If you or any member of your family uses a wheelchair, then you'll naturally want to improve the wheelchair friendliness of your home's elements, including the flooring. Quality wheelchair-friendly flooring is more accessible and easier to move on for people who are immobile, so consider these vital factors when buying flooring online.
Ability To Withstand Skid And Track Marks
Durability is a key component of wheelchair-friendly flooring because it needs to accommodate wheelchair movement from one room to the other, while withstanding skid and track marks from wheels. For example, ceramic or porcelain tiles may suffer from skid marks in the long run. But they can easily be cleaned to retain their pristine appearance. With hardwood, any skid or track marks tends to look natural, making it a good wheelchair-friendly option when choosing flooring online. High-quality vinyl floor tiles are also a good choice because skid and track marks can easily be wiped away. These types of floor tiles come with a foam backing for a softer and more comfortable feel.
Avoid Glossy Surfaces Because Of Added Slipperiness
Keep in mind that glossy finished tiles and hardwood may be more slippery because of their smooth finish, so you should ideally look for flooring with a rougher surface. A wheelchair-bound person will have a better wheel grip on textured or rougher floors. Moreover, glossy floors also tend to show off any scratches or scrapes more easily, while matte surfaces do a better job of camouflaging them to retain their aesthetic appeal.
Avoid Tiles Or Floors With Too Many Grout Lines
Immobile people naturally need to navigate from one room to another in heavier wheelchairs, which means that your flooring is subject to high traffic often. This will discolour and dirty the grout between your tiles more easily, so you'll naturally want to have the least amount of grout lines as a wheelchair-friendly solution. Large format porcelain or ceramic tiles are ideal in this scenario because they have fewer grout lines. Hardwood floors are also a good choice because they don't have any grout lines, but this flooring choice will depend on your personal taste.
Choose Flooring That Makes Movement Seamless
When choosing flooring, you'll want something that enables seamless movement for a wheelchair-bound person. In this case, some floors are better than others. For example, carpet offers an appealing look, but it isn't easy to push the wheelchair over. If you're set on carpet flooring, then the pile length should be short to enable freer wheelchair movement. Softwood floors and vinyl sheets may also be slightly difficult to navigate over because of their softer base, while hardwood floors, ceramic tiles and high-quality vinyl tiles make it easier to roll a wheelchair over thanks to their harder surfaces.
If you're looking to buy wheelchair-friendly flooring online, consider these vital factors to make the right choice for your home.
