To test flooring for foot-traffic wear, we rub abrasive paper discs back and forth against 6×6-inch flooring samples, checking for wear every 50 cycles. The best flooring is unscathed after 500 cycles or 50,000 abrasive rubs.
To test a floor’s resistance to denting, we drop a heavy, blunt weight that simulates a saucepan or large can of tomatoes, plus a lighter, pointier object that stands in for a dropped knife or fork. Our testers drop the weights from progressively higher release points, examining the flooring for visible damage after each drop. The higher the drop before damage becomes evident, the better a floor’s dent-resistance rating.
A floor’s water resistance is key to its longevity, and manufacturers are continually trying to improve their products’ impermeability. We check for water damage in two steps. First, we spill water on a flooring sample’s surface and allow it to sit overnight. Then we take another sample of the same flooring and completely submerge it in a bucket of water, again letting it remain overnight. The more a product swells, deforms, softens, or delaminates, the lower its water-resistance score.
We evaluate the potential for fading by exposing part of a flooring sample to ultraviolet rays for two weeks straight and then comparing the exposed portion with an unexposed portion. This shows us what happens over time to a section of flooring that gets more sunlight than the rest of a room.
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