Hardwood. But, I'll have interlocking foam mats on it as protective cushion for children at play. Protects your floor too.
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Hardwood. But, I'll have interlocking foam mats on it as protective cushion for children at play. Protects your floor too.
Betsy, I bought an area rug that covered most of the room for about $50-60 years ago and after a couple of years I threw it away and replaced it. It's a tax deduction and looked a lot nicer than the interlocking mats. Just an idea.
Area rug - that's even better! I was basing my suggestion from one of my employers as a nanny. They used mats in their living room while they renovated the basement.Quote:
Originally Posted by Momof4
My daycare will all be in the basement this time around, and I'd be using part carpet and part linoleum (for the kitchen/dining section).
I've had all carpet years ago when I ran a daycare (for more than 10 years)....and it wasn't bad.
Mind you, the basement then was just a playroom, the kids ate upstairs in our dining room.
I'm curious as to how some carpets described on this thread looked gross after a while?
Have always had carpet in the basement playrooms in each house I have done daycare in - 5 of them. I like that it makes the floor warmer on the kids feet, upgrading to the higher end underpad makes it especially nice. I was always concerned about a child falling and bumping their head on the hard floor so only had a small piece of linoleum area just for messy crafts.
Make sure in the kitchen area you choose paint that is made for kitchens that is labelled superscrubable. Another option would be to use ceramic tiles for the kitchen area or there is also paneling that looks like tiles - not the nicest but suitable for a basement kitchen and would be washable. Hanging a pretty shower curtain you can pull across the wall area during meals and crafts?
Nice thing about a carpet in the basement is that you don't have to worry about what is underneath as in a carpet to cover and protect your hardwood floor can't be washed or the water will damage your hardwood floor but in the basement that is not an issue. In some homes we have rented the cleaners and done the playroom and bedrooms, etc. We have out own machine now we use - it is a Kirby vacuum with shampoo attachment which works pretty good and we can leave it set up as we have a proper vacuum but appreciate the other one given to us as a carpet cleaner. Really the carpets do not get as dirty as you might think. When I have babies I put a sheet down in the baby area to absorb drooling etc I can switch out and wash. I use the Nature's Miracle from the pet store (left from when we had a dog) to clean up any stains that happen and we don't eat, drink or do crafts in the carpeted playroom - those are in the kitchen upstairs.
Speaking of pets. I've got 3 cats (and one is really old). They will not be allowed in the daycare....but we're thinking of changing our carpet upstairs to hardwood floor.
I wonder about pee accidents by pets. With carpet, you could soak up the pee and "lift" it up before you wash the carpet with vinegar/water/soap combo....at least you can get the smell out.
What about on hardwood? Once it leaks between the boards....how can we really soak it all up? I'm worried about the smell.
Please advice me. We've never had hardwood so really clue-less about this.
The wood will interlock meaning it fits into the next board rather than just a crack that goes down to the subfloor. In that sense a lot will remain on the surface only. Flushing the area with water and then wiping down with a disinfecting liquid which will also seep into the same crevices should be sufficient.
I would suggest to choose hardwood in your flooring. If you want less time to clean go through with it. It is much durable and cheaper than installing carpets. In carpet, only light materials or furniture you can put on it because carpet might damage unlike hardwood does. www[dot]appliedergonomics[dot]com