The Hygienic Benefits of Commercial Vinyl Flooring

Hygienic flooring finishes have been a top-of-mind requirement for many commercial environments, including those among healthcare, hospitality, retail and education. Since the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic, many industries beyond those that focus particularly on health and wellness have a heightened need and desire for hygienic flooring.

In the past, carpet was often the top choice for hotels, medical offices, or educational buildings to help with noise absorption and aesthetics. However, when it comes to sanitation, this can pose a number of challenges.

Carpeting may be easily contaminated, holding onto the germs and bacteria it’s exposed to unless thoroughly (and properly) cleaned. If it’s not dried thoroughly, you run the risk of mold developing.

While the hygienic properties of carpet have changed over the years, the general function and benefits when compared to hard surfaces like resilient flooring continue to underwhelm overall performance. Luxury vinyl flooring and resilient flooring have increasingly become and are preferred choices for promoting cleaner, more hygienic environments without excessive cleaning.

Compared to ceramic tile or porcelain, which is often considered for grocery stores, restaurants, or hotels, commercial vinyl is just as durable and highly worthy of consideration for many reasons. For example, luxury vinyl flooring can handle heavy static loads significantly reducing the risk of break or indentations where dirt and moisture can get trapped and spread.

On top of that, luxury vinyl is a non-porous material, so topical moisture or spills will not penetrate through the surface. The installation process does not require a grout application where oftentimes bacterial growth occurs and may require continuous cleaning regiments or regrouting overtime. With vinyl sheet flooring, the seams are welded together making the flooring entirely waterproof. For both vinyl flooring types—luxury and sheet vinyl—adhesive, topicals and moisture-proofing methods are available which can further seal and protect the installation.

When in comes to flooring maintenance, daily cleaning is easy with commercial vinyl flooring and can be administered using neutral cleaner two-bucket mop systems. For deeper cleaning, like in hospitals or educational settings, a rotary flooring machine or auto scrubber can be used, though you’ll want to consult the manufacturer’s instructions beforehand.

With these hygienic benefits combined with the additional properties and benefits of LVT and sheet flooring, more and more industries are turning to commercial vinyl to meet their space design and overall functionality. Let’s explore this a bit more:

Healthcare and Hospitality Flooring

Everest Rehabilitation Hospitals incorporate luxury vinyl plank design, Mayer, from the Spectrum Luxury Vinyl Plank & Tile Collection.

Commercial vinyl flooring offers spaces within healthcare and hospitality environments, like medical office buildings or hotel rooms, the option to use luxury vinyl plank or tile in commercial thicknesses including 3MM and 5MM.

For more critical spaces like hospital patient rooms, opting for vinyl sheet flooring provides optimal coverage and hygienic properties including welded seams to ensure no topical spills penetrate below the seams to the substrate below.

For additional benefits, your commercial vinyl flooring may also provide acoustic benefits much like carpet, and is dependent of its overall thickness. TAJ Modular Acoustic Flooring—also known as 5MM luxury vinyl plank and tile— from our Wavelength and Color Infused collections have been highly desired for spaces that require sound dampening such as in hotel guest rooms, waiting rooms or corridors.

Commercial vinyl flooring is also naturally anti-static helping to improve the safety within healthcare spaces. Using vinyl flooring helps to prevent the creation of new static from the friction created between a person or object as it moves along a surface.

Supermarket and Retail Flooring

Throughout the day, commercial flooring in supermarkets is subjected to a significant amount of wear and tear. A major source of that is moisture, which can come from customers coming in from the rain, spot cleaning for a spilled or dropped item, or the misters that help keep produce fresher for longer. As such, it’s imperative that this flooring be well protected against this.

As mentioned previously, commercial vinyl flooring such as luxury vinyl tile and plank will help prevent moisture issues due to the material being non-porous and best practices for locking out moisture.

Additionally, the wear layer on top is nonporous and naturally antibacterial and antimicrobial, preventing mold from developing over time.

When developing your cleaning plan and schedule, it’s important to consult the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure you’re protecting your flooring.

Education and Multipurpose Flooring

Our team has been approached on many occasions with questions about the maintenance and care needs for various school environments, including K-12, higher education like universities and colleges, as well as gymnasium or recreational spaces and churches or places of worship.

These particular environments experience everyday foot traffic and yet often have to transition into sitting areas, whether for reading time in the classroom or a casual gymnasium assembly or activity—the need for a flooring surface that is easy to clean is essential.

A casual yet sophisticated look of wood, Board Lodge from Color Infused Modular Acoustic Flooring collection offers a 5MM LVT construction ideal for sound absorption and a little extra comfort underfoot.

Resilient flooring offers various constructions and formats that fit most spaces within these types of environments. For classrooms or library spaces, opting for 3MM or 5MM luxury vinyl tile will offer an unlimited range of design options, comfort, and sound absorption options. If you’re looking to incorporate school colors, check out our 3MM luxury vinyl plank and tile collection, Spectrum. For  a 5MM option, our Color Infused Modular Acoustic Flooring collection offers 8 colorways.

Additional Benefits of Commercial Vinyl Flooring

Durability and Easy Installation

Commercial vinyl flooring is naturally scratch-resistant and not easily prone to indentations which will help interior spaces look good for a longer. This means it’s able to withstand a considerable amount of foot and rolling traffic, walkers, gurneys, and carts.

For installation benefits, commercial vinyl flooring requires minimal adhesive curing and drying time before experiencing foot traffic making installation quick and limiting disruptions to daily operations.

Aesthetics

With a variety of different flooring patterns and textures, you’ll be able to achieve the look you desire, whether that be an appealing color or wood-grain texture. Additionally, using various designs or patterns can help to elevate your space even further.

Sustainable Products

As a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, TAJ is dedicated to sourcing quality, environmentally friendly products to help sustainable and green construction projects. All our flooring products (including but not limited to our phthalate-free line) meet the latest environmental and health standards. This commitment means you can buy quality, durable flooring that also supports healthy, prosperous communities for generations to come.

TAJ is here to help with your commercial vinyl flooring needs.

If you’re looking to change the flooring in your space, don’t hesitate to reach out. As a family-owned company, TAJ is committed to ensuring the best possible experience for our clients by working closely together to find the right commercial vinyl flooring to fit the needs of interior spaces.