Homeowners face seemingly endless considerations when choosing between flooring options in their home. In addition to the look and feel of the room, you must find a floor that offers the best functionality for a certain space. If your gorgeous, brand new flooring can’t hold up against the frequent footfalls of an entryway or spills of a kitchen, you might quickly grow to regret your choice. This is why many homeowners ask themselves an important question: can you use engineered wood flooring in a bathroom? The short answer is yes! For the long answer—including tips on how to best preserve your wood flooring—check out our guide to wood flooring in the bathroom.
The Hesitation
Hardwood floors bring many enviable qualities to a home. Wood is a traditional material that can offer beauty and style to any home design. From chic and modern to cozy and rustic, there’s a wood flooring option to fit your needs. Hardwood is also incredibly durable and can last for decades—except when it comes face to face with water damage. Therefore, despite its great range of benefits, homeowners hesitate to use hardwood floors in moisture-prone rooms such as the bathroom. Solid hardwood is susceptible to water damage, which can lead to buckling, decay, and other structural issues.
Engineered Hardwood To the Rescue
Sometimes, that gorgeous, real-wood style is too good to pass up. What do you do when you want real wood floors, but don’t want to deal with the cupping, buckling, or rot that can result from water damage on solid hardwood? The answer lies in engineered hardwood flooring, which consists of a real wood veneer on top of a plywood core. Engineered hardwood is still real and natural wood, but its structure offers more stability and resistance against moisture. This means you can still achieve the authentic wood flooring of your dreams in areas of the house that would destroy solid hardwood.
Tips for Preserving Your Bathroom Flooring
Of course, any type of flooring can suffer from water damage. You still have to take good care of your engineered hardwood floorings, especially when you install them in moisture-prone areas like the bathroom. Keep humidity levels in check by running a fan and making sure your bathroom has proper ventilation. Place rugs in areas that are more prone to spills, such as next to the bathtub or the sink. Finally, as with any room in the house, do your best to stay on top of spills so you never have water sitting on top of your wood floors.
Can you use engineered wood flooring in a bathroom? Yes. Now the only question is, which kind of engineered hardwood do you want? Check out our collections at From the Forest to find a gorgeous range of colors, such as our grey engineered wood flooring. From species to grade to finish, we’ll hook you up with the best flooring option for any room of your home.