There is a common confusion between laminate and vinyl flooring. Vinyl has a natural resistance to water and moisture, whereas laminate is typically more susceptible to damage when moisture is present.
Classic laminate construction is made of wood particles, which is likely to swell when moisture is heavy. If you choose to purchase laminate, your best investment is choosing a product with an HDF core. These provide greater resistance to swelling with moisture.
Water resistant laminate flooring is not as common as other types of waterproof flooring, but if you do some research you can definitely find a laminate floor to fit your needs.
Believe it or not, waterproof laminate flooring does actually exist. There are a few companies that have made an actual laminate that is waterproof. However, with the growing concerns of product safety in the laminate flooring industry, many people are choosing vinyl flooring over laminate.
This is not to say that there are not good quality laminate floors, but you should be careful to choose a laminate from a reputable manufacturer if air safety is a concern for you.
Sure, you can technically waterproof a laminate floor during install but that adds up time and money. You’d be better off buying a product that is already proven to be waterproof than to mess with a tricky nightmarish installation. Who wants to spend hours caulking seams when you can buy something waterproof out of the box?!
