Hi, to all you lucky parents whose kids are in sleep away camp for the entire two months of the summer. We hope your children are also appreciative that they are to be given the gift of camping by their hard-working parents. Yes, summer can be relaxing when the kids are far from home and safely supervised even if their parents are still working their scheduled grind.

Are you parents anticipating the pressure that awaits you when your children return hopefully satisfied from their long stint away from home? Besides the fact that they will hopefully have grown a couple of inches in length (not too much in width) and will require new clothes and uniforms if applicable, they will be coming home with trunks full of laundry consisting of quilts, covers, mattress protectors, towels, and clothing to wash. Some parents will rush to the laundromat to get there first, but most of us will dutifully do the laundry at home.

While you have been doing your own laundry during the summer you may have or have not paid attention to the condition of your laundry room. The laundry room is usually at the bottom of the list in terms of decorating but it’s a shame because it’s probably the least costly of all the places in the house to revamp. Right now, would be a great time to redecorate your laundry room since you will be spending lots of time in it when your kids return from camp. If they are a bit older, they might tell you that some of their stuff is clean but one whiff of the items in the trunks and duffels will answer you otherwise. Everything must be rewashed even if the pieces have recently been “washed” in camp.

Particulars that have been dumped haphazardly into their luggage must be sorted from colors and whites to very dirty and moderately soiled before even starting the scrubbing. Where will this sorting be done? Will you dump everyone’s laundry together or do each child individually? So many decisions to make about a simple task of washing the laundry. But if you have more than one child returning from camp you are probably figuring out the fastest and most efficient way to get the job accomplished.

Are you dreading the task only because it seems so vast or is another thought wiggling in your mind? This is the evidence that you are actually fretting about the daunting task awaiting you in an uncomfortable and ancient laundry area. You do have two working machines that may be old or relatively new and they might need some dusting, wiping, and washing to get them up to date. The shelves on top of the machines might need some cleaning and those spider webs that are keeping the bugs at bay should be finally removed. Is the lighting in your laundry area sufficient? A new inexpensive fluorescent ceiling fixture can be purchased from your local Home Depot or Lowes for under fifty dollars even with inflation. You should also investigate other lighting options that may be more economical.

Are you of the age of organizing with baskets and containers? Well, if you are a bit older this is the bandwagon you should go on right away. Some containers are more expensive because their lids are stronger to stay put but you might just require baskets or containers without lids to put your various cleaning and washing fluids, powders, and creams into. A dollar store might be just the place for you to pick up inexpensive organizing items in different sizes. Some folks go as far as putting their laundry detergents, liquid powder, or pods in identical containers.

You might be able to spend under one hundred dollars to update your room except for one challenge that is probably the key to happiness in your laundry zone. Walk into your laundry room and check out the floor. What kind of floor do you have right now and is it stained and dusty? Have you had no luck cleaning off all the guck that has penetrated and concealed a once acceptable floor? Isn’t it pathetic that the key cleaning elements of your home spill and dry on the floor and become difficult to remove? So many questions with one simple answer, change and update the floor. Since most of our laundry rooms are not large you will not need an abundance of tiles to replace the flooring you now are stuck with.

Interlocking tiles are the best choice for a laundry room which will be having lots of walking in and out in a few more weeks when the kids rejoin the family. When the interlocking tile floor gets wet it can be wiped easily. If your room is a rectangle or square with no poles or posts such as a basement or garage the tiles are much easier to install. An obstacle that should not be overlooked is how to safely move the washer and dryer. If you get a reliable mechanic or someone who is handy to remove the dryer with the vent and gas line staying safe the washer will be somewhat easier to reposition. Once, everything is removed temporarily, you should be able to install the interlocking tiles by yourself.

The Color of The Floor Tiles

This is where the fun begins from the ground up. What colors calm you down or what colors liven you up? If you have a positive personality by nature, then you can go either way. Do you get nervous before you enter the place of clothes washing? Or are you just in a hurry to get your laundry done? Unfortunately, other than having full time help we have no answer for you because you have to repeatedly come to your laundry room over and over again during wash days. That’s if you are the type who only washes her laundry once or twice a week, but most people if they have children will be in the laundry room daily. This means finding a floor color that you and your family love and it could even be red. Why not use a vibrant color in the room that has the most boring job in town?

How Will The Heat of the Clothes Dryer Affect Interlocking Tiles?

Thankfully, these tiles do great under heat. They have been used in kitchens both industrial and residential. For safety reasons (nothing to do with the tiles) you should clean your vent after each use and make sure the vent from the dryer to the house is clean and not clogged.

What Happens if a Tile Cracks?

The beauty and durability of locking tiles is that they can be individually replaced if one breaks which is quite a rare occurrence. Depending on where the PVC interlocking floor tile is made will determine its durability. Tiles made in the USA will be highly durable and are pretty much impossible to crack while those made in China from processed plastics will be at greater risk for fracturing. It is advisable to buy some extra tiles if inevitably breakage or damage occurs. We have rarely seen this happen with such strong tiles but for your own peace of mind the extra tiles will probably sit gathering dust in your garage or basement.

How Strong are the Tiles?

Your laundry room is a room of duality since there are some heavy-duty items and some delicate items. Your washer and dryer are heavy items that must lay on a heavy-duty floor that will not curl or sink in as the machines work. Interlocking tiles are not only made for residential use but are extremely popular and durable for commercial and industrial function as well.

Your laundry room has two machines, laundromats where locking tiles are very popular have lots of machines working at once so if these tiles are strong enough for a laundromat you can be sure they will be durable enough for your personal cleaning area. Not only are interlocking tiles strong enough for commercial washer and dryers but they stand up amazingly in car and truck showrooms.

Final Words

Now that we have laid out a general plan of how to make your laundry tasks more inviting, we hope you will be able to get your “renovation” done before your kids come home from camp loaded with laundry. With new colors added on both the walls and the floor the children will be so surprised that they might even offer to put in a load, although I wouldn’t count on it since they will probably head straight to bed proving to you that they had a super time away from home. Whether you decide to go with regular interlocking tiles or smaller more flexible ones, your laundry room will be transformed forever because these tiles are so durable that even if one of them gets stained it will wash easily and if on the rare occasion one does break you can replace it effortlessly with an extra tile that you have purchased and hidden in your garage.

Enjoy your childrens’ homecoming in spite of the laundry loads, we all are thankful for our children, our precious gifts from G D.