As many homeowners are looking to renovate and spruce their living spaces, there are many families who decided to invest in a great addition to their home: a home gym. People are getting more health-conscious in recent years, and it’s a no-brainer that exercise is one crucial component of maintaining a healthy body and lifestyle. If you’re in the middle of your home gym project and are already tackling the flooring part, you might consider installing rubber flooring.
However, if you still have mixed feelings about this option, it’s best to assess their good and downsides. This will eventually allow you to make the right decision in the end. After all, installing them is for long-term use, and you wouldn’t want to regret it later and make costly mistakes if you decide on having them replaced with another type of flooring.
Check out the following pros and cons of rubber matting for your home gym to help you decide if it’s right for you:
Pros:
- Slip-Resistant
While performing floor exercises, it’s natural to sweat a lot and make the ground damp, making it dangerous for you to slip. Thankfully, as one great benefit of rubber flooring, it comes with an anti-slip feature, saving you from slips and hurting your body while working out. This ensures safe workouts without incurring bruises from falls and slips.
Rubber flooring is also ideal for outdoor use because it isn’t slippery when wet. For someone who prefers to do exercises outdoors, this type of flooring is the best option.
- Versatile
Building a home gym on a budget is possible despite having a limited floor area. Another advantage of using rubber matting is that they come with versatile installation options, making it possible to maneuver in different flooring angles and sizes.
You can cut them and modify them to fit your available floor space. Moreover, rubber flooring is also available in different thickness choices, so you can decide how thin or thick you want to place on your floors. In addition, they also come in various color options, making it easy to match your home gym’s color palette or interior design easy.
Rubber tiles also have interlocking edges and can be installed with straight edges and tight seams. You don’t have to worry about their installation requirements too, as you can do it yourself easily. The results are visually impressive and clean with no edges and messy spaces between tiles. If you’re keen on using heavy gym equipment, it’s ideal to go for thicker rubber mats.
- Easy To Maintain And Clean
Another perk of rubber flooring is that it requires very little maintenance. Do keep in mind that you don’t need to make them wet to clean them. A damp mop will do, and you can wipe it through the surface every workout. Additionally, before using a cleaning product, verify that it’s safe for the flooring.
Synthetic rubber floors generally are less prone to staining than natural rubber. To maintain your rubber matting, you need to apply water-soluble wax every now and then to add protective coating.
Rubber flooring is generally resistant to stains, but some materials can cause the surface to discolor. It’s especially harmful to rubber floors if you use chemicals and strong cleaning solutions. Therefore, ensure that you research first before using any solution on the surface.
Cons:
- Aesthetics
One of the most obvious drawbacks of rubber flooring is its aesthetics. Despite its ultimate function, rubber flooring is not known for its style. In fact, many homeowners hesitate to use them because of this reason. Rubber flooring usually comes in black color, and if you’re the type of person who doesn’t like this style, rubber flooring might not be your cup of tea.
However, it’s worth mentioning that there are many other color options to choose from. You can make things work and design your home gym beautifully by focusing on different elements rather than the flooring.
- Odor
There is a distinct smell to rubber flooring, which could be a turn-off for many people. Due to its rubber composition, this is a natural circumstance. Rubber and adhesive off-gas contribute to this problem. Based on the type of raw material used and how the flooring was manufactured, some products smell stronger than others. However, if you’re particularly sensitive to smells, there’s always the virgin rubber flooring option that doesn’t come with strong odors and is better for you.
Eventually, as your rubber flooring ages, you’ll realize that the strong smell will also dissipate. Cleaning and maintaining them over time also help remove the foul odor it occasionally emits. Likewise, with some air freshener, you can easily get rid of the unpleasant smell too.
Conclusion
There are many home gym ideas online to get inspiration from. By knowing the two sides of the coin, you can now better decide whether rubber flooring is suitable for your home gym. Based on your preference and needs, you can weigh both sides and see which one outweighs the other. The key is to inquire, do your research, or get free samples that can help you find the right rubber flooring for your gym.
