The Best Floors For Humid Climates

If you live in a sunny paradise like Florida, you don’t just want good looking floors. You also want floors that can handle the extreme heat and humidity southern summer brings.

Some flooring styles like carpet retain heat and increase your home’s temperature from the ground up, while the sun is baking it from the top down. Other styles like hardwood absorb moisture from the air, swelling as a result. This swelling and expanding makes your floorboards warp, potentially causing long-term damage.

Check out some of our favorite flooring styles for hot, humid climates like sunny Central Florida.

Vinyl

Vinyl flooring is popular as a durable, water-resistant alternative to tile and hardwood floors that offers beautiful visuals. It’s also fantastic for hot and humid climates.

Whether you choose glued-down or interlocking vinyl, these floors have thinner seams than hardwoods. Not only does this make it harder for moisture to get below the boards where it can’t be removed – it also keeps them from expanding and contracting when the temperature fluctuates.

Laminate

While laminate floors are not fully waterproof like luxury vinyl, they are better than most hardwood at resisting moisture. So, while laminate may not be ideal for a bathroom or kitchen where water could spill, they’re perfect for humid settings where there’s moisture in the air.

That gives you the beauty of hardwood without the swelling and expanding that comes in hotter seasons.

Tile

When it comes to flooring in humid climates, tile is the undisputed champion.

Unlike other flooring materials, tile doesn’t retain heat, unlike carpet floors, which absorb heat like a sponge. That’s why when you walk barefoot across tiles, they usually feel colder than the air around you.

Porcelain tile in particular is a favorite among homeowners because of its low absorption rate. This way you never have to worry about porcelain tiles absorbing airborne moisture like you would with wood and carpet.

Our team at Classic Flooring Center has years of experience serving customers throughout Florida. So you can trust us as experts when it comes to flooring in the Sunshine State.