How To Clean Laminate Wood Plank Flooring

The All-time Way to Make clean Laminate Floors to Protect Its Shiny End

Brand your laminate floors polish with our tips on cleaning, regular upkeep, and stain removal.

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Today's laminate flooring is a toll-effective, bonny selection with highly realistic finishes and textures. Information technology can mimic the wait of any blazon of wood imaginable, including rare or exotic hardwoods, too equally stone and other flooring styles. Laminate floors are strong and difficult to scratch, and this material doesn't expand and contract like hardwood. However, it is more susceptible to moisture damage than existent woods, making it a poor choice for bathrooms and laundry rooms where water might leak. Additionally, harsh products aren't recommended for cleaning laminate floors. When installed in other areas of the house, all the same, cleaning laminate floors is easy. Practicing regular light maintenance will continue your floors looking shiny and new for years to come up.

modern white open kitchen mint green stools accents

Laminate floors get their beautiful appearance from a photographic reproduction, which is layered within protective plastic coatings on a supporting core of woods-based fabric. Although laminate floors look like hardwood, they cannot be refinished and are difficult to repair. If laminate gets worn down, it will take to be replaced, and so it's worth your time and effort to keep your laminate floor make clean and free from damaging dust and wet. Put mats by outside doors, runners or area rugs in loftier-traffic rooms, and flooring protectors beneath the feet and corners of heavy furniture. These steps will help prevent your laminate floors from accumulating wear over time.

adult female mopping forest floor with sponge mop

How to Clean Laminate Floors

Start and foremost, always follow the manufacturer's care instructions for your new laminate floor, and don't hesitate to telephone call your manufacturer with questions.

Step 1: Vacuum or sweep floors.

If yous inherited laminate floors when you lot moved in, plan on taking care of them past regularly sweeping, dusting, or vacuuming up loose dirt. Sweep or vacuum in the direction that your floor is laid to grab debris between the interlocking pieces. Wipe upwardly all spills right away, including dry materials that fall.

Step 2: Damp-mop laminate floors.

Low-cal damp mopping will aid if simply wiping is non enough, but you should exercise caution. Avoid overly wet mopping, which can outcome in water seeping behind baseboards. When you practice mop, use two buckets of h2o: one for clean water, and one for dirty water. Using a muddied mop caput on your floors is unremarkably the reason why annoying streaks appear afterward. Before you lot mop, vacuum starting time instead of sweeping, as vacuuming is much more effective at picking upwards particles. Just be sure to switch your vacuum setting to a soft castor. Rotating bristles on standard brushes can scratch a laminate floor.

Step iii: Dry out floors, if needed.

Water is typically all you lot need to clean your laminate floor. If you must use cleaner, opt for a manufactured-approved solution designed for laminate ($15, Target). For a homemade laminate floor cleaner, utilize a small amount of vinegar mixed with h2o. Never use wax, acrylic products, or bleach because they can damage the floor's stop.

kitchen with large island and wood floors

How to Remove Stains from Laminate Floors

As with virtually surfaces, information technology'southward always good practice to make clean up spills correct when they happen. Luckily, laminate floors do not stain easily. Simply if something does get stuck or stained on your laminate floors, your beginning line of defense is a manufacturer-approved laminate stain remover ($5, The Domicile Depot). Natural recipes, like those with vinegar, blistering soda, or liquid soap, can besides assistance to remove laminate flooring stains. Simply be sure to stay clear of abrasive sponges and scrubbers like steel wool when you're cleaning laminate floors as these can create permanent scratches.

For specially tough stains, try the post-obit home remedies:

Claret: Remove blood with a window cleaner, and then wipe with a damp cloth. Equally with mopping, follow this procedure by wiping with a dry cloth.
Candle wax: Let the molten wax harden before carefully scraping it off with a plastic knife. Never use a metal knife to do this!
Chewing gum: Freeze the glob with a plastic bag of ice before scraping the hardened mucilage off with a plastic knife. Again, do not use a metal knife.
Grease and tar: Remove grease with mineral spirits.
Heel or other shoe scuff marks: Remove past rubbing with a pencil eraser.
Ink and crayon: Remove with rubbing booze.
Nail smoothen: Remove with rubbing alcohol or a tiny scrap of nail shine remover.
Blood-red wine: Wipe off red wine with a clammy cloth.
Shoe smooth: Remove with rubbing alcohol.