If a flooring is marked water resistant it means issues can develop if water pools for extended periods of time.
Water resistant vs waterproof vinyl flooring.
When it comes to waterproof vs water resistant waterproof flooring has many benefits but it s not always necessary to use it in every room.
Many luxury vinyl flooring options such as shaw floorte and usfloors coretec are waterproof but not all of them are.
Waterproof flooring this type of flooring will not degenerate when exposed to water even for a long period of time.
Water resistant flooring offers a limited level of protection against water intrusion and works best where it will encounter very little moisture.
The ones that are will say 100 waterproof.
For greater protection consider a waterproof laminate flooring like pergo timbercraft wetprotect or pergo outlast which can be used anywhere in a home.
However if the water seeps through the seams between planks and gets down to your subfloor you could have some issues with the subfloor particularly if it s a wood subfloor.
On vinyl planks for instance you may see discoloring or curling at the edges.
With a better understanding of the different terms for a floor s ability to withstand water making a choice that suits your needs should be much simpler.
For luxury vinyl flooring that is waterproof it means that its colour will not fade and the top layer will not curl up.
Water resistant flooring like laminate or vinyl tile are typically less expensive to purchase than waterproof engineered hardwood or luxury vinyl planks.
One important thing to remember about waterproof flooring is that while the flooring itself maybe waterproof your subfloor is usually not and it will not necessarily keep water from damaging your subfloor.