What is the Best Pet-Friendly Flooring?

Image: Anthea Earth 24 x 48 Large Format Porcelain Kitchen Tile from Arizona Tile

Whether you’re renovating your current home or currently house-hunting, if you have a pet, an important consideration will be choosing the right pet-friendly flooring. You’ll want to choose flooring that suits your personal style, matches your home’s design aesthetic, and will stand up to the wear and tear brought upon by your loved ones, including your four-legged family members.

While there are plenty of durable, easy-to-clean flooring options to choose from, we’ll show you what to consider when choosing flooring and share some of our top recommendations below.

Image: Unica Desert Large-Format Porcelain Patio Tile with R11 Anti-Slip Finish from Arizona Tile

Pet-Friendly Considerations

The best flooring option will ultimately depend on the kind of pet you have, but here are a few main things to keep in mind:

• Scratch Resistance – Pets can do a lot of damage with their nails, so scratch resistance is an important feature to consider.
• Water and Stain Resistance – If your pet isn’t potty trained or is prone to accidents and spills, you’ll want a material that won’t easily become permanently damaged or stained.
• Minimal Maintenance – Selecting a flooring material that isn’t a hassle to maintain will make your life as a pet owner – and in general – a lot easier.

Keeping these considerations in mind will help you narrow down all the flooring options you have to choose from and make the selection process less daunting. Now that you know what qualities to look out for, let’s discover some of the best pet-friendly flooring materials below so you can decide on a floor type that works best for you and your situation.

Image: Pietra Italia White 24 x 48 Porcelain Tile Kitchen Floor from Arizona Tile

Best Easy-to-Clean Flooring Options

For a material that meets all of the above criteria, tile should be your first choice. Unlike a material like laminate which can stain and deteriorate over time, tile withstands spills and allows quick wet-mop clean-ups. Tile is also less sensitive to moisture than other materials. When combined with grout, the texture of tile provides plenty of traction for pets.

Here are a few popular types of tile flooring that will meet your needs as a pet owner:

• Porcelain: Durable and water-resistant, porcelain tile is a good choice for high-traffic areas like kitchens.  With over 55 tile series to choose from at Arizona Tile, just a few options to consider are Unica, Anthea, Reside, and Pietra Italia tile (pictured above). Each of these types of tile are available in a few solid, neutral colors that blend well with a variety of décor. Plus, several porcelain series are also available in the R11 Anti-Slip Finish which is recommended for wet areas and outdoors, meaning you can continue your tile from the inside to the outside with the standard finish inside and the R11 Anti-Slip Finish on your patio.
• Wood-look: If you love the look of genuine hardwood floors, wood-look tile mimics the appearance of natural wood floors and unlike wood floors, requires almost no maintenance. It is also resistant to moisture, which means it can be used in environments not ideal for real wood, such as bathrooms and laundry rooms. Our Savannah tile is a popular wood-look option that looks stunning in any home.

Besides being one of the most durable and long-lasting floor materials available, the timeless look of tile can also add value to your home.

Image: Reside Beige USA Matte 12 x 24 Large-Format Pool Deck Porcelain Floor Tile from Arizona Tile

Tips for Protecting Easy-to-Clean Tile Flooring

Regardless of the type of tile flooring you end up choosing, it’s helpful to know what type of care and maintenance can keep it looking new and to stay in top condition. This is especially true for pet owners since pets tend to track plenty of dirt, debris, hair, and dander inside the house and across floors. Follow the tips below to keep your floors looking and feeling clean.

·         Maintain Your Pet’s Food and Water Area – The area where your pet eats and drinks is likely to get messy often. To reduce spillage directly on your tile, placemats under the food and water bowls to keep them from coming into contact with the surface.  While they will not damage the tile, it will help in reducing the need to clean the grout in that area from any spills.

·         Immediately Clean Spills – No matter what type of floor you have, it’s helpful to clean up any spills or accidents as soon as possible. The longer water or other fluids sit, the greater the chance that they might start to soak into the grout between your tiles.

·         Vacuum and Mop Regularly – Add cleaning your floors to your list of regular household chores. This will greatly decrease the amount of effort you have to put into maintaining your floors. We also advise to vacuum your floors to help keep pet hair and dander at bay. Additionally, mopping or just spot-mopping as needed, will keep your floors clean and looking fresh.

·         Trim Your Pet’s Nails Regularly – Keeping your pet’s nails trimmed can reduce the potential for scratches on your floors.

Image: Anthea Gray 12 x 24 Stone-Look Porcelain Laundry Room, Mudroom, & Office Floor Tile from Arizona Tile

Shop Arizona Tile

While no flooring is completely pet-proof, it’s still possible to find floors you love that can withstand the wear and tear that comes with owning a pet. Plus, a dedicated cleaning routine can go a long way in helping to keep your floors looking beautiful even with furry family members running all over them. With many great options available, finding the right floors that fit your lifestyle is easier than you may think.

Shop Arizona Tile for the easy-to-clean tile flooring options shown in this post and more. For additional information about our products or any other questions you may have, reach out to us to speak with one of our design consultants or visit a store near you.

Also, be sure to use our tile visualizer tool to check out all of the various tile, natural stone, and quartz options we offer and get a better feel for how your space will look with different tile and slab selections.