The safety and comfort of children is the first concern of parents. The floor usually raises the most questions: what kind of flooring to choose, so that it would be warm, soft, but at the same time not to collect dust? So far there is only one option – soft flooring for children’s rooms and EVA foam polymer.
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What it is made of
Soft flooring for children’s rooms is made of ethyl vinyl acetate copolymer – EVA or in Russian version EVA. This copolymer is foamed, small bubbles are created in it, which give softness, elasticity and heat-insulating properties. The technological processes of obtaining this material are not as important as its characteristics. The most important of them:
It turns out almost ideal flooring for a child’s room, and the experience of use confirms this. If we talk about small children, it is important for them that the surface of the soft floor is non-slip. On such flooring they learn to crawl and then walk without problems. Crawling children’s feet and hands remain warm and there are no red marks on their knees – the surface is elastic and at the same time not hard.
The elasticity of the surface is good for cushioning shocks. Small children often fall down, which worries parents. With a soft floor you don’t have to worry, as the shock absorbing properties soften the impact much more. The degree of cushioning depends on the thickness of the flooring. It can be from 5 mm to 10 mm (the thicker it is, the softer it is, but the density also matters).
Form of release
Soft flooring for children’s rooms is produced in the form of modules of different sizes. With each other they are connected with the help of a lock – like puzzles. Features of the design gave a few more names of this floor covering: modular floor or warm floor-puzzle. All this is a soft floor in the nursery.
Modules-puzzles soft floor have different sizes:
The thickness of the mats can also differ: from 5 mm to 10 mm. There are a variety of colors – solid colors, under wood, stone, with numbers, images of animals, flowers, with cartoon characters, with graphic drawings. There are even with a pile coating, reminiscent of carpet – different colors with different lengths of pile. It is not suitable for small children, but for grown-up children – easily. You can use the same coating in the hallway and in other rooms.
How to assemble
Modular elements of the soft floor in the nursery are connected by means of protrusions and notches – locks. Align the edges of the two modules, insert them one into the other, slightly stretch to the sides. When laying the coating pay attention to the fact that one of the corners has the appearance of an arrow, try to put the tiles so that these arrows were directed in one direction. This is especially important when assembling coverings with textured surface (there are with grooves, wavy lines, with a rough and puffy top part).
Soft modular flooring can be laid on any flat surface. It is possible not to fix it with anything – it is almost non-slippery, but if you want, you can fix it with double-sided tape. When used in gyms or other similar rooms, the modules are glued on polymer adhesive.
Included with the tiles of soft flooring is an edge tape that covers the uneven edge. It is simply put on the edge. There is one disadvantage of such a system: curious small children are always removing this tape, getting to the locks.
Care and operating experience
As already said before, the material does not accumulate static electricity, so dust does not stick to it. Wipe the soft floor for children’s rooms with a damp cloth, you can use a dish detergent. If such cleaning does not help, the mat is disassembled and washed in the bathtub, wait until the water drains (it is not absorbed), then reassemble. There is another option – put the modular floor in the dishwasher and run the mode with a temperature not exceeding 55 ° C.
Paints are resistant, do not shed and do not fade for a long time. If we talk about colors, then on the yellow dirt is most visible, but it is understandable – the lightest color.
Another nice feature of soft modular flooring: spilled liquids and oils in the pores are not absorbed, do not spread. They can easily be wiped with a dry cloth, after which no traces remain. Even pencils, paints, felt-tip pens and plasticine can be removed without a trace – and you don’t need to make any significant effort. Just do not use abrasives (powders). They scratch the surface, worsening the properties of the coating.
Many parents worry about whether small children can bite off a piece of the coating. It is impossible to guarantee that they will not try it “on the tooth”, but the fact that they will not bite it off – that’s for sure. You can try it yourself. The material is very elastic, and if you manage to tear it, it will be with great difficulty.
Soft covering for children’s rooms is good not only for babies. For schoolchildren, you can choose neutral colors – there they are and under the parquet, and in the form of carpeting. The comfort of such a floor is much higher than the same carpet. And its undoubted plus – it does not collect dust and is easy to clean.