When redesigning your bathroom, one of the most important decisions you'll make is what kind of floor to have. There are many options on the market, from sealed timber to ceramic tile, but a material that often gets overlooked is linoleum, often known simply as "lino". This material gets overlooked because of its reputation as a 1970s material that belongs in bathrooms with avocado coloured fixtures. But lino is now having a comeback, so could this material be the right flooring choice for you?
Ideal for a germ free bathroom. The bathroom is somewhere that germs, mould, and mildew can easily take hold as a result of the combined heat and moisture that is an inescapable part of the bathroom environment. With lino, you are investing in a material that is naturally anti-microbial. This means that you avoid the expense of sealing your bathroom floor every few months, because it's already designed to resist mould and mildew growth.
The cost benefit. If you are undergoing an affordable bathroom renovation and you want maximum value for minimum cost, you are in luck because lino is cheaper than many other flooring options. Flooring such as natural stone that has to be excavated from the earth is far more resource intensive and, therefore, it costs more, but lino can be created cheaply, and those savings are passed on to you.
A green choice. If you are not only on a budget, but want to renovate your bathroom in an environmentally friendly way, lino could also work. Because it resembles vinyl, people often think that lino isn't green, but this could not be further from the truth. Everything that is used to make linoleum is renewable and biodegradable, so it is created without harming the earth, and it can be returned to the earth just as easily.
Something to keep in mind with lino is that while is resists water, it isn't totally impervious to it. This means that light spills can be wiped up without too much hassle, but if your bathtub overflows, or you use an extremely wet mop on your linoleum, this could cause the floor to become discoloured and to bubble up. Fortunately, there are water sealants on the market that can further protect lino floors against moisture. It would also be a good idea to opt for sheet lino cut to fit your bathroom floor instead of tiles, because moisture could find its way underneath your floor through tile grooves.
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