HOW TO CLEAN LAMINATE WOOD FLOORS

roksee

7 years ago

how to clean to shine

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Comments (2)

PRO
Cancork Floor Inc.
7 years ago
You want shine? OK. No problem. First - purchase a laminate that is shiny. To get a floor to be "shiny clean" you have to start with shiny. You don't want to take a low-gloss laminate and try to make it "glossy". It doesn't work like that. And today's fashion is "matte" or low gloss. This leaves those people who need "shiny clean" in a bit of a pickle.

And laminate is not wood. It is a photograph of wood (a picture) that is laid over top of fibre board. You are cleaning the photo...not wood.

There are products out there (be VERY careful what you wish for) that are "polishes". These polishes can RAISE the gloss level of the floor you use it on. But BUYER BEWARE! These polishes are a NIGHTMARE to deal with after 3-4 applications. They start to peal and bubble and haze and crackle. And that normally spells the beginning of the end of the laminate.

To get the polish off, you need to chemically STRIP the floor. And one thing laminates do NOT like is a lot of water/liquid chemicals. So the more you try to get it to be "shiny" the more you will cause yourself grief in the next 5 years. We have seen these polishes KILL a decent laminate. A laminate that SHOULD have lived for 20 years, was killed in less than 5 years! All because the owner wanted "shiny clean". It can be an expensive discovery.

Personally, I would use a pH neutral floor cleaner for the laminate you have. And "live" with the gloss level. And then the next time you want to purchase a new floor, remember to buy one that is already shiny. Sorry but that's as good as this gets with laminate.
PRO
Momentum Janitorial
6 years ago
With proper cleaning and maintenance,your laminate and wood floor should provide many years of high quality shine, and durability to your abode.With the right tools and techniques,you’ll be able to keep your floors looking their best. Keep updating.We follow the SHEA principle when it comes to floor cleaning,which emphases on security,health,environment, and appearance.Keep sharing.
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I've read every suggestion posted here. My findings are as follows: never use glass cleaner on laminate it contains ammonia and will eventually deteriorate the protective coating as per the Bruce Flooring Mfg website. Of course they recommend laminate floor cleaner however can be expensive. never use steam mops, water will eventually warp the boards because the water does get in between the boards not recommended by the mfg, unless of course you are on your hands and knees wiping the floor dry. never use Swiffer it just causes a big mess of smears and streaks, especially the kind with Febreeze. This is from a couple of friends who used this product and got the above results. THE BEST option I found as I did this myself was to first clean the floor by hand with a bucket of water a few drops of dish hand soap to remove the residue from the other cleaners you may have used. I used a clean "fabric softener free" cloth to both wash and dry the floor. Fabric softener just causes smears and a big mess. Was time consuming but totally worth it as it got rid of all the residue that had accumulated. This option withstood the "FOOTPRINT" test and I am overjoyed!!! The next time I cleaned my floors I used a spray bottle of plain hot water with a couple drops of dish hand soap and my microfiber mop cleaning a small area at a time. No more streaking, smearing, no residue and especially no "FOOTPRINTS!" Thank you everyone for your suggestions it was most helpful!
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Building Science Corp. has long recommended avoiding vinyl flooring on basement flooring or slabs. Plastic test or not. BSC-103 Understanding Basements Depending on how the walls were constructed, there certainly could be mould developing in them as well. Mechanical dehumidification is essential in virtually all basements to keep relative humidity below 50% at the least. A bleach solution is the usual recommendation for removing mould odours. A local janitorial supply company might have some specialty products that will work well.
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A Hoover Floormate probably squirts out too much water to be safe for laminate. You also can't use a steam mop. I would get a microfiber mop pad and get it damp with just water. You can probably use 1 part vinegar to 5+ parts water also. I really despise Swiffer wet cloths and other floor cleaning products because they leave a residue. Even Bona for laminate will build up over time since you don't rinse it so if you use a ph-neutral laminate cleaner like Bona only use it occasionally for deep cleaning.
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Sorry - there isn't anything to be done. Either live with it or remove it. Laminate is a PHOTOGRAPH. Like any photograph that has been beaten up and the faces scratched out - there is no way to repair it. It is better to print off another photo and replace it. The floor in a rental unit has a life expectancy of 7 years. If your laminate gave 5-7 years of life, then it is done. You *might be able to use a HORRIBLE product such as Mop & Glo or any "temporary" shine restorer...but it will make it MUCH worse. It will look OK for about 6 months...then it will look worse than it does today. Then you reapply more shine stuff...and then more...and then more until it looks like you have a THICK layer of candle wax on the floor (because that's kinda what you have done). At THAT point you can rip it out and start again. Because at THAT point, you have truly ruined the floor. There is no saving it. I would give it 18 months at most. If you have a renovation going on already, then it is probably best to remove this stuff and replace it now. It will give you the best possible chance of getting another 7 years out of the floor. Good luck. Replace it today, or replace it tomorrow. It is your choice. This is what laminate offers in a rental: cheap flooring that is easy to replace.
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HOW TO CLEAN LAMINATE WOOD FLOORS

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Cancork Floor Inc.

Momentum Janitorial

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