What is the Safest Flooring for Seniors?
22 Jul, 2024
- Why Flooring Safety is Vital for Seniors?
- 5 Factors to Consider When Choosing Flooring for Seniors
- Choosing the Best Flooring for The Elderly
- Poured Rubber
- Vinyl
- Hardwood
- Laminate
- Carpet
- Cork
- Linoleum
- How to Choose the Best Flooring Option for Elderly for Every Room
- Additional Safety Enhancements
- Flooring Materials For Seniors To Avoid
- Tips on How to Find The Best Flooring for an Elderly Person
Explore the best flooring for the elderly in our guide. Let’s take a look at senior-friendly flooring options, such as rubber, cork, vinyl, and other popular materials. We’ll consider them by aspects like slip-resistance, durability, cushioning, as well as their pros & cons to determine which one could be perfect for senior citizens, as you need to prioritize safety first in case of older adults.
Why Flooring Safety is Vital for Seniors?
Each year, there are about 3 million emergency department visits due to older people falling. The numbers are concerning, as falls are not a natural part of aging. So, how can you minimize the risks? Find the best flooring for seniors in terms of safety.
5 Factors to Consider When Choosing Flooring for Seniors
A safe environment is necessary for aging in place or assisted living.
When selecting the best flooring for the elderly, keep in mind various aspects. For some, durable and easy-to-clean material is the main criterion, while affordable flooring options are more important for others.
Consider these factors when choosing the best flooring for aging in place:
- Slip-resistant surface
- Water/moisture resistance
- Cushioning
- Durability
- Ease of maintenance
Choosing the Best Flooring for The Elderly
Poured Rubber
Pros:
- Safe: Rubber flooring for elderly people is the safest option. Rubber is known as a surface in high-risk areas, like gyms, playgrounds, pool decks, etc. It’s slip-resistant, cushioned, and shock-resistant.
- Transportation: Rubber is excellent for wheelchairs and won’t restrict any movement.
- Durability: Rubber is a low-maintenance surface. Yet, it’s highly durable and reliable. For outdoor paving, rubber is also the best choice, as it’s heat-absorbing and weather-resistant.
Cons:
- Visual Appeal: Rubber is not everyone’s cup of tea. However, choose rubber for surfacing garages, mudrooms, outdoor areas, or even bathrooms.
- Cost: Rubber flooring might be pricey. However, the benefits are worth the investment.
Vinyl
Pros:
- Cleaning: Vinyl floors require minimal effort to maintain. It doesn’t hold onto pollen or dust, eliminating the need to jump through hoops and loops to clean it.
- Cost: Vinyl is a plastic version of linoleum. It’s a DIY-favorite surfacing option as it’s affordable, and vinyl planks are super easy to install.
- Hard: Vinyl is smooth and hard and works well with wheelchairs. Such flooring is an excellent option compared to hardwood, natural stone, or tiles.
Cons:
- Appeal and feel: Vinyl looks and feels like plastic. It might cheapen some areas of the house, like the living room or bedroom. Mostly, vinyl is used in bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, or mudrooms. However, some companies offer luxury vinyl flooring (LVF) that imitates hardwood surfacing.
- Environmental concerns: Vinyl can release volatile organic compounds, contributing to air pollution.
Hardwood
Pros:
- Natural flooring: Wood or bamboo are hard floors with a soft look. It’s a relatively easy-to-maintain, durable, and reliable choice that will serve you many years.
- Visual aesthetic: Many choose hardwood floors for their chic and elevated look, as well as it is available in a variety of wood and colors to choose from, including oak, ash, walnut, hickory, cherry, and many more. You can customize the layout of the hardwood flooring to create a unique design.
Cons:
- Cost: Hardwood floors are not a low-budget makeover. Natural material is quite expensive, and professional installation is required.
- Hard: The natural wood floors are not the softest option for seniors, lacking cushioning ability. It might not be the best fit for aging people with restricted mobility.
- Moisture: The hardwood floors can last for ages. However, it’s not water-resistant enough to cover the area in the bathroom or kitchen.
Laminate
Pros:
- Natural look: Laminate flooring is a budget-friendly brother of hardwood. It imitates the natural wood and comes in a variety of design options.
- Cost: The material and installation fees are cheaper than natural analogs, making it a great choice.
- Great for DIY projects: Laminate became a popular floor renovation option, as it’s easy to install without professional help.
Cons:
- Hard: Laminate won’t soften the fall in case of an accident.
- Noisy: Many homeowners note that laminate is a highly noisy material that can cause inconvenience if you’re wearing shoes at home, own animals, or simply drop stuff.
Carpet
Pros:
- Soft: Carpeting is a popular type of flooring. It softens the landing with its cushiony surface, making it safer for seniors.
- Warm: It’s a great solution for colder regions where hard floors can feel unpleasant underfoot. It’s warm and soft to the touch, allowing you to walk barefoot or relax next to the fireplace.
- Quite: Carpets are sound-absorbing and help you create a cozy space.
Cons:
- Maintenance: Carpet maintenance requires regular vacuuming, stain removal, and deep cleaning. If you or your aging loved one suffers from allergies or respiratory difficulties, carpet might be too problematic. Homes with pets need extra cleaning measures to avoid fur buildup on the surface.
- Transportation: Aging adults in wheelchairs should avoid carpeting. Most carpets aren’t compatible with wheelchairs.
Cork
Pros:
- Softness: Cork is a medium-hard surface with great cushioning.
- Cleaning: Cork flooring needs regular vacuuming and mopping. The dust bits and pollen won’t clog the surface’ pores if you apply the proper sealant.
- Transportation: If you’re looking for flooring compatible with wheelchairs, cork will work perfectly for you.
Cons:
- Damage: Cork is a soft flooring, so it’s easy to scratch and damage with metal furniture legs, heels, or other sharp objects. Additionally, cork doesn’t like water.
Linoleum
Pros:
- Softness: Linoleum is between hard and soft elderly flooring choices. With its smooth texture, it’s compatible with wheelchairs. Yet, it offers a little cushioning effect and feels soft on your feet.
- Natural: Linoleum is not plastic. It’s made from pine rosin, cork, and linseed oil.
- Maintenance: Linoleum is extremely easy. It’s water-resistant, noise-absorbent, and doesn’t hold onto dust.
Cons:
- Cost: Linoleum can be expensive to cover large surfaces.
- Cold: Many homeowners state that linoleum feels cold to the feet, especially on the ground floor.
The bottom line: Rubber flooring is the best flooring for aging in place or assisted living.
How to Choose the Best Flooring Option for Elderly for Every Room
Since walking can be challenging for seniors, and some may have special mobility needs or balance issues, finding a suitable flooring surface is vital. Choosing the best flooring for living spaces and bathrooms varies significantly.
The first thing is protection against slips, trips, and falls. It’s best to avoid too many polish options as they pose serious slip risks underfoot; soft materials are also not the best option for your aging loved ones, as this softness might feature uneven surfaces, impede movement, or become trip hazards if they easily bunch up. We recommend non-slip rugs or wax products, as this type creates safer walking paths and minimizes the risk of foot traffic-related incidents.
For the bathroom flooring, textured tiles are among the best options, reducing slippage through ridges and bumps. Porcelain tiles are a good solution. Excellent options also include non-slip vinyl flooring and rubber .
When it comes to senior living spaces, it’s not only the properties but also the needs that should be considered.Carpet, rubber, and cork flooring can cushion falls, plus they offer peace of mind due to their pleasant surface and comfortable underfoot. Vinyl planks stand out for smooth wheelchair use, making this type of flooring excellent for people with limited mobility. Laminate is easy to maintain and requires low maintenance, as does rubber. Textured luxury vinyl and low-pile carpets reduce trips, which is important when mobility aids are part of daily living.
Overall:
- The best non-slip flooring is rubber and vinyl for those who use walkers.
- The best for heavy foot traffic spaces is laminate.
- The best affordable flooring is vinyl plank and rubber.
- The best water-resistant materials are cork and rubber.
- The best durable flooring is rubber, laminate, and luxury vinyl plank.
- The best for bathrooms are textured porcelain/ceramic tiles, vinyl planks with a non-slip finish, or rubber.
Additional Safety Enhancements
No matter what surface you choose, there is a way to enhance the safety. If your concern is slips and water absorbance, you can apply various products to create a waterproof space. That will eliminate the risk of puddles and standing water.
With flooring options like laminate, carpeting, vinyl, or linoleum, there is a possibility to add specialized pads under the surface to enhance the softness.
Flooring Materials For Seniors To Avoid
We’ve covered the best flooring for seniors on the market. Let’s talk about the red flags.
Sectional and decorative area rugs. Rugs are the number one trip hazard. They easily bunch up or slide around, increasing risks. If you like the comfy look of a rug, ensure it covers the whole surface of the room or opt for full carpet flooring.
Tiles. Sure, the ceramic, porcelain, or even carpet tiles create an amazing look but the grout joints can cause tripping accidents. Also, porcelain/ceramic is slippery if wet.
Natural stone. Avoid stone because it’s slippery, cold, and causes accidents.
Tips on How to Find The Best Flooring for an Elderly Person
When looking for the best flooring for seniors, choose the options that:
- Provide a slip-resistant surface
- Are soft and cushioning
- Easy to maintain
- Suitable for a specific area (bathroom/bedroom/kitchen)
- Meet health and mobility needs