Natural Cork Flooring: Properties, Products and Maintenance

Why Natural Cork?

With the emerging popularity of cork as flooring, there are also several brands you can choose from in the market. However, Natural Cork flooring is one of the most highly regarded and well-recognized brands today. Be aware that not all cork floorings offer all the advantage and benefits attributed to cork and you might find that some brands fall well beneath your expectations. Natural Cork flooring possesses excellent acoustic properties that ensure that you won’t be bothered by unnecessary noise in your abode. It is also warm to touch, resistant to water and gas, remarkably resilient, and lasts for a long time with proper care and maintenance.

Safety and Eco-Sustainability

However, you can also enjoy most of the properties above from other kinds of flooring materials, such as hardwood and laminate. What makes cork flooring really stand out is its safety and ecological sustainability. You would be gratified to know that cork flooring does not catch fire easily and will not release harmful gases during combustion. The presence of the waxy substance called Suberin within cork not only makes it impermeable to water and other liquids but also ensure that it is insect repellent, lessening your fears of having termites around your house. Unlike carpets, dust does not cling to cork flooring, reducing the chances of allergies in your house. And lastly, cork is harvested as barks of trees, ensuring its sustainability and foregoing the need of having to cut down a whole tree and the whole forest just so you can have beautiful flooring.

Plenty to Choose From

Natural Cork flooring offers a lot of products to choose from, suitable for any decoration scheme you might want to incorporate into your home. If you wish for lighter, more traditional look, try the Classic Patterns product line which mostly comprises lighter shades of flooring. Try the Marbella or Valencia products if you want an almost white shade that will make any room brighter and airy. The company’s Earth Series is largely composed of darker shades of cork flooring, including the red-brown Moreno and dark brown Cordoba. In addition, all floorings come with five coats of UV cured acrylic finish to enhance its durability. You can also apply a few coats of polyurethane to ensure your flooring does not scratch or stain easily.

Dos and Don’ts

There are several things to remember in maintaining the beautiful shine and texture of your Natural Cork flooring. This type of flooring requires only regular sweeping and occasional damp mopping in high traffic areas where dirt mostly accumulates. You can also vacuum cork flooring, provided that you do not use attachments that may scratch or dent its finish. Do not use abrasive cleaning tools or use harsh chemicals like ammonia as cleaning agents. When your flooring appears dull and uninteresting after some years, apply a fresh coat of polyurethane.

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