Flooring for walk in closet area of bathroom must be anti-slip and water resistant.
Rubber flooring and unpolished vinyl flooring are the most suitable flooring types for walk in closet area of bathroom.
Rubber flooring
Rubber flooring provides a lot of friction both when dry and wet. The biggest advantage of rubber flooring in walk in closet is that even if someone falls over it, the softness of material helps to absorb all the impact.
Rubber flooring can be done either by using a rubber mat of same size as the size of floor or by joining multiple smaller pieces of mat.
To get multiple rubber flooring mats set properly on the floor of walk in closet firstly measure the total square feet area of the walk in closet.
Then measure the sq ft area of individual rubber mat. Now multiply the sqft area of rubber mat by a number such that the result becomes equal to the sq ft area of floor.
The number used for multiplication is the exact number of rubber mats used which is used to multiply the sq fr area of mat to be used for flooring.
Approx cost for rubber flooring in 6’x 6′ walk in closet is around 28$ – 30$
Vinyl flooring
Vinyl flooring consists of a synthetic material made by joining several layers of PVC which is designed in way that gives the look of wood.
Vinyl flooring is water resistant and had very good anti-slip properties which makes it a good choice to be used in a wet location or in a walk in closet near bathroom.
What to do with the flooring that is already present in walk-in closet near bathroom ?
Generally the flooring of walk-in closet near the bathroom and that of bathroom it is done by a same material i.e marble.
Now marble is slippery and in walk in closet, as we discussed earlier the flooring should be antislip.
Hence, instead of replacing or adding a new flooring to the already present flooring a carpet can be added over the floor of walk in closet to avoid slips due to wet feet.
The material of carpet should be water absorbant. A fabric carpet is an ideal choice for carpet to be put over floor of bathroom’s walk in closet.
While adding carpet around walk in closet the carpet need not to go under the closet. Just placing the carpet joined upclose with the doors of closet can provide a uniform look of carpeting.
Should flooring for walk in closet and bathroom be level ?
To avoid water from bathroom entering into walk in closet it is always a good practice to install the flooring for walk in closet at a level higher than the flooring of bathroom.
How high the walk in closet’s floor be above bathroom’s ?
The floor of walk in clsoet should be about an inch to 2 inches higher than the floor of bathroom.
If however the flooring is already laid evenly then floor dividers or floor transition strips can be utilized at the entrance of bathroom to avoid the entry of water in walk in closet.
The floor of walk in closet should always be kept dry.
Should flooring for walk in closet and bathroom coordinate?
The flooring for walk in closet and bathroom are meant to serve different functions. The first priority while choosing floor for each of these spaces should be to fulfill the requirement of the area.
Afterwards, the matching can be done in terms of colors.
In terms of material, the flooring of walk in closet and bathroom does not need to match whereas color wise, the floors should coordinate primarily with the color of walls of the respective area. If the color of floor coordinate with the wall color then automatically both floors will compliment each other.
If the walls of bathroom and walk in closet are same color then the color of flooring for both these areas can be kept same.
If the color of the walls or walk in closet is white then the floor should also be of light shade color like light grey.
What to do if both closet and bathroom are in same room?
If the closet and bathroom are in the same room then the room dividers can be used to define boundary of the floor. Once the boundary of the floor is set, ,the next step is to make the floor walk in closet area slip free and dry while being in bathroom.
One simple trick is to simply use a carpet and add a waterproofing layer around the boundaries of carpet to avoid water entering below the carpet and over the carpet as well.
Below the room divider a simple line of plastic material about an inch in height ca be run to prevent water entering into the walk in closet area.
Another thing to consider for a walk in closet inside bathroom is the moisture content of bathroom.
Usually bathrooms have a lot of moisture and if a closet is present inside the bathroom then moisture can enter in the closet and affect the clothes. Therefore, make sure that the moisture is regularly removed from the bathroom via proper ventilation.
Can Polyurethane be added on the floor of walk-in closet near bathroom
A polyurethane is basically a plastic polymer in which certain compounds are added to give it a desired consistency. Upon any floor of walk in closet near bathroom, a layer of polyurethane can be added to make the floor waterproof.
The traces of water that comes in walk in closet when coming out from the bathroom can be easily tolerated by the polyurethane layer.
However, a polyurethane coat is very slippery. If the requirement is only to add a shine and waterproofing to the floor then only pa polyurethane coat should be used on the floor.
Polyurethane can be water based or oil based.
The water based polyurethane sheets are transparent and retains the shine of the floor. Thus making them ideal for covering marble flooring of walk in closet
Oil based polyurethane sheets have a certain tint to them which makes them useful to cover wooden flooring in walk in closet.
Approx. cost for polyurethane flooring = 50 $ – 70$
Can hardwood flooring be used for walk in closet near bathroom?
An unpolished hardwood flooring is a good absorbant of water. Wooden floors therefore, requires proper treatment before to be used as a flooring in bathroom. This could be an expensive affair as it requires regular maintenance.
Apart from that when wood is polished it becomes slippery and thus needs to be covered by a mat or carpet when used in wet location.
Same goes with bamboo flooring also. Bamboo flooring even though are fairly resistant to water but when used for flooring in wet location can become very slippery.
If the floor has to be kept covered most of the time then it is not ideal to go with wood as it will not be visible at all.
