There are lots of basic truths in life, and one of them is this: Floors take abuse. Spills, stains, knocks, nicks, rips, cuts. You name it, no matter what type of flooring you have, it's bound to take its share of punishment.

The good news is there is a flooring solution out there for the busy family, the active professional, or the home-loving homebody: laminate flooring. While other flooring gives in, or stains, or cuts, laminate flooring not only holds up, but looks great doing it. In nearly every way, laminate flooring outperforms every other type of flooring you can think of.

The following are the top seven reasons why laminate flooring is the solution for the modern home.

1. Laminate Flooring Holds Up If you could run a family household on silk carpets, maybe you would. But, let's face it, you can't. Laminate flooring is designed with a special wear layer, which is much more durable than any other home flooring out on the market. Kids, pets, even adults are going to be rough on a floor day after day, month after month. Laminate flooring holds up to all this and keeps its new look even after years wear and tear.

2. Guaranteed Good Laminate flooring is so resistant to moisture damage, staining, and fading that you'll find it's common for manufacturers to offer warranties of up to 25 years or more. Compare that to hardwood floors, for example. Could you imagine 25 years of a hardwood floor without some major reconditioning? I think we all could because we've seen hardwood floors that have been around for a while without major upkeep. Is that something you'd want in your house?

3. Laminate Flooring is a Snap to Install - Literally One of the most attractive features of laminate flooring is its easy-to-install nature. Many types on the market these days literally snap together. Laminate flooring is so easy to install, that many people find they can do it themselves. If you're someone who likes to take on projects around the house, laminate flooring will be a breeze for you.

4. Easy to Maintain Laminate flooring is not only easy to install, but once it's down, it's easy to clean and maintain. Everyone has seen those floor-cleaning commercials where the dirt just wipes away. With laminate flooring the dirt really does just wipe away. And it's this quality that allows it to look new year after year. It will seem as if every year you've installed a brand new floor.

5. A Healthy Living Environment The ability to clean laminate flooring so easily obviously makes it more physically attractive, but there's an added benefit to it's easy-to-clean nature - it's better for you. A house with laminate flooring is more conducive to healthy living. Hardwood floors can eventually rot, and its crevices collect dust like a ghost town. Carpets, likewise, are susceptible to mold and stains and attract pet hair or people hair or dust balls like nobody's business. Enter laminate flooring. A mop, a little soap, a quick wipe-down every now and then, and your house stays clean and fresh and healthy.

6. Laminate Flooring Saves You Dough Because of the staying power of laminate flooring (remember the 25 year guarantee many manufactures offer), any other type of flooring simply doesn't compare. Carpets? Forget it. Get the absolute best carpet you can and you'll still eventually have to replace it. Hardwood floors? Nice ... if you're willing to put in the time and money it takes to keep them that way. Vinyl? Do you see any manufacturers offering 25-year guarantees on vinyl? In the long run, not only does laminate flooring look great, it actually ends up being more economical than the alternatives.

And finally ...

7. Great Looks! Granted, the fact that laminate flooring looks great has been mentioned several times already, but this point not only deserves it's own place in the sun, it deserves this specially-reserved place as Lucky Number 7, Last but Not Least, Save the Best for Last! Let's face it, even if laminate flooring had all the other great qualities it has, but looked like concrete, who would even consider it?

You want your floors to look great. That's the bottom line. You want them to be durable and healthy and easy-to-maintain, but looks are important too. This is your house we're talking about you. Your home. It's the place you go to unwind and relax and be yourself. It's also the place you invite family and guests into. Your home is a symbol of who you are and how you approach living. Who doesn't want their home to look great?

Whether it's just for your eyes, or the eyes of countless others, laminate flooring will do one thing if nothing else - give you great-looking floors.