Consumer Reports Engineered Hardwood Floors

Solid wood engineered wood laminate vinyl linoleum and ceramic tile.

Consumer reports engineered hardwood floors.

It offers a variety of engineered hardwood laminate cork and bamboo floors. The type of flooring you choose will depend on your needs budget. Most flooring falls into one of the following six types. Here are the best vacuums for hardwood floors from consumer reports tests.

If you ve already started reviewing your options in the hardwood flooring market then you ll be well aware that engineered hardwood flooring is an increasingly popular product. Upwards of 2 20 per square foot for engineered hardwood compared to upwards of 3 40 per square foot for solid. When faced with the abrasion machine in consumer reports surface wear tests a stand in for the abuse flooring gets in high traffic areas most of the prefinished solid wood and engineered wood. As for those finishes aluminum oxide is the best from a durability standpoint and found on flooring in the budget and premium classes.

Better still it s competitively priced compared to solid hardwood flooring. Consumer reports top rated options in solid wood engineered wood laminate porcelain tile and vinyl flooring. Using other floor cleaners or too much water on hardwood can leave your floors looking streaked and grimy. Avoid using a steam mop on wood although it may be tempting to deep clean your hardwood floors.

For more information on the steam mops see consumer reports steam mop buying guide and ratings. When deciding how to clean your hardwood floors it s important to know that the type of wood doesn t matter. Hardwood floor cleaners are explicitly designed to help protect floor finishes and are less harsh than other types of cleaners. Engineered flooring is mainly available prefinished for ease of installation but if you look hard enough you can find a handful of companies that offer unfinished engineered flooring as well.

For hardwood floors you ll want a vacuum that doesn t spew the dirt around.