Moisture has long bedeviled the laminate flooring industry, and has been one of the major reasons why many homeowners choose not to install laminate in wet places.
The Core of Laminate Floor's Problem...is the Core
The problem is not with the top layer, but with the core. Laminate flooring's core is little more than high- or medium-density fiberboard or particle board. If you've ever seen a sheet of particle board get rained on, you'll know how it bubbles up and crumbles like a wet soda cracker.Moisture During Manufacturing
One little-known aspect of this moisture-and-laminate issue is that the moisture problem actually starts in the factory, not in the home. Flooring manufacturers have found that high moisture content in the fiberboard particles in the factory can result in poor adhesion of the top melamine wear layer.Past Attempts to Develop "Waterproof Laminate"
The response by flooring manufacturers, to this point, has been to cover up and ignore the problem. Past responses have been:- They counsel homeowners not to install the product in moist places, such as basements or children's bathrooms.
- They develop stop-gap solutions such as tighter seams and better adhesion between the boards.
- Another solution has been to introduce more melamine resins in the fiberboard mix. So, rather than having a highly absorbent particle core that practically sucks water from the air, they now have a slightly less absorbent core.
Now, though, a new generation of waterproof laminate is making its way on the market, and it's worth considering.
Mannington's ICORE - First Attempt at Waterproof Laminate
In 2003, Mannington Mills patented a new type of waterproof laminate that bypassed many of those previous solutions. Their product, dubbed ICORE, has some of these features:- Thermoplastic Core, Not Fiberboard - The key aspect is that ICORE does away with the fiberboard and replaces it with a "plastic" core made of PVC. As you can imagine, PVC (which is also used for water pipes) is quite waterproof.
- Print Layer and Overlay - This is just like conventional laminate flooring. Separate layers are required for better print adhesion, rather than printing straight onto the thermoplastic core.
- Honeycombed "Cells" Inside - "Foot feel" is important with laminate flooring, because it is so thin. Walking on laminate flooring can be difficult because it has little "give." With waterproof laminate such as ICORE, interior channels or cells make for a springier feel.
