Laminate flooring has become extremely popular and with good reason. It is a cheaper and more hassle-free way of achieving a hardwood floor look. But while its design has revolutionised homes across the country, many people don't realise that it can be quite difficult to clean well without damaging it. Let us here at The Sparkle Gang show you the best way to clean your laminate floors so that they stay looking their best for longer.
While laminate flooring can look like natural wood, the reality is very different. It is actually a synthetically made material. The centre of each laminate floorboard is made of a composite, often fibrewood and resin. On the outer top and bottom surfaces is a photographic applique that features the style of wood it is replicating covered with a protective coating.
This technique creates laminate floors that look like real wood and have a lovely shine. But it also means that they are a lot more fragile than real wood. This fragility means that you have to be a lot more careful with the care that you give them, including how they are cleaned.
Read on for our guide on cleaning laminate floors so that they stay at their best for longer.
Many people opt for laminate floors because they are low maintenance compared to carpets. And it is true. As long as you use the right cleaning methods, the day-to-day maintenance of your flooring is pretty easy.
You should aim to dust mop, sweep, or vacuum every day. It is important to not let dirt and grit build up on your laminate flooring as this can cause scratches when it is stepped on.
Spot cleaning using a damp cloth is also an important part of maintaining laminate floors and this should be done as soon as anything is spilled.
As far as deep cleaning goes, once a month should be fine as long as you spot-clean spills immediately.
There are some definite strong dos and don'ts when it comes to cleaning laminate floors. Making sure you use the right products and techniques will mean that your laminate floor won't get damaged and you won't need to go through the hassle of replacing them earlier than you should.
The two key things to remember when cleaning laminate floors are to avoid scratching the surface and to prevent them from getting wet. Unlike real wood flooring, scratches cannot be buffed out of laminate flooring. The only solution is to replace the floor tile.
Wetness is also very damaging to laminate floors. This is because the liquid can seep between the joins and get into the composite underneath the protective layer. This can cause the surface to bubble or swell.
Check out: Home Remedies For Slippery Floors
You can use a vacuum cleaner on laminate flooring but you do have to be careful. The best type of vacuum cleaner to use is a canister vacuum or a vacuum with a hard floor attachment but if you only have an upright, that can still be fine as long as you turn off the rotating brush. This brush can damage the laminate surface by causing scratches.
Again, sweeping a laminate floor is fine. And you should do this often to prevent scratches from built-up grit and dirt. But you should not use a hard bristle traditional broom as this can scratch the protective surface. Instead, use a soft broom with a soft-bristled brush that won't be too abrasive. A dry dust mop using a microfiber cloth is also a good idea as this will remove any dust while being gentle to the flooring.
It is important to clean up any spills as soon as you notice them. Liquid can be very damaging to laminate floors so the longer a spill is left to soak in, the more chance there is that it will seep through the joins and into the laminate boards which can cause stains or swelling.
Use a barely damp cloth to quickly clean up the spill and the floor is much less likely to stain. If there are any crumbs dropped on the floor, it is a good idea to use a soft broom to clean them up as soon as you can as they can get scraped around on the floor which could cause damage.
Your laminate floors will need mopping around once a month, or sooner if you have small children or animals. But mopping laminate flooring is slightly different from mopping hardwood floors or tiles.
Again, it is important to remember that too much liquid will easily damage the laminate floor so the aim is to use as little liquid as possible while still effectively cleaning the floor.
Choosing a decent laminate floor cleaner can help to ensure that you are cleaning it properly. This type of cleaning solution is specially formulated to make laminate flooring clean and ensure that it looks good. Using an oil-based cleaning solution instead, for example, would likely leave streaks and a fil of residue which would take away from the laminate's shine.
You should use a damp mop rather than a soaking wet mop to reduce the amount of wetness on the floor as much as possible.
If you are using a traditional mop head, make sure that you squeeze the liquid out of it before using it on the floor. Although for laminate floors, it is often better to use a microfiber mop instead. Using a spray bottle or the bottle attached to the mop, spray only as much laminate floor cleaner as is necessary before using the microfiber mop to clean it.
If you want to shine laminate flooring, your best bet is to use the correct cleaner that won't leave a residue as this will allow the upper layer's natural shiny finish to show. Do not be tempted to try and use floor polish on your laminate floors as this will ruin the top layer of the laminate boards.
While you shouldn't use floor polish on laminate floors, you can help to give them a bit of a buff by using a microfiber cloth and buffing the floor in circles after you have given it a clean. This will help to bring out the natural shine in the material.
We have emphasised how delicate and thin the top layer of laminate floors is, but it is worth repeating. Even if you have tough stains, do not try using abrasive cleaning methods such as steel wool as this can leave permanent scratches on the top layer.
Abrasive cleaning solutions can often have a similar effect on the top layer of the laminate floors. It is far better to clean your laminate floors regularly, ensuring that you remove stains with a damp cloth as soon as they happen.
Laminate floors definitely look like the type of surface that could be steam cleaned but, as we have learned, water is bad news. Steam cleaners will force far too much water between the seams of the boards and can easily cause bubbling, lifting, and swelling.
To clean laminate, it is far better to use a slightly damp mop and a bit of elbow grease.
Scuffs, especially furniture and shoe scuffs, are common problems with laminate flooring. To protect your floor from scuff marks:
No matter how often you clean laminate floors or how careful you are with spot cleaning, it is almost inevitable that you will miss a spill that could turn into a stain. If this happens, don't panic, and definitely don't start reaching for abrasive cleaning products.
If you have dripped candle wax on the floor or you've dropped some chewing gum and have stepped it in, ice can help. This is because it hardens the wax or gum, reducing its stickiness. Then it can be gently removed with something like a plastic knife or credit card. Don't use a metal knife as this could scrape the floor.
If you have spilled ink or nail polish on your floor, rubbing alcohol will work best. Add some rubbing alcohol to a soft cloth and gently scrub the area. Acetone (nail polish remover) will also work well. Try not to use too much and make sure that you remove all of the residues with a dry cloth.
You don't need to spend a fortune on expensive laminate floor cleaning products. For convenience, these are great of course. But if you have the time and the inclination it is easy to make laminate floor cleaner yourself. These are just as good as shop-bought cleaners when you want to remove stains or for regular cleaning.
Your goal is to create a cleaner without oil, that has an effective cleaning agent and that evaporates quickly. The easiest cleaning solution uses three ingredients:
The formula is really easy because each element contributes the same fraction so you can make as much or as little as you like. The rubbing alcohol helps it to evaporate quickly so that the floor doesn't remain wet and the white vinegar is a very effective cleaning agent.
If you want to get fancy, you can add a couple of drops of essential oil to leave your clean laminate floors smelling lovely.
As always, make sure that you wring out your wet mop and that you remove any excess water from the floor as quickly as possible.
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Laminate floors are both a blessing and a curse. They look good and they are budget-friendly, and they are relatively low maintenance. Understanding the cleaning process, however, is important if you want to maintain the look of your laminate as the floor's finish is quite fragile and easy to damage. Once you get the hang of it, however, keeping your laminate floor clean will quickly become second nature and you will be able to enjoy it for years to come.
While you are here, why not dive into our blog section and read up on our post on how to deal with hoarders.
