enigma wrote:
>
> i have ceramic tile. i HATE it! it's hard. it's ugly (ceramic
> scratches fairly easily. we have a farm, & the side door
> enters into the kitchen, so mud & sand are constantly tracked
> in). it's noisy. it's freaking *cold*! it's really hard to
> clean, which surprised me. i figured it'd be tougher than
> vinyl & just sweep clean. wrong! it's almost as easy to
> scratch as vinyl & the grout joints collect dirt & stain
> really easily. i'm not sure exactly how old my ceramic floor
> is, but the grout is cracking &/or falling out in a lot of
> places (granted it's laid right over a wide pine floor with no
> underlayment or levelling). did i say i HATE it? it's going to
> be a pain in the butt to get rid of it too.
> when i redo the kitchen i'll put in real linoleum. it's
> comfortable, way warmer than tile, & easier to clean (no
> joints, no cracks, no grout). then i'll get a Scooba

Heh. I suppose there are tiles and tiles. We also stay on a small holding
(it's not big enough to be called a farm here in RSA), with mud etc.
trailed in all the time, (not to mention some chicken poo, if Dad forgets
to change his shoes <grin>). I find my tiles very easy to keep clean, and I
haven't seen any scratches. (Just the crack I caused when I wasn't being
careful enough when I had my 'accident' and the pestle fell on them). We
just use one of those 'squeeze mop' thingies with some water and a bit of
household detergent (one of the ones that kills 'germs'). I haven't noticed
much dirt build up in the grouting, nor has it come out and there are no
worn patches in the tiles themselves. We've been here 5 years already - and
I have no idea when the previous owners put them in - judging by the
designs and/or size, probably a good few years before that.

IME, linoleum scratches very easily. My Mom had it in her kitchen and dining
room when I was a child, and our big Alsatian used to sneak in to the
dining room to sleep under the table - and her claws left awful marks. At
the first opportunity Mom put in tiles. I suppose as long you don't allow
your dogs on it, it would be fine. Mind you that was years and years ago -
probably the linoleum they make these days is better quality...

--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Egg tastes better when it's not on your face...