Cement floors have become a popular choice among some home decorators, searching for decorative and affordable flooring solutions. However, some people still prefer using concrete floors for their bathrooms. This is primarily because concrete surfaces offer more durability and a wider range of designs. Cement floors are not recommended for bathroom flooring as bathroom surfaces are continuously exposed to a high level of daily usage, making them vulnerable to constant weathering.
Concrete floors are known to remain intact even when continuously exposed to water, like in the shower area. Concrete floorings are used in their pure format or for creating finished surfaces areas, i.e. laying stone floors, incorporating the use marble or terrazzo. Whereas, the top surface of the cement floor is susceptible to the cascading force of overhead showers and tend to chip-away with extended usage. This leads to an erosion-like mechanism wherein a rough surface along the exposed layer of the cement is created. This roughened surface area tends to trap dust particles which increase in volume due to water absorption, causing further cracking of the concrete flooring. These microscopic holes also host many bacterial microorganisms, creating bathroom hygiene-related issues.
This problem is created due the cement mix that is a bit porous by nature and hence, is prone to water seepage. This also causes easy staining of the cement designs on the bathroom floor. The increased water seepage is a direct deterrent to the bathroom’s plumbing installations. The accumulating water vapor due to the absorption of moisture migrates through the cement mix, causing the floor to ‘sweat’. This creates increased pressure on the plumbing installations, often cracking them, causing internal leakages.
Source: www.DoItYourself.com
