Chicago, IL – November 9, 2009 - A survey commissioned by Tornado Industries asked facility managers if they are more likely to install hard-surface or carpeted floor coverings.

  As most building and cleaning professionals know, trends in floorcare selection “are like a pendulum swinging from right to left,” says Jolynn Kennedy, Marketing Manager for Tornado. “For a while one type of covering is popular, and then it moves in the opposite direction.”

  When asked if their facilities had been installing more hard-surface flooring instead of carpeted floors in recent years, 43 percent of survey respondents said yes; 57 percent indicated no.

  Questioned as to which type of hard-surface flooring most often is selected, the respondents reported:

• Ceramic tile-43 percent
• Laminates, such as linoleum-29 percent
• Vinyl tile-28 percent

  Further, asked if one type of floor covering costs more to maintain, half of the respondents indicated there was “no significant difference.”

  Additional findings:

• Twenty-five percent said both types “require about the same amount of time and attention.”
• About 17 percent said hard-surface floors take more time to clean than carpeted.
• Forty-two percent said carpeting takes more time to clean compared to hard-surface flooring.
• About 17 percent indicated they were not sure which took longer.

  Also, the managers were evenly divided as to whether a hard or soft covering was more environmentally friendly.

  “We also asked the [facility] managers what their two biggest hard-floor cleaning challenges are,” adds Kennedy. “At the top of the list were concerns about costs (38 percent). This was followed by concerns about slip-and-fall accidents (33 percent), and grout cleaning (29 percent), which can be a real challenge if the right tools and equipment are not used.”

  The survey did not pinpoint why one type of covering is more popular than another. According to Kennedy, floor covering selection might be nothing more than a style or design trend.