Britain is a nation of animal lovers and there must hardly be anyone who either doesn’t have a pet or would love to have one in their home. The trouble is, animals take a lot of care and many people no longer have the time to take dogs out for walks or keep letting the cat in and out. Unfortunately this means that ‘accidents’ are much more likely to happen, and when they do they may not be cleaned up for some time.
The obvious solution is to take up the carpets and install a laminate, wood or vinyl floor instead. But we’re British! We’re not used to having a floor that isn’t made of carpet. And besides, it won’t be very comfortable for the dog to lay on.
Many modern floorings however are not only warm to the touch but are indeed forgiving, making them comfortable to lie on. Not only that, they are easy to clean with the minimum of effort, don’t retain smells and as an added bonus don’t attract and trap fur and other allergens.
If you do find that a laminate, wood or vinyl floor really is too hard underfoot rugs are a handy war to add a soft, comfortable area that can easily be cleaned should the need arise. They also allow you to add a brilliant patch that can feature a colour or design which is also less of a commitment than wall to wall carpeting.
If you are putting a loose rug on a smooth floor, it is important to think about safety. Many modern rugs will have an anti-slip backing which makes it less likely that you might have a trip or fall, however, you should still be careful. If you find the rug or mat doesn’t have anti-slip backing there are a number of non-slip products that will hold your mat firm.
You may also be worried that claws will scratch the finish on your new flooring, especially if you have boisterous dogs. However, the quality of wood treatments and manmade flooring has improved incredibly over recent years, meaning that the surfaces are incredibly hardwearing. While it’s not advised to move heavy furniture around without lifting, but they can certainly stand pets, scraping chairs and the like.