Laminate floor cleaning and maintenance
Laminate flooring requires a special maintenance and cleaning routine to ensure that it offers years of a gleaming finish. Establishing a cleaning and maintenance routine is the first step to making sure that you can keep them clean, keep them shining, and make sure that they retain their high quality durability for the entire lifespan in the space that has been selected. Once the routine is established with detailed steps and understanding being able to follow the routine should be rather simple to follow. Hardwood Floors Plus put together some steps you can easily follow:
One of the first steps to maintaining your laminate flooring system is to protect and care for the flooring from the beginning. Always make sure to wipe up any wet spills when they happened immediately. Anytime that water is introduced into a laminate flooring system it could end in disaster, so the best plan of action is to always make sure that any type of liquid that hits the floor is removed right there and then. Anytime there is a high chance of a liquid being spilled onto the floor it is good to protect it. If there are pets or children in the home a great preventive plan for preventing any liquid from hitting the floor is to have mats that go under their eating and drinking areas. For pets using mats under their food and water dishes, and for children to consider also placing mats under their high chair or table chair. These preventive measures can really save a ton of time and worry.
Protecting your laminate flooring is to also make sure that you do not cause any unwanted maintenance issues. To avoid losing the shine of the laminate flooring do not use any type of cleaners or solutions that enhances the shine to a surface. Often these solutions have additives that can cause a waxy film that builds up and over time can be very hard to remove. Along with avoiding solutions that promote shine also stay away from solutions that are pine scented. Cleaners with that scent contain solutions that leave a dull and soapy residue on the floor. One other cleaner to make sure to avoid using is Murphy’s Oil. The cleaner causes major steaks across the surface. Many people have been coached to use a diluted vinegar and water mixture to clean their laminate floors. While this is effective in cleaning overtime the solution can actually remove the protective layer of sealant that has been created at the factory when it was produced. For the longevity of the laminate flooring system is it best to avoid this solution.
Now is comes to cleaning the laminate flooring. A cleaning routine should be done often to ensure that the floor always looks its best, but if the entire routine can not always be completed. Making sure to keep the floor clean and free of dust, grin, and any type of abrasive debris one of the best practices. The ideal cleaning routine and plan consists of sweeping the floor often. This means completely sweeping the floor surface to ensure that it is free of pet hair, dust, dirt or anything that has collected on the surface. It is best to sure a broom that features soft bristles. The soft bristles will collect the unwanted debris off the floor without scratching the surface. For those hard to reach areas use a vacuum cleaner that has a wand attachment. The wand should then be used with an attachment that also has soft bristles. This works best for corner areas.
Once all the debris has been removed from the laminate floor it is time to clean the surface. The best practice is to use a damp mop. This means that mop should be damp and only damp. The goal is to clean the surface and not to give any chance of moisture to leak between any of the seams. To make a cleaning solution use super hot water along with a few drops of a dish liquid. There are a few product solutions on the market that are specially designed to clean laminate flooring. They can be used, but always make sure that the directions are followed exactly. These products work well but the best cleaning solution is the simplest.
Laminate flooring systems offer such a wonderful design and style to a room. To make sure that you can enjoy the flooring with it at its best for the longest period of time make sure to establish a cleaning and maintenance routine that works best for you and the floor. It is best to establish the routine from the time of installation and going forward.
One of the first steps to maintaining your laminate flooring system is to protect and care for the flooring from the beginning. Always make sure to wipe up any wet spills when they happened immediately. Anytime that water is introduced into a laminate flooring system it could end in disaster, so the best plan of action is to always make sure that any type of liquid that hits the floor is removed right there and then. Anytime there is a high chance of a liquid being spilled onto the floor it is good to protect it. If there are pets or children in the home a great preventive plan for preventing any liquid from hitting the floor is to have mats that go under their eating and drinking areas. For pets using mats under their food and water dishes, and for children to consider also placing mats under their high chair or table chair. These preventive measures can really save a ton of time and worry.
Protecting your laminate flooring is to also make sure that you do not cause any unwanted maintenance issues. To avoid losing the shine of the laminate flooring do not use any type of cleaners or solutions that enhances the shine to a surface. Often these solutions have additives that can cause a waxy film that builds up and over time can be very hard to remove. Along with avoiding solutions that promote shine also stay away from solutions that are pine scented. Cleaners with that scent contain solutions that leave a dull and soapy residue on the floor. One other cleaner to make sure to avoid using is Murphy’s Oil. The cleaner causes major steaks across the surface. Many people have been coached to use a diluted vinegar and water mixture to clean their laminate floors. While this is effective in cleaning overtime the solution can actually remove the protective layer of sealant that has been created at the factory when it was produced. For the longevity of the laminate flooring system is it best to avoid this solution.
Now is comes to cleaning the laminate flooring. A cleaning routine should be done often to ensure that the floor always looks its best, but if the entire routine can not always be completed. Making sure to keep the floor clean and free of dust, grin, and any type of abrasive debris one of the best practices. The ideal cleaning routine and plan consists of sweeping the floor often. This means completely sweeping the floor surface to ensure that it is free of pet hair, dust, dirt or anything that has collected on the surface. It is best to sure a broom that features soft bristles. The soft bristles will collect the unwanted debris off the floor without scratching the surface. For those hard to reach areas use a vacuum cleaner that has a wand attachment. The wand should then be used with an attachment that also has soft bristles. This works best for corner areas.
Once all the debris has been removed from the laminate floor it is time to clean the surface. The best practice is to use a damp mop. This means that mop should be damp and only damp. The goal is to clean the surface and not to give any chance of moisture to leak between any of the seams. To make a cleaning solution use super hot water along with a few drops of a dish liquid. There are a few product solutions on the market that are specially designed to clean laminate flooring. They can be used, but always make sure that the directions are followed exactly. These products work well but the best cleaning solution is the simplest.
Laminate flooring systems offer such a wonderful design and style to a room. To make sure that you can enjoy the flooring with it at its best for the longest period of time make sure to establish a cleaning and maintenance routine that works best for you and the floor. It is best to establish the routine from the time of installation and going forward.