The key difference between vinyl and linoleum is that the vinyl is a product of petroleum oil whereas the linoleum is a product of linseed oil. Further, the vinyl tile is easy to install and maintain while linoleum tile is a bit hard to install and maintan but is water resistant.

Vinyl and linoleum are forms of flooring material that share many similarities as well as some differences. Due to their similarities, the terms are interchangeable.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Vinyl
3. What is Linoleum
4. Similarities Between Vinyl and Linoleum
5. Side by Side Comparison – Vinyl vs Linoleum in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What is Vinyl?

Vinyl is a flooring material made from petroleum oil. These floor tiles consist of polyvinyl chloride chips. The production process requires high energy to extract and process chlorine into this material because it needs specific conditions of heat and pressure. When it comes to commercial value, vinyl tiles are highly durable and can install easily. You can do it yourself with the peel-and-stick type vinyl tiles. But, if you are using sheet type, you should handle it carefully when cutting and installing. Besides these benefits, it also requires low maintenance.

Not all, but some types of vinyl tiles are water-proof. Therefore, we can use these types in slightly wet environments such as basements. The most water-resistant is the sheet type. Furthermore, these tiles are available in various colors and printed forms. There are image-embedded forms as well. However, this print may wear down over time since the image is only on the surface of the tile.

Figure 01: Vinyl Sheet Tiles

It is also easy to clean the tile surface; sweeping or vacuumming is good enough. Moreover, it does not cause any discoloration to any detergent. Also, it is resistant to moisture and molds. Simply wiping over it makes the appearance clean.

What is Linoleum?

Linoleum is a flooring material made from linseed oil. This oil in combination with natural and renewable materials such as cork dust, wood flour, and rosin, makes linoleum tiles. The source of linseed oil is flax seed.

Installing linoleum flooring is very similar to that of vinyl tiles, but it is bit difficult to install, in comparison. There are do-it-yourself type linoleum tiles as well. However, it requires more hard maintenance. But, these tiles are impermeable to fluids such as water; therefore, water resistant. Though it is resistant to fluids, it needs periodical sealing because excessive humidity can curl the corners of the sheets.

Figure 02: Linoleum Tiles

Linoleum tiles are dyed using different colors that do not fade or washed-out. That means, the patterns printed on the tiles are not only on the surface but also penetrates through the entire tile. That allows the material to wear down without fading. It is effortless to clean the surface of this tile just by vacuum cleaning or sweeping.

What are the Similarities Between Vinyl and Linoleum?

• Vinyl and Linoleum are both flooring materials.
• Both type of flooring are available in different colors and patterns.

What is the Difference Between Vinyl and Linoleum?

Summary – Vinyl vs Linoleum

Vinyl and linoleum are flooring material and are available in do-it-yourself form. The key difference between vinyl and linoleum is that the vinyl is a product of petroleum oil whereas linoleum is a product of linseed oil.

Reference:

1. “What’s the Difference Between Vinyl and Linoleum Flooring?” The Spruce. Available here 
2. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Linoleum.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 21 Apr. 2018. Available here

Image Courtesy:

1.’8805920962′ by Hank Hession (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
2.’Linoleum 003’By Concord – Own work, (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pbXFn5yrnZ6YsqOx07CcnqZemLyue8OinZ%2Bdopq7pLGMm5ytr5Wau27CyKewpWWRo7FuuMinpqWdpaJ8