Rubber Kitchen Flooring

Thinking of remodeling your kitchen? Try rubber flooring for a cushioned experience under your feet and a great looking floor in front of your eyes. Rubber flooring is a delight to stand on. It is also an excellent sound absorbing surface. Rubber flooring in the kitchen will not only relax your heels after a long day, it will also protect fragile objects that you might drop.

Advantages of a Rubber Kitchen Floor

• Rubber reduces the din due to falling objects. It also protects expensive glassware from premature demise. It is for reducing sound that steel kitchen sinks come equipped with a rubber mat under the steel surface.
• Rubber floors are anti bacterial. Rubber floor will keep your kitchen free from unwanted microbes that may choose to visit your kitchen floor.
• Rubber floors are made from renewable material. Rubber trees continue to produce rubber latex for years on end.
• Recycled rubber is made from old rubber floors or from used automobile tires. They thus help reduce the environmental impact of your flooring choice and also help to keep landfills free from rubber waste.
• Rubber floors look great when used in combination with other flooring materials like linoleum, ceramic tiles or even polished concrete.

Types of Rubber Flooring

Rubber flooring comes as easy to install modular tiles or roll out sheet flooring. Tile flooring has more joints than rubber sheet flooring. If you use textured rubber tiles the joints will not be very prominent as the eye shall be drawn to the pattern on the floor and not the fine line of the joints.

If your choose rubber flooring for your kitchen ensure that it is a low odor rubber floor. You may also like to inquire if the flooring is free from phthalates and heavy metals and if it uses natural fillers. The best rubber flooring for kitchen use is usually made from a mixture of natural and synthetic rubber.

Care and Maintenance

• You may have heard nightmares about rubber flooring. Usually it is the result of insufficient care right after installation. Once installed it is prudent to clean the rubber floor with a mild stripper to remove any debris, mold releases and paraffin that may be sticking to it. Once the floor has been cleaned, it can be covered with two coats of protecting finish that will keep it safe from dust and from scuffing.
• Do keep in mind that some rubber floor become harder and easier to maintain with time. It is at the initial stage that they are the most vulnerable and need the best care. Rubber is susceptible to damage from grease. Do ask your flooring contractor about grease resistant properties of the rubber floor that you choose for your kitchen.
• Recycled rubber pads may require treatment with a sealant as they are too porous. For cleaning textured rubber flooring you may try to use microfiber auto scrub pads. Low Ph chemical are recommended for cleaning rubber floors. Alkaline cleaners that have a ph higher than 10.5 may cause the rubber flooring to become too dry or to lose its color prematurely.
• Multiple coats of finish and high speed burnishing are not recommended for rubber floors. Multiple coats of finish may peel or reduce the soft texture of rubber. High speed burnishing may melt the rubber floor.
• The best part about rubber flooring is that it does not cost an arm and a leg. The best rubber flooring is only moderately priced.

At Contempo Floor Coverings you can find a wide range of high quality rubber floors including recycled rubber floors, textured floors, colored floor tiles and sheets and flooring made from a combination of rubber and cork.

Visit our Los Angeles Flooring showrooms for more information about Flooring.