Though people spend a little time in the elevator, the overall hygiene and aesthetics of that small place leave a big impact on their minds. The look of an elevator is almost done by the manufacturer. The only part left for the users is the floor. Nowadays, more and more people are choosing vinyl flooring for elevators.
There are several options for the flooring of the elevator including ceramic flooring, marble flooring, vinyl flooring, etc. In this article, I will discuss all the pros and cons of using vinyl sheets or planks as flooring solutions for the elevators.
I have been an insider of the real estate sector for the last 20 years and this article is an excerpt of my experience on vinyl flooring for elevators.
14 Reasons To Choose Vinyl Flooring For Elevators
Around the world, the use of vinyl flooring is increasing by 13 percent each year. They are colorful, stylish, easy-to-maintain, and comparatively less expensive. The reasons that I endorse to be rational for using vinyl flooring for elevators are as follows:
1. Easy Maintenance:
Elevators are meant to be one of the dirtiest spaces of a building. People come with shoes or slippers with all types of dirt and get into an elevator.
If the floor of the elevator is not cleaned at regular intervals, the elevator could become unhealthy and ugly. This is more true for a commercial building.
Among all the available solutions, vinyl flooring is the most easy-to-maintain flooring. You can clean them with a wet mop. You can vacuum clean them anytime you like.
Compared to carpet or rubber flooring, vinyl flooring is much easier to maintain than the flooring of an elevator. The maintenance of vinyl flooring is also more cost-effective compared to many other flooring solutions.
2. Light Weight:
The load capacity of an elevator is very important information. Whenever we enter a lift we should check it to avoid any disastrous accident.
But sometimes people forget to comprehend the fact that they are manipulating the load capacity of the lift by installing a heavy flooring solution for the elevator. This is randomly done when marble tiles, ceramic tiles, or wooden planks are used as the floor of the elevator.
Sheets, planks, or stripes – all kinds of vinyl flooring options are the most lightweight flooring solution. That is why I always recommend that they use a vinyl floor with an elevator to maintain its load capacity.
3. Durability:
Elevators are always a heavy traffic area of any building. The floor of the elevator bears all the pressure of the continuous flow of people.
That is why you need to install such a flooring solution in the elevator, which can take a lot of pressure. Vinyl floorings are durable by nature. Its durability makes vinyl flooring an excellent candidate to be the perfect flooring solution for an elevator.
4. Anti-Slip Vinyls:
Some recent vinyl planks and strips come with the feature of not being slippery. This anti-slip feature facilitates a solid grip of the feet in an elevator.
While the elevator is moving, people have to hold onto their grounds with a strong grip on their feet. So, the anti-slip vinyl flooring solution works perfectly to help maintain the overall body balance of the passengers of an elevator.
5. Sound-Absorbing:
Many people tend to talk a lot while being in the elevator. This can be very irritating to some others.
If you have ceramic or marble flooring in the elevator, the ambiance of the talks can get louder by getting echoed from the floor. The vinyl floor will help you in this regard too.
Most of the vinyl flooring solutions absorb the sounds from the environment. They do not let the sounds be echoed. This is extremely helpful to tolerate the talkative persons in the elevator.
6. Heat Infusion:
Recent technology has made vinyl flooring solutions to be able to infuse heat from the environment. This means, in hot humid weather your journey in an elevator will now be a bit easier.
This heat-infusing characteristic of vinyl flooring is very helpful in an elevator, when it is crowded with people and the weather is hot.
7. Endless Designs:
The patterns of a vinyl plank, sheet, or stripe are printed in digital printers. Therefore, the possibility is unlimited so far as fashion and design are concerned.
If you care a lot about the aesthetics of your elevator, you can surely choose vinyl flooring. You will be amazed how fundamentally the look of your elevator will be changed just by using an adequately fashionable vinyl flooring solution.
You can give your elevator flooring the look of stone, wood, ceramic, or whatever natural appearance you like in the form of vinyl flooring. Trust me, it will be hard to tell the difference.
8. Abrasion-Resistant:
Vinyl tiles are highly resilient against abrasion. Elevator flooring is a place to experience the worst type of abrasions. If you want your elevator flooring to last longer, you have to choose vinyl flooring.
You have to understand that people will get into the lift with all their body weight and rough shoe-soles, which might be a sports spike-shoe too. Vinyl flooring can deal with rough abrasions better than many other flooring solutions.
9. Low Damage Impact:
Elevator floorings are not supposed to last as long as the flooring of your living room. You should keep in mind the damaging impact while planning the flooring of an elevator.
When an area of the elevator flooring gets damaged, it is easily repairable if it is done with vinyl planks or stripes. This low-damage impact of vinyl flooring should be highly considered when you are comparing them with other flooring solutions for an elevator.
After long use, when your vinyl elevator flooring appears old, you can make them look new again just by refinishing them with proper chemicals.
10. Soft And Warm:
Vinyl flooring solutions are softer and warmer to feet compared to many other flooring solutions. Standing or walking on a tough floor does not feel welcoming to many people.
Despite being abrasion-resilient, the texture of vinyl sheets or planks is very soft and warm too. It is very comforting to stand on them. It matters a lot in an elevator, where you have nothing to do other than wait for your desired floor.
11. Water Resistance:
As long as the sealing of a vinyl flooring is intact, it does not absorb any moisture. In an elevator, it is quite normal to see dripping water from the air conditioner system.
Since vinyl flooring is water-resistant, water can be easily cleaned from them without any damage incurred. This water-resistant feature of vinyl flooring is also a reason for their growing popularity as elevator flooring.
12. Fire Resistance:
When a building gets under fire, it is advised avoiding the elevators. But what if you are already stuck in the elevator when the fire has broken out?
The ratio of your vulnerability will decrease a lot if the flooring of the elevator is done with vinyl flooring. Because vinyl flooring materials have the chemical – PVC with them. This chemical is extremely anti-inflammatory. So, vinyl flooring in an elevator might save your life one day!
13. Time Efficient:
The installation and repair of vinyl flooring take very little time compared to other flooring options. This is very significant when we are talking about the elevator flooring.
The elevator is one of the busiest places in the building. If the lift is closed for a long time, a catastrophe may happen. All the activities of the building will come to a halt, with a long and dissatisfied queue of people in front of the elevator.
Using vinyl materials as the elevator flooring will minimize the time of installation and repair and ensure a smooth service.
14. Smooth Transition:
Vinyl flooring is comparatively very thin. Their thickness is barely noticeable. It is very helpful for an elevator. Because it helps to maintain a smooth transition between the elevator floor and the corridors of the lobby or different stories of the building.
This is important when you are carrying any suitcase or any other heavy object in the elevator. People in wheelchairs also want a smooth transition between the elevator and the landing space. The vinyl floor ensures that type of fine transition.
Vinyl Flooring For Elevators: Tips And Suggestions:
Here I am giving away some important tips on the use of vinyl flooring in the elevators. I have learned about them in my long career as a real estate developer.
Use A Lighter Color:
You will find a huge range of colors of vinyl flooring in the market. But using a light-colored vinyl floor in the elevator will help you in many ways. In lighter-colored flooring, it is easier to identify stains and dirt.
If you are cautious about the overall hygiene and cleanliness of the elevator, you must choose light-colored vinyl floors to ensure a clean environment.
On the other hand, lighter shades of the elevator flooring will give an impression of a wider space. While standing and waiting in the lift, it may prove to be comforting to feel that you are not present in a congested area. This will help people with claustrophobic conditions.
Use An Underlayment:
Generally, vinyl floors are installed with the use of adhesives. Some of the vinyl flooring solutions let you install the flooring directly to the subfloor with adhesives. I suggest using an underlayment between the subfloor and the vinyl floor.
One of the reasons for choosing vinyl flooring for elevators is their easy-to-repair feature. Vinyl floors are easy to repair only if there is an underlayment beneath them. Otherwise, the cost of repairing vinyl flooring goes high.
Be Imaginative While Choosing The Style:
Elevators do not seem that boring if the interior is decorated pleasantly. One of the most important decorations of an elevator is its flooring.
When you are using vinyl flooring for the elevator, you have abundant opportunities to make it stylish and up-to-date. While choosing the pattern for the elevator floor, imagine how it would look and what feeling it would bring in the elevator.
Use Door Mats:
To keep your vinyl flooring in the elevator cleaner, you can keep bigger doormats in front of each door that the elevator gets opened at.
Of course, not every passenger will use the mat. But a lot of others will do. This will cut the cleaning cost of the vinyl flooring of the elevator.
Commonly Asked Questions About Vinyl Flooring For Elevators:
Carpets Or Vinyl Flooring: Which One Is Better For Elevators?
Both carpets and vinyl flooring are light-weighted. This is good because the overall load capacity gets compromised if the flooring of the elevator is heavy.
But vinyl flooring has a feature that surely beats carpets as a flooring solution for elevators. Which is its easy-to-clean feature. Most of the carpets accumulate dust and dirt, which are not easily cleanable. But with vinyl flooring in the elevator, you can clean the elevator floor very quickly.
Marbles Or Vinyl: Which Is More Durable Flooring For Elevators?
From the appearance, it is speculated that marble floors are a more durable solution for an elevator than vinyl flooring. But the reality is different.
The easy-to-repair feature of vinyl flooring increases its durability many folds and beats marble floorings, so far elevators are concerned.
Due to the heavy traffic, elevator floorings are prone to get damaged easily. Marble floors in an elevator can get scratches and scuffs easily. Repairing the marble floor is more expensive and time-consuming. Sometimes the only solution is to reinstall the whole floor.
But a damaged vinyl floor in the elevator can be repaired very quickly with a little expense.
Should You Use Vinyl Sheets Or Vinyl Planks In An Elevator?
For many people, it is a matter of personal preferences. Whether to choose vinyl sheets or vinyl planks for an elevator can be a matter of choice.
To me, vinyl planks have an advantage over vinyl sheets when we are talking about repairing them. If a vinyl sheet is damaged on an elevator floor, the whole flooring has to be ripped off and reinstalled. But with a vinyl plank, you can just replace the damaged area of the floor only.
How Thick Should Be The Vinyl Flooring In An Elevator?
The biggest reason for vinyl flooring to be chosen for elevators is their lightweight. But there are some variations of vinyl flooring in the market, which are heavier.
The standard thickness for a vinyl floor to be used as an elevator flooring is 2 millimeters. It should weigh 3 kilograms for each square meter area. As you know, the heavier flooring of an elevator increases its risk of accidents.
How To Clean The Vinyl Flooring In An Elevator?
The frequency of cleaning the vinyl flooring of an elevator should be higher than that of a regular room. It is very easy to keep the vinyl flooring clean if it is done at regular intervals.
The most important part of the cleaning process is sweeping the elevator. It should be swept after a few hours of usage. You should vacuum clean the vinyl floor of the elevator at least once a day. At the end of the day you should mop the elevator floor with a mild detergent mixed with warm water.
Final Words:
There are some disadvantages of vinyl flooring. Vinyl flooring materials release some harmful chemicals in the air. Some of them are very harmful to the human body and environment. But Still, we cannot deny the usefulness of vinyl flooring in certain areas. One of those areas might be vinyl flooring for elevators.
The lightweight and anti-inflammatory features of vinyl flooring have made it impossible to resist to be used in the elevator floors. Because in many cases it has been proven to be lifesaving.