Mark - As I was sweeping our Pergo floor this weekend, I had some more
thoughts to pass on.
I've had the Pergo for 3.5 years now, and have had several wood floors in
the past. I got to comparing them in my mind:
WOOD - looks great. Until you get a spill or leak that doesn't get picked
up in time to avoid a big stain and/or a warped area. Changes over time,
especially changes in humidity eventually cause warping, buckling, or just
raised edges. A very thickly-coated wood floor won't catch stuff in the
cracks, but eventually there'll be dirt etc. in between each plank. If you
really want it to continue to look great, be sure to maintain it
religiously. Keep that waxer/buffer ready. And rent a floor sander every
so often to really keep it in tip-top shape between each time that you put
a new finish on it. But a lot of the dents you get (and you'll get plenty)
will be too deep to sand out.
SYNTHETIC - (well, Pergo, the only one I've had). This stuff is amazing.
Really hard to dent or scratch.
The fit is great; the planks fit together so closely that nothing can
fall in the cracks.
No waxing, no buffing, no nothing.
Well, except sweeping. But the surface has a teflon-like ability to keep
anything from sticking to it, so sweeping with a broom is very effective.
A damp mop gets the spots off. Mine still looks brand new even though my
once 6- and 9-yr-olds are now 9- and 12-yr-olds who cross it daily on their
way to baseball, softball, soccer, etc., and who like to play "sliding"
games on it.
No, it's not perfect. Just more perfect than wood.
Lee M. Daniels Laboratory for Molecular Structure and Bonding
daniels@tamu.edu Texas A&M University
'74 TR6 '88 XJ6 http://acs.tamu.edu/~lmd1191
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