Kitchen Floor Tiles - Which to Choose and What Is the Right One for You

There is no shortage of material, texture, design, and colors to select from when it comes to kitchen floor tiles. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t forget that every tile is not fit for your home. It is essential to understand the properties, merits, and demerits of each type.

Hardness of tile

The hardness of the material is one valuable property. Based on the ability of the material to withstand the wear and foot traffic, the tiles are divided into several classes.

You can take the scale as a reference.

• Class 1: For no foot traffic. These tiles are for wall applications only.
• Class 2: Light traffic. It can withstand soft-soled to normal foot traffic.
• Class 3: Light to moderate traffic. Can withstand normal foot traffic.
• Class 4: For moderate to heavy foot traffic.
• Class 5: For heavy to very heavy foot traffic.

Amongst these categories, Class 3 and Class 4 are suitable for kitchens. They are hard enough to sustain the wear and tear.

Porosity

Like hardness, the porosity of the tile is also classified into several categories. Porosity means the ratio of air holes to solids in the tile.The porosity of a tile decides the water abruption.

• Impervious:These tiles have water absorption of less than 0.5 percent.
• Vitreous: The water absorption of vitreous tiles is between 0.5 percent and 3 percent.
• Semi Vitreous: These tiles have water absorption of 3 to 7 percent.
•  Non-Vitreous: Non-vitreous tiles have water absorption higher than 7 percent.

For the kitchen, you should use Impervious type tiles.

Slip resistance

The material of tiles usually  is slippery, and it becomes furthermore slippery when water is introduced to it.Hence, you have to be extremely careful while choosing tiles for a kitchen where the use of water is frequent.Choose tiles that offer excellent slip resistance. You can’t take any risk in the kitchen.

Color

A small room or a room that doesn’t have plenty of natural light is not ideal for dark shades of tiles. You must choose light-colored tiles such as white, beige, cream, and sand color.However, for a kitchen, you have to consider all other aspects discussed earlier.The sturdiness of tiles, water absorption and slipperiness, are more important criteria than the color.

When there is any doubt or confusion about picking the right tile, it is better to call a consultant. He will go through your requirements and give his recommendations for the ideal choice of tiles.

If you are looking to buy the best kitchen floor tiles in Adelaide then please visit International Ceramics or call us at 08 8431 6777.

Also Read:

Which Tiles are the Best for the Bathroom?