Our kitchen is our main entrance/exit, so the foot traffic is wearing out our linoleum in that area pretty badly. The rest of the flooring is still in great shape, so I don't wan't to have to replace the whole thing. We've tried the area rug, but it doesn't stay put very well, and since it is directly in front of our counter, it eventually gets something spilled on it that requires it to be tossed out. Any suggestions or experience anyone else has had with this would be great!! Thanks!!
Thank you for the great ideas! I started with the quickest, cheapest, easiest idea and it is working out great! I wouldn't have thought about bathroom rugs - but they are perfect! I got a smaller one for the sink area, and a slightly bigger one to go in front of the counter work space. They look nice, wash so easily, shake out beautifully and actually help keep the floor looking nicer! Thanks again for the great ideas - I always know you guys have an answer!
I use bathroom rugs in my kitchen. Food does get spilled on them; however, they are small enough that I can clean them in the washer and dryer. I have three in my kitchen. I keep extras in my hallway closet.
One caveat about the rugs: If you have vinyl flooring instead of true linoleum, be careful about using rugs with rubber or no-skid backings on them. They will eventually discolor the vinyl and there is no way to return the floor to its original color. I learned this the hard way.
I would recommend that you go to a place that sells workplace/commercial supplies and look for a mat that has a non-skid backing.....they come in different sizes and are made out of very resilient material.
However you could NOT put it in the washer, but I am sure that it would clean well with the hose if something was spilled.
Even those perforated mats for people who work standing up would do to save your flooring.
Hi J.,
I think you already have a great solution. I wanted to share what our "floor guy" told us about foot traffic. He said it's the tiny, tiny pieces of sand, silt, etc. on shoes and sneakers that causes the wear, by being scratched into the floor. He told me that I could keep my floor shiny forever if I prevented the scratching. He suggested keeping mats outside each entrance and sweeping often with a really good broom. And it works!
Hi J. I have an aunt who put ceramic tile just at the entrance of the door and it looked great and was so easy to clean. When we visit our kids in Ca. I love helping with the floor care they both have ceramic tile and it cleans in no time. Just have someone cut around the bad flooring and put in the new I bet you will like it once it is down.
I would also caution about using rugs with a rubber or non-skid backing on linoleum. I also learned the hard way that there is a chemical reaction between the materials in the linoleum and the materials in the rug backing. I lost an apartment deposit because they had to totally replace the flooring (which was new when I moved in). It took less than a year for the damage to be done. Because it is a chemical reaction there is no way to fix it. I tried absolutely everything!
