How to Clean Laminate Floors?

Almost every elegant home you see on TV or in a real estate magazine has a laminate floor. These gorgeous looking finishes that come in different trims are colors have won the hearts of professionals and homeowners alike. They have a rustic, yet elegant finish that grabs attention and accentuate the décor and lighting in your home.

But, to keep the laminate floor looking its best requires a little more dedication and some experience. Without a watchful eye, the finish on your floors might be short-lived. They can become dull and loose color or worse, become warped when the seal is broken by water and moisture. Luckily, you’re in the right place and this little guide is all you need to keep your laminate floors looking gorgeous and sparkling clean!

Laminate Floor Cleaning Routine

The biggest challenge most homeowners have when it comes to cleaning laminate floors is know what to do when.

• The floor should be vacuumed or dry mopped regularly. Once a day is sufficient but for areas that have high traffic, you might want to consider going over the area a few times a day. Dry mopping or vacuuming helps to remove dirt and debris from the crevices and cracks.
• Once a month, you should damp-mop the floor. For kitchens and other areas that have more traffic, you can damp mop the floor once a week.
• Make sure any spills are immediately wiped off the floor and use a damp mop over the surface then a dry rug to make sure no moisture is left on the floor.

How to Keep Your Laminate Floor Looking its Best

While laminate floors look elegant and tough, they are actually quite delicate and require to be treated with caution. Knowing which practices to follow when dealing with laminate floors is critical.

• Spills – Spills are more likely to happen when you have kids around the house. Knowing how to handle a spill on a laminate floor is crucial. Use a microfiber cloth to soak up as much of the liquid as possible. You can then go over the area using a damp cloth to prevent staining. Finally use a dry cloth to mop up any remaining moisture and leave the floor with a nice finish.
•  Sweeping – Dry-mopping or vacuuming the floor plays an essential role. It helps to ensure those small particles of dirt and dust don’t leave streaks and scratches on your floor. Regular sweeping also makes the task of wet-mopping much easier.
• Use the right products – If you have to use a steam mop on your laminate floor, make sure you buy one specifically designed for laminate floors. Also, invest in cleaning solutions designed for laminate floors. These will protect the finish and ensure you get great results.
• Prevention – You should add some preventative measures in areas that receive substantial traffic. Placing mats in areas of high traffic or with constantly moving furniture like your baby’s chair will protect the floor and the its finish.  

How to Protect Your Laminate Floors

You’ve spent a pretty buck getting your floor that elegant and lustrous finish. The last thing you want is to damage the finish and the floor before you even get used to it. Here are some of the ways you can destroy the floor and how to prevent that.

• Even though the best steam cleaners are a staple when it comes to home cleaning, they are a no-no on laminate floors. You should also keep wet mops away from laminate floors to prevent irreparable damage.
• All spills should be wiped away as quickly as possible. No liquids (including water) should be allowed to sit on the surface of the floor.  
• Don’t wash or wet the floor with soap and water. You should also avoid oil-soap detergent and other liquid cleaning detergents.
• When cleaning the floor, don’t use steel wool or other abrasive cleaners. Chlorinated and ammoniated types of cleaners are harsh on the floors and shouldn’t be used as well.
• It might be tempting, but don’t use buffing or polishing machines on laminate floors.

A Step by Step Guide to Cleaning Laminate Floors

The first step is to buy the right tools to keep your floors happy. You need a vacuum cleaner and the best mop for laminate floors you can find on the market. If you know how to use a spin mop, it’s also a viable alternative to the laminate floor mop. It’s also essential to have a microfiber cloth and a laminate floor cleaner for those deep cleans.

Once you have all the necessary tools, you can set up a cleaning routine for your laminate floors. Ideally, you want to vacuum or sweep the floors at least once a day. If you leave in a sandy area like the beach, the vacuuming or sweeping can be a few times a day to make sure there are no particles that can scratch the floor. Vacuuming is better because it traps the particles and grits on site instead of pushing them along.

Once every few days, you need to deep clean the floors. Dump the laminate floor mop and mop the floor from back to front. For the best cleaning results, you can use a mixture of baking soda and a dash of vinegar.

Sprinkle the baking soda on the floor and mix a cup of vinegar in a bucket of water. Using the damp mop, you can slowly and steadily scrub off the stains. To make sure you don’t have any streaks left behind, clean the floors one more time with clean water.

After cleaning the laminate wood floors, make sure the floor is completely dry. You can use your microfiber rugs or pads. If you don’t have any, you can repurpose old towels which will also get the job done. 

How to remove tough stains

As with other floors, occasionally, you will have to deal with some tough stains. Because you can’t scrub or use abrasive products on the floors, you need to get a little creative.

For lipstick, ink, or oil spills you can pour some acetone on clean cloth. Wipe the area using the damp mop to restore the shine.

How to restore the shine in your laminate floors

Without proper care, your laminate floors can deteriorate over time. It’s worse when you use soap-based products because they dull the floor and create build-up.

If your floors are looking a little under the weather, all is not lost. While you might need some professional assistance to restore the finish. However, you can prevent further damage to the floor and cut on the repair costs.

Start using commercial cleaning products designed for laminate floors. This will help avoid streaking. If this doesn’t help, you need to avoid all soap-based cleaners.

Final Thoughts

One of the greatest benefits of having a laminate floor is how good they look. However, the shiny and elegant look will only last as long as you take care of it. Considering that you need to keep the floors clean and laminate doesn’t get along well with water, it feels like keeping the floors in shape is going to be a tall order.

But, this guide walks you through the simple hacks and tricks that will help you keep the floors clean without damaging the finish.