As a cat owner, it is natural that you love your cat. As a homeowner with beautiful wood floors, you like your floors, too. But cats and wood do not mix. Cat urine has an unmistakable, ammonia-like pungent smell that permeates the room and can even extend to the rest of the house. Until the cat urine odor is addressed, it will announce itself every time you enter the house. Older, heavily used wood floors’ porosity makes the problem even worse since the urine is allowed to soak into the wood. While it is no simple task to get the smell of cat urine out of wood flooring, it can be done by using the right type of cleaner or, if the problem is advanced, by sanding the floor.

Solid hardwood and engineered wood flooring are both gorgeous and durable. With such a reputation for toughness, it would seem that hardwood floors are impervious to any manner of abuse that homeowners can dish out. But hardwood flooring’s long-lasting nature is only as good as the treatment it receives from the homeowner. Treating your hardwood flooring with the proper care it deserves is the first step to maintaining it and keeping it beautiful for decades to come.

Standing water and hardwood flooring don’t mix. For anyone who lives in hurricane- and flood-prone areas that have historic homes, this comes as no surprise. If major amounts of water—flood-related or not—have come into contact with your wood floor, your floors will never be quite the same as new again, but you can take steps toward saving them from the junkyard. Your local architectural salvage yard might love to have your pulled-up hardwood flooring, but it’s not time to give up the ghost just yet.

Laminate flooring and water do not mix. A number of floor coverings are considered impervious to water, such as ceramic or porcelain tile, luxury vinyl plank flooring, and especially sheet vinyl flooring. At the other end of the spectrum are floors like solid hardwood, bamboo, and engineered wood that you may want to think long and hard about prior to laying in a full bathroom with a shower or bathtub.

Laminate flooring falls in the latter camp. If inexpertly installed, laminate flooring will be a disaster in high-moisture environments. If installed according to manufacturer instructions, laminate flooring has, at least, a decent chance of standing up against the water.

Everyone will age and will need to start thinking about how your home will be setup is a way to avoid falls, slips and all sorts of accidents, while providing great looks and comfort.

Choosing a flooring material for seniors who want to age in place in their homes doesn’t need to be complicated. The trick is to consider five main factors and to prioritize those factors for each type of flooring and how and where you will use it.