How To Clean Laminate Flooring

Continuing our series of #loveyourfloor cleaning guides, we are focusing on how to best protect and clean your laminate flooring.

Durable and long-lasting, laminate flooring is an affordable solution that emulates the look of solid hardwood or stone. Like with all flooring types, regular cleaning is important to keep it healthy and last for longer.

BEST WAY TO CLEAN LAMINATE FLOORS

It's best to follow your manufacturer's cleaning and maintenance instructions, as some may recommend more specific cleaning methods. For this article, we'll follow the cleaning guidelines that apply to all Berry Alloc laminate flooring. Before you get the mop bucket out, it's good practice to begin with protecting the floor. You can use the following as general guidance.

PROTECTING LAMINATE FLOORING

Protecting your flooring couldn't be any easier after following these safety tips:

Entrance Mat

The first step to protecting your laminate flooring begins at your entrance. Placing a suitable doormat at your front doorway helps to absorb any dirt and moisture brought in from the outside.

Floor protectors

After securing the entranceway, you should place floor protectors like felt pads under the legs of any furniture and heavy objects to avoid scratches when moving. If you're working from home and use an office chair with wheels, place a clear plastic mat underneath it. 

Set Temperature

Indoor temperature also affects laminate flooring. In the example of Berry Alloc laminate flooring, the best temperature to keep the floor in is between 18 and 25 °C. Drastic swings can affect all different flooring types by shrinking or expanding it, leading to problems down the line.

If you've already placed your welcome mat down, secured the feet of your furniture and set the temperature level, let's get down to some proper cleaning!

CLEANING LAMINATE FLOORING

While laminate flooring is straightforward to clean, we always advise to follow the manufacturer's guidelines. The following is a simple summary of how to get into a good cleaning schedule.

Dry Cleaning

Regularly clean with either a soft brush, vacuum cleaner or microfiber mops making sure to remove any dirt and debris that could be hiding in the cracks or crevices. Avoid using steel wool and do not wax, varnish or polish as this can damage the floor.

Wet Cleaning

This is more suited for weekly cleaning at the very least. When wet cleaning, you should avoid drenching the floor to prevent water from seeping into the cracks, as this can lift and warp the flooring. While laminate is an easy to maintain material, it's always best to use the correct flooring agent when you clean. 

For Berry Alloc, their recommended laminate flooring cleaner dries without leaving any smears leaving the floor looking brand new. Synthetic detergents like that work better with laminate as organic detergents (soap) can have the opposite effect, leaving a greasy film on the surface that results in visible footprints. After all that hard work, it'd be a shame for it to go to waste like that!

James Laminate Floor Care

James - The Finishing Touch floor care is suitable for a wide range of flooring types, including laminate. These floor care products have a broad series of applications; for instance - dealing with stubborn stains to delivering an excellent matt polish to your flooring. You can find the right cleaner for the job with our James Floor Care collection.

For further laminate flooring queries, don't hesitate to contact our team of flooring experts.