Vinyl flooring has greatly improved over the last couple of years.
I remember when my parents had it on their home floor and it was in those days called linoleum.
It was the 'poor man's flooring' as there were hardly any choices in design or color and they truly looked bland and boring.
Nowadays, however, the situation has drastically changed and people are using vinyl flooring more and more often, and not particularly due to their low cost.
They are available in many different colors and types, and the fact that they can practically imitate any other material (like hardwood, natural stone, ceramic tiles and many others) makes them a favorite in many homes.
Only a close inspection can reveal that it is, indeed, vinyl and not something else.
Maintaining and caring for your vinyl floor is quite easy.
It is one of the easiest flooring types to care for.
First of all, it is moisture and water resistant, which allows it to be placed in kitchen, bathrooms, garages and any other rooms that can have moisture in them or where water spills are a regular occurrence.
You can easily mop the floor with a bit of dishwashing detergent in the water.
Basically the cleaner is diluted in the water.
Simply mop and rinse repeatedly, particularly if the floor is very dirty.
Once a year you can use a particularly product to bring back the shine on the flooring.
This process is called refinishing and it's not too difficult to do.
All you need is follow the proper directions, so you don't destroy the flooring by mistake.
One thing that can actually damage vinyl is if you constantly drag heavy furniture over it from one end to the other one.
So try to use care when having to move your furniture across the room.
Also if you see a small cut or tear in the vinyl material, this should be repaired right away to avoid the tear from getting bigger.
There are many sealers on the market that can do the job quite well and they're not expensive either.