manicure makes your and your pet’s lives easier, and it is always the quickest way to prevent scratches! Use a pet-friendly nail clipper or Dremel to file down your furry friend’s claws as needed.
• Clean up messes immediately. In addition to general cleanliness, cleaning up messes right away will prevent unwanted odors and bacteria from seeping into the floorboards. Once odor particles penetrate the lower layers of the floor, they are nearly impossible to get out.
• Maintain food and water area. Consistently watch your pet’s food and water station for spills and clean any up immediately. Consider placing the food and water bowls on a towel or plastic mat to limit spills.

Durable Floors at Preferred Flooring

Your pets deserve the best, and we are here to help you give it to them. Visit our showroom in Breese, Illinois, to see our extensive line of pet-friendly flooring! Contact us or visit us online to schedule your visit!

Interior design trends come and go almost as quickly as fashion trends, and flooring options are not immune from this back and forth. If you are tackling a home renovation but unsure about whether to install carpet or hardwood, the design experts at Preferred Flooring are here to help you decide!

The Rise and Fall of Carpeting

The hardwood vs. carpet debate is nothing new. The carpet was a luxury reserved for the incredibly wealthy in the 18th and 19th centuries. Until 1950, the carpet was made from wool, which is still a high-end material.

Upon the invention of bulk continuous filament nylon in 1950, manufacturers finally had a way to mass-produce the warm flooring choice. Homeowners across the nation quickly jumped on the newest design trend: wall-to-wall carpet for the entire house!

Carpeting remained the preferred flooring choice for 30 years. But once vinyl and laminate flooring came on the market, they overtook carpet to become the new flooring monopolies. Homeowners found these new hard-surface options easier to clean and maintain than their beloved shag.

A Comeback Story

But now, four decades after the fall of the once-impenetrable carpet industry, the soft home accessory is coming back. It was an unimaginable catalyst that spurred this reinvigoration: the pandemic.

Over two years have passed since the initial outbreak of COVID-19, yet markets across all industries still feel the good and bad effects. Fashion and interior design trends drastically shifted toward prioritizing comfort over style, seeing the rise of athleisure and home offices.

The ultimate comfortable flooring option only made sense for carpet to make a comeback. Homeowners looking to refresh their space during lockdown turned to carpet rather than hardwood or laminate floors to make their home a cozy oasis.

Is Carpet Right for You?

Given its sudden rise in popularity, you may wonder if installing carpets should be your next home renovation project. This plush flooring offers several benefits, such as:

• Comfort: Likely the main reason homeowners install carpet. It simply feels better under our feet than cold hardwood. Who wants to walk on a hard floor in the middle of the night?
• Noise reduction: Because carpet is installed on top of several layers of padding, it is an excellent insulator. Consider choosing carpeting in rooms that may be noisier than others, such as a playroom or instrument space.
• Kid-safe: Carpeting is the preferred choice for many parents. The soft padding helps mitigate all of the bumps and falls that young children know all too well.
• Cost: New carpet is considerably cheaper than other flooring options but effectively refreshes a room. If you want to make a significant change but don’t have the budget for the new hardwood, consider installing carpet!

Preferred Flooring Prefers Carpet

Preferred Flooring is your local full-service flooring company in Breese, IL. We are happy to help you upgrade your home by adding brand new plush carpeting! We are dedicated to your satisfaction, so please do not hesitate to contact us today and start your next home project!

Hardwood or Laminate: Which is Right for You?

Tackling a new flooring project can feel intimidating, especially when it comes time to decide between hardwood or laminate flooring. Both materials provide a similar look, but they each offer different benefits. The first step in choosing the right material for your project is understanding the differences between each option. For fuller information, contact our expert team at Preferred Flooring, your local full service flooring professionals, so they can talk you through the fullest list of pros and cons!

Hardwood

Hardwood floors have been around for centuries, dating all the way back to the 1600s. Still a coveted flooring option today, hardwood floors boast numerous benefits, including:

Pros

• Made from genuine wood: This makes hardwood floors incredibly durable, as only the strongest woods are used to construct the floors. Hardwood floors can also be refinished multiple times over their lifespan, adding to their usability.
• Increased property value: Because hardwood floors are such a desirable feature in a home, having them installed will immediately increase your property value and help your home sell when the time comes.
• Choice in design: Hardwood floors can be made from a multitude of different woods. Homeowners have the ability to choose a specific wood type to meet their functional and aesthetic needs.

Cons

• Cost: As hardwood floors are the most genuine, durable, and desired hard-surface flooring, they do come with a hefty price tag. Don’t let the price scare you off though, as you can be sure to get a return on your investment once you sell your home.
• Loudness: Laminate or vinyl flooring is made from softer materials like fiberwood or soft vinyl, so it can absorb sound. As hardwood floors are made solely from wood, they are not effective at dampening the sound of footsteps. Many hardwood floor homeowners decide to partially cover their new flooring with rugs in order to help reduce noise.

Laminate

Laminate floors are often considered the best thing next to genuine hardwood floors. They are made of a high-resolution photo printed on top of layers of fiberwood, resulting in a flooring option that closely resembles hardwood.

Pros

• Cost: As laminate floors do not use genuine wood, they are significantly more budget-friendly than genuine hardwood floors.
• Easy maintenance: Laminate floors do not require any special cleaning solutions or considerations, making them incredible easy to care for. They are popular with businesses and busy households for this reason.
• Simple installation: Installing laminate floors is much quicker than installing hardwood floors, meaning you can enjoy the end result faster! If you are not wanting to tackle a major or time-consuming project, definitely consider opting for laminate.

Cons

• Not waterproof: Although laminate floors are water resistant, they are not completely waterproof. This means that they are not an ideal option for rooms with a lot of water action, such as the bathroom. Excessive water exposure could leave to warping or lifting, reducing the longevity of your floor.
• Can’t be refinished: Laminate floors get their look from a high-quality image printed on fiberboard, which means that they can’t be sanded down and re-stained like hardwood floors. In order to change the look of laminate floors, you would need to remove them and install an entire new floor.

Preferred Flooring Will Help You Love Your Floors!

It can be difficult to decide which type of flooring is best for your home and your lifestyle, so contact us or visit our showroom to discuss your options with our full service flooring professionals. We are proud to serve Breese, IL and the surrounding areas including Breese, Troy, Highland, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Freeburg, Nashville, St. Rose, Trenton, New Baden, O’Fallon, Fairview Heights, Shiloh, Swansea, Belleville, and Collinsville, IL. We can’t wait to help make your dream home a reality!