**Your friend's caution is grounded in real long-term experience.** While contractors favor vinyl because it is cheap, fast to lay, and creates seamless aesthetics, putting standard vinyl in a Singapore kitchen often leads to issues after 3 to 5 years.
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### The Reality: Material Waterproof vs. Installation Waterproof
Contractors often claim: *"Vinyl is 100% waterproof!"*
* While the **vinyl plank itself** (Stone Plastic Composite or SPC) will not swell or rot like laminate wood, **the click-lock joints between planks are not hermetically sealed**.
* In a kitchen with frequent cooking, washing, and dishwashing:
1. **Seepage Through Click Joints:** Puddled water from sink splashes or fridge condensation trickles through micro-joints. Trapped between the vinyl underside and the sub-floor screed, it cannot evaporate, leading to mould, mildew smell, and hollow "squishy" spots.
2. **Cooking Grease & Chemical Reactions:** Hot oil splatters soften the protective polyurethane wear layer. Degreasers and heavy floor cleaners break down click-lock seams over time, causing edges to curl or lift.
3. **High Impact Risks:** Dropping a heavy cleaver, pestle, or cast-iron pot can chip or gouge the surface layer, which cannot be patched like a tile.
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### Real-World Durability After 3 to 5 Years
* **Light Cooking / Dry Kitchens (Pantry, Baking, Meal Prep):** Vinyl holds up fine if spills are wiped immediately and non-slip mats are kept by the sink.
* **Heavy Asian Cooking / Wet Kitchens (Stir-frying, Deep-frying, Daily Washing):** Most homeowners report edge warping around the sink and stove within 3 to 4 years, requiring premature plank replacement.
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### The Best Practical Recommendation
1. **Keep Tiles for the Kitchen:** Retain or lay **homogeneous or glazed porcelain tiles** (R10 slip-rated) in the kitchen. They handle boiling oil, flood mopping, dropped utensils, and harsh chemicals effortlessly for 20+ years.
2. **Use a Slim Transition Profile:** Run vinyl across the living room and bedrooms, and place a flush, colour-matched aluminium or brass T-moulding transition strip at the kitchen entrance.
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Gan Eng Joo Onassis 颜荣裕, REALTOR®
MSc BIT (Middlesex, England, United Kingdom); BBA (South Australia)
CEA Reg No: R021244C | Singapore Line:
(+65) 88899918
Email: onassis@sgagent.com
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