If you’re choosing flooring for a daycare or preschool, there are many considerations to keep in mind. It might be helpful to make a two-tiered list of “must-haves” and “nice-to-haves”. Here’s our list. Your list might be slightly different.

Must-Have

– Easy to clean
– Gives traction
– Durable

Nice-to-Have

– Economical
– Easy to repair
– Not too hard
– Deadens sound
– Environmentally friendly

So, which floors meet those criteria, and which don’t?

Well, you can probably rule out a stone or tile floor. It’s hard as a rock because it is a rock. It’s easy to clean but doesn’t help with traction or noise.

You might want to rule out carpet, too, unless you just want a small carpeted area for reading or napping. It’s much easier to clean carpeting than it used to be, but remember, kids, get sick and throw up on the floor. That’s not so easy to clean out of carpet all the time.

Something soft like linoleum might be a good choice. It’s very durable, made of natural materials (linseed oil), and it will add traction and deaden noise.

A thick and good-quality underlayment will also help with softening a floor and softening sounds. Something like linoleum can be installed as a sheet or as individual tiles.

Individual tiles are a double-edged sword. They make repair super easy, but they don’t have the same integrity as a sheet floor. However, individual tiles also make designing in color a little easier.

Vinyl flooring might be a good choice. It’s very tough and long-lasting and budget-friendly and soft. You’ll just have to find out what it might off-gas as volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), which you wouldn’t want small children breathing in for long. Vinyl could also be done in sheets or individual tiles.

You could consider a rubber floor. There is natural and synthetic rubber. Rubber is pretty resistant to water, offers great traction, great noise moderation, and is very hard-wearing. Remember, we drive our vehicles on rubber tires for years.

Your choice of flooring for a daycare or preschool is one that you should definitely discuss with professionals—like us. We’ll steer you in the right direction.

Do you have other questions? We have been providing sales and installation of commercial flooring products to the following market segments for over 35 years: Corporate, Education, Hospitality, Government and the commercial real estate community. It’s easy to contact us, and we’re happy to help. You can always call us at (301) 762-2000 or email us at sales@eaglemat.net for more information