How To Clean Laminate ,Cleaning Floors its FUN.

How To Clean Laminate Floors  Cleaning Laminate Floors is FUN.

Cleaning laminate floors is so quick and simple you’ll be laughing! Here’s a fun guide to teach you how to clean laminate floors quickly and painlessly, so you have more time to enjoy the rest of the day. Read to the end and you’ll even discover how to make this boring chore “fun”.

Kit Up!

You’re going to need a few basic things before you start your laminate flooring maintenance. Don’t worry about purchasing any special cleaning fluid, it really isn’t necessary and will drain your pockets! Caring for laminate flooring requires the following:

• • Vacuum Cleaner or Fiber Dust Mop
• • Mop
• • Bucket of Hot Water

For the regular quick “once over” all you’ll need is either a vacuum with a soft brush attachment or a fiber dust mop (these are mops you can clip-on a replaceable microfiber cloth that attracts dust like George Clooney attracts women). See example photo to the right. You can pick up one of these bad boys from your local supermarket.

• Use a soft brush attachment on the vacuum or use a fiber dust mop for picking up dirt and hair. It’s best to sweep or vacuum in the direction that the floor is laid to collect all the dirt between the grooves instead of trapping it. If your laminate floor is a mimic of hardwood with bevels and grooves between each plank then dirt will be much easier to stick, so pay special attention to this if it is!

• If you want to go one step further and do a full wash, add a few squirts of mild washing up liquid to a bucket of hot water, or even just the plain hot water will do the trick! Then you can use a mop to go over the floor. For laminate floor it’s best not to use a dripping wet mop, so give it a good wring out first. And that’s it!

Secret Recipe

Here’s an excellent tried and tested recipe that works a treat for cleaning high gloss laminate floor leaving it completely streak free:

• • 1/3 cup of vinegar
• • 2 squirts of liquid dish detergent
• • Bucketful of warm water (about a gallon)

This wonderful recipe will save you from ever needing to buy an expensive branded cleaner!

Tips and Things to Avoid

Here are a few more tips and things to avoid doing when caring for laminate flooring:

• • Make sure the mop or damp cloth you use to clean the floor isn’t too soggy and if you can, dry the floor afterwards with a soft cloth.
• • Blot up spills or water with a sponge, dry cloth or paper towel. Do not allow puddles to remain on the surface of your laminate floor for too long because they could cause warping.
• • Do not use bleach or abrasive cleaners for laminate flooring maintenance. In fact, it’s best to avoid anything with chemicals in that promotes a clean and shine.
• • Never use steel wool or scouring pads because they are renown for scratching surfaces.
• • Remember, laminate floor is not real wood, so you should never wax or polish your laminate flooring.

Any nasty exotic stains you don’t know how to deal with?

• • Blood Stains: Give the stain a spray of window cleaner and wipe with a warm watered damp cloth.
• • Chewing gum: A plastic knife is best to get under the gum and avoid scratching the floor. Once you’ve prized it all off rub the residue with a soft cloth dampened with mineral spirits.
• • Coca Cola or Red Wine: Wipe with a warm watered damp cloth.
• • Crayon marks: Apply mineral spirits to a damp cloth and rub away.
• • Grease: Freeze it with an ice pack or a package of frozen vegetables until the grease hardens, then you can scrape it off with a plastic utensil kitchen utensil. Wipe away the remaining residue with a squirt of window cleaner and a damp cloth.
• • Heel Marks and Scuffs: Rub the marks with a pencil eraser. It’s just like correcting a grammar mistake. Simple.
• • Ink: Wipe with a warm watered damp cloth. Add a little detergent to it if the stain is stubborn, otherwise a commercial ink remover will do the job but be sure to wipe up with a damp cloth once you’re done.
• • Nail polish: You guessed it, the answer is – nail polish remover. Wipe up with a warm watered damp cloth once your done.

So that’s it. Now you should be one savvy laminate maintenance expert. If you’d like to know how to clean laminate floors the fun way, then here’s my little secret on how to make cleaning laminate floors fun:

source laminateflooringmanufacturers

Hardwood Or Laminate Floors And Pets

Hardwood Or Laminate Floors And Pets
Determining which hardwood or laminate floor type is best suited for your pet can be tricky. While a
number of laminate floors are strong enough to handle pet wear (e.g. High pressure laminate) others
are weaker and may warp or crack upon exposure to pet traffic or accidents.
Finding the right type of hardwood flooring for your pets can also be difficult. Those who have large
dogs would be better off with hardwood that has a high Janka Hardness rating. Janka Hardness
ratings are given depending on the hardness of a particular wood, and are based on a scale of 0 to
4000 (4000 being the hardest and 0 being the softest). Hardwood floors that are most likely to endure
pet wear and tear without damage tend to be higher up on the scale (e.g. Brazilian Teak; Brazilian
Walnut).
Keep in mind that both hardwood and laminate flooring do not take well to pet accidents. The acidity
of urine can cause damage that may be impossible to repair. A benefit to purchasing solid hardwood
flooring is that it can often be refinished a few times during its lifecycle. Refinishing is the process of
sanding and staining your floors so they look close to, or as good, as they did when you first
purchased them. Refinishing can help remove unsightly scratches from pet nails and surface dings.
While some laminate floor types may look like solid hardwood, they are actually just a translucent
wear layer atop a picture (decorative layer) of the wood that it's made to resemble. Laminate flooring
cannot be refinished; often times the only way to repair damage is to replace them. Save yourself
time and money for laminate repairs by wiping up pet accidents and water bowl spills immediately
after they happen. Most stains can be removed with a cleaning solution that's recommended by the
manufacturer.
When shopping for laminate floors for your pet, consider purchasing the stronger laminate floor types
that can handle a high level of wear without damaging. This includes high pressure laminate (HPL)
and laminate that has an AC rating of AC3, AC4 or AC5. AC stands for Abrasion Class, and is a
rating system that determines the strength of a particular laminate type and which household areas its
best suited for based on those results. Laminate floors that have an AC3 rating are recommended for
most residential and some commercial areas; while AC5 includes laminate that's strong enough to
handle high commercial foot traffic (e.g. Department stores).
Keep in mind that stronger hardwood and laminate floors often mean a higher price tag. While it may
seem like a lot now, in the long run it could end up saving you hundreds to thousands of dollars in
floor repairs.
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