Introduction
With the last two days being the hottest days of the year, we thought it would be a good idea to put together a post about floors that can keep your home cool in the warm summer months. The United Kingdom is lucky in the fact that it experiences four distinct seasons. However, this luxury can cause problems when choosing your floor. Hopefully, this post will help explain some of your choices if your home suffers from overheating.
Carpet
Carpets make up over half of all flooring sales in the UK, so it’s safe to say they are popular. However, carpets are not good for summer. The carpet fibres trap heat and can sometimes cause a room to feel ‘stuffy’ in the warmer months. Carpet and carpet underlay are often thick and are good retaining heat, so not the best choice of floor if your house is already too warm.
Laminate
Laminate is a very affordable flooring. Thankfully, it is surprisingly good at keeping cool. Unlike carpet, laminate doesn’t absorb heat. Plus, with its various design effects, like wood and stone, you will be sure to find a laminate flooring that suits your home’s style. What’s more with the money you save when buying laminate flooring, you can buy yourself a portable electric heater, in case the floor does too good a job at keeping you cool!
Vinyl
Whether in sheets or tiles, vinyl flooring is a good choice for the summer months. Much like laminate, this flooring material does not retain heat, which is perfect for keeping it cool underfoot. Did you know that your feet help to regulate your body temperature? So do not underestimate the benefit of having a cool floor underfoot if your home is prone to overheating.
Wood Flooring
Real wood flooring is an expensive flooring material and really looks fantastic when maintained properly. Unfortunately, this flooring material, much like carpet, is good at retaining heat and therefore better for the winter months or if your home suffers from underheating. Also, real wood floor can suffer from distortion in the heat, particularly if it is humid, so it’s worth bearing that in mind when choosing.
Concrete Flooring
Once resigned for use in old warehouses, concrete is now considered desirable in a modern home. Luckily, concrete is also a super cool flooring. It becomes cool during the night and is able to retain that coolness during the day. It’s like a natural air conditioner (kind of…)!
Conclusion
There are many flooring types out there and the one you choose will depend on the style you want in your home. That being said, if your home suffers from overheating or if you are prone to swelter in the summer months, then some floors are much better for you than others. Concrete, laminate and luxury vinyl tops the list in terms of keeping you and your home cool. Carpet and real wood won’t help you much. So with the hottest day of the year on all our minds, now you know which floors will help keep you cool!
