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Waterproof Flooring: WPC Red Wine Challenge

What flooring can withstand the power of red wine? We’ve got the answer for you. Find out what is the best waterproof flooring and is stain proof. We all need floors that can battle double the trouble.

Who here drinks red wine? (Waves hands frantically) I obviously do! One thing nobody wants to happen is a red wine spill on their floor. A liquid on a floor can cause staining, warping, molding, and a host of other problems.

Now, hopefully, that stain won’t be sitting on the floor forever, and hopefully, you aren’t tipsily dumping wine on the floor on a weekly basis, but accidents happen.

Or, sometimes your cat launches across the counter smashing liquor bottles in her wake (true story).

We wanted to test a worst case scenario on three types of floors to find the blue ribbon waterproof flooring. We present to you: The Red Wine Challenge.

Our Contestants

We found that homeowners have three primary concerns about their floors: whether they’re waterproof, stain resistant, and easy to clean. Luckily, we had three popular floors to put through the ringer: Engineered wood, laminate, and waterproof core vinyl. Let’s learn a little bit about each flooring and see who comes out the champ.

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Engineered Wood Flooring

Johnson Hardwood Toscana Hickory Engineered Wood

A lot of people haven’t heard of engineered wood flooring, which is a shame. Engineered wood flooring is the closest thing to hardwood flooring money can buy. It also has some great features.

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Engineered Wood Flooring Features

  • Durable– Engineered wood floors feature a scratch-proof finish, real hardwood, a core layer for durability, and a backing layer to battle moisture. It’s basically an all-in-one flooring.
  • Easy to clean– Because of its backing, you don’t have to worry about moisture as much when cleaning your floors. No need to fret about a little liquid.
  • Easier to install than hardwood– Because it can be installed anywhere, you don’t have to worry about your subflooring. You can nail, staple, glue, or even float engineered wood floors.

SHOP ENGINEERED WOOD

Laminate Flooring

The Best Waterproof Flooring: WPC Challenge. When we say 100% waterproof, we definitely mean it. Check out how WPC vinyl holds up against red wine.

Laminate flooring is one of the most popular flooring types in homes. It resembles real hardwood flooring, but with a fraction of the price. It’s beautiful and features many styles and colors.

Laminate Flooring Features

  • Inexpensive– Laminate flooring is one of the most inexpensive options. Not only that, but since you can easily install it yourself, you save money.
  • Easy to clean and maintain– Because of its multi-layered construction, laminate is very easy to clean and maintain. Laminate is typically made from high-density fiberboard and is resistant to water.
  • Easy install– Laminate flooring is one of the easiest floors to install. Laminate flooring is designed to be a floating floor and is built with special locking mechanisms to easily insert planks and lock them into place.

SHOP LAMINATE

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WPC Vinyl Flooring

waterproof vinyl plank flooring in a kitchen setting

Waterproof core vinyl flooring is the underdog in this race. It’s not well known but is up to the challenge. Because of its waterproof core, this plank is known to be 100% waterproof. We’re ready to put that to the test.

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WPC Vinyl Flooring Features

  • Installation heaven– Have an uneven subfloor? No problem. Want to glue down tiles? You got it. In the mood for self-adhesive or a locking, floating floor? The choice is yours. You are the master of your floors and can install it however you want.
  • Waterproof– Let me say this again: WPC vinyl is 100% waterproof. How does it work? WPC has four layers of goodness. The third layer is waterproof, high density, and will not expand or contract.
  • Style Options– Stone or wood? Whatever fits your fancy.

SHOP WPC VINYL

The ChallengeThe Best Waterproof Flooring: WPC Challenge. When we say 100% waterproof, we definitely mean it. Check out how WPC vinyl holds up against red wine.

At this point, you’re probably wondering what we’re up to. Let me give you the deets:

We soaked all three planks in red wine to see if they stain or swell. Not my idea of an oak aged wine, but it’ll do.

But first, we added some math to the equation. We used a micrometer to measure each planks’ thickness before the red wine challenge. That way we can detect a change when we measure the after effects.

Then, the soaking began. Using 3 bottles of red wine, we let the boards soak for 24 hours before measuring the effects.

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The Results

The Best Waterproof Flooring: WPC Challenge. When we say 100% waterproof, we definitely mean it. Check out how WPC vinyl holds up against red wine.

 

After 24 hours, it was time to inspect the damage and lament over the undrinkable red wine.

The engineered wood flooring had a small swell measured, and the red wine had soaked through the backing and stained the other side.

The laminate flooring had the largest measured swell, which was noticeable just by looking at the plank.

Last, the underdog WPC vinyl flooring had no measurable swell and the color still looked great from back to front.  

The clear winner? WPC vinyl flooring! When we say 100% waterproof, we definitely mean it. You can see for yourself!

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Conclusion

The Best Waterproof Flooring: WPC Challenge. When we say 100% waterproof, we definitely mean it. Check out how WPC vinyl holds up against red wine.

That’s it! You have witnessed the WPC Red Wine Challenge to find the best waterproof flooring. With WPC vinyl, you have waterproof floors that can withstand the damage of liquid and staining power.

It can probably withstand even my cat.

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The Best Waterproof Flooring: WPC Challenge. When we say 100% waterproof, we definitely mean it. Check out how WPC vinyl holds up against red wine.

About Kayla Haas

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Kayla Haas is a Phoenix-based writer, flooring expert, and reading enthusiast. Most of her writing specializes in artificial grass, carpet, and vinyl flooring. Her favorite part of writing is the research. If you’re looking for obscure facts or little-known history about flooring, she’s the person to talk to as she stores them away in hopes of impressing people at parties.

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