If you’re looking for a budget-friendly (but still stylish and hard-wearing) alternative to hardwood floors, laminate flooring could be right up your street. But it’s important to know the best ways to clean laminate floors to make it worth your while and keep it in ship-shape for years to come.
Yes, while there are so many incredibly flooring ideas out there, the much-improved, higher-quality designs have made laminate flooring more popular than ever. And as Natalie Mudd, Creative Director of The Wood Flooring Co. explains, ‘Suitable for most areas of the house, including kitchens, entranceways and living areas, laminate flooring is an ideal choice for busy households.’
But while laminate flooring is celebrated for being much easier to clean than some of the wood flooring ideas on the market, do you actually know how to clean it? Well, if you’ve been mopping your laminate flooring, we’re here to tell you that you’ve been doing it all wrong.
1. Start by vacuuming
When cleaning laminate floors, you should start by using one of the best vacuums to vacuum any dry debris. Yes, just as you’d vacuum over your carpet or your rugs, you can do the exact same thing with laminate flooring.
This will work wonders if your floor is riddled with pet hair or the remnants of your children’s dinner, as the suction qualities of the vacuum will help to remove loose dirt and debris from both the planks themselves and the cracks and gaps between them.
However, you need to be careful with what type of vacuum you use when cleaning your laminate. Although it’s best to use a canister vacuum – like many of the best Henry vacuum cleaners – you can also use an upright vacuum, but only if you have the ability to use the vacuum without the rotating bristles on the floorhead. After all, these bristles can easily scratch your laminate floors.
Many of the best Dyson vacuum cleaners are also suitable for laminate floors, as they come with Fluffyhead rollers that suit laminate floors perfectly. This way, you can swap out the floorheads when you switch between your carpets and hard flooring.
2. Hand wash (or mop very gently)
While many brands offer water-resistant laminate options, the smallest drop of water could ultimately affect the integrity of the planks and reduce their lifespan. Because of this, most experts would suggest hand-cleaning your laminate flooring to control the moisture levels.
Natalie warns, ‘Make sure that no puddles of water form as this can soak into the laminate plank over time and cause irreversible damage.’
If you do want to mop your floor, though, it’s best to do this sparingly and ensure you’re choosing the best mop for the job so you don’t oversaturate the planks with water.
Clare Bolland, cleaning expert for Vileda says, ‘By making sure you pick the right mop for your floor type, you can achieve sparkling floors without breaking a sweat,’ and suggests using a mop like the Vileda H2PrO Spin Mop System (£49.99 at Amazon), as this allows you to spin the mop head to control water levels.
3. Spot clean any problem areas
While vacuuming and wet cleaning should be enough to successfully clean laminate floors, you may spot some problem areas that require some extra attention. In this instance, it’s best to focus on what to avoid rather than what you can use, as, most of the time, a simple mixture of washing-up liquid or white vinegar and water should do the trick.
‘Dirty marks caused by substances like shoe cream, varnish, tar, oil, grease, ink etc., are best removed using a cloth soaked in solvent,’ says Natalie. ‘Never use abrasive cleaners, polish, wax, pastes or bleach on your laminate floor.’
If you find that your laminate floors are scratched, it’s possible to remove these too. Graeme Shelley, Managing Director at Factory Direct Flooring, says, ‘For laminate floors, treat scratches by applying a laminate-specific wax pencil over the damaged area, then buff away the excess with a soft cloth.’
In fact, it’s easy to find products like the Laminate Floor Repair Kit, £16.99 at Amazon, that will do the hard work for you.
4. Prevent future dirt and damage
They say that prevention is better than the cure, and while knowing how to clean laminate flooring is always a bonus, maintaining this cleanliness is equally important.
‘You should protect your laminate flooring from dirt particles by placing mats at entrances and routinely cleaning with a broom or vacuum cleaner. Suitable soft felt pads should always be fitted under chair and table legs to prevent damage, and shoes should be removed whenever possible to prolong the laminate floors,’ explains Natalie.
Alongside this, wiping up spills as soon as you see them and keeping your pet’s nails nicely trimmed will also help to keep your laminate flooring looking as good as new.
FAQs
What is the best thing to use to clean laminate floors?
Only products designed for use on laminate floors should be used. It’s best to avoid anything that’s full of bleach or highly abrasive, as this could damage the protective coating of your planks.
It’s not hard to find specific laminate flooring cleaner – like this Pledge Expert Care Wood Floor Cleaner Original from Amazon – or you could make your own.
An effective DIY laminate floor cleaner can be made using a simple mixture of dish soap and water.
How do you keep laminate floors clean and shiny?
The best way to keep laminate floors clean and shiny is by keeping them in tip-top condition at all times. Regular sweeping, vacuuming, and hand cleaning should enable you to keep it looking as good as new.
Alongside this, you should avoid anything that could dull the shine of laminate floors, including wax, floor polish, and abrasive cleaners.
So, there you have it! That’s how to properly clean laminate floors…
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