what can i use to clean my laminate floors

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Laminate floors need to be cleaned regularly in order to prevent them from getting scratched or warped, only using harsh cleansers can create streaks or damage the laminate. Full general cleaning with a dry mop should be done regularly, simply for more intense cleaning, warm water or mild cleaners tin also be applied. Hither are some of the best ways to clean laminate floors.

1. 1

   Regularly sweep the floor. Sweep a dry dust mop across the surface of the floor every few days to remove everyday dirt.^[1]

   • Even though laminate flooring is fairly scratch-resistant, excess dirt, hair, and debris can cause scratches to develop if allowed to build upwards over time. Regular sweeping prevents such scratches from forming.
   • Instead of using a dry dust mop, you lot could also use a vacuum with a soft brush attachment.
   • Do not use a standard flooring brush. The stiff, straw-similar bristles on the brush could harm the surface.
   • Sweep in the direction that the laminate floor tiles were laid. Doing so allows you lot to option up whatever droppings that falls in betwixt the grooves of the laminate floor pieces.

2. 

   ii

   Clean up spills immediately. Utilise a cloth or sponge to immediately clean up any liquid spills.

   • Do not allow whatsoever liquid, fifty-fifty water, to sit on the floor for prolonged periods. Liquid can stain or impairment the protective wear layer of the laminate flooring.
   • Soak up excess liquid with a dry out material.
   • Dampen the cloth or sponge before spot-cleaning the location of the spill to remove any remaining residue.
   • Dry out the spot with a dry out, soft cloth. Practice non allow the expanse to remain wet.

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3. 

   3

   Stick to a mop for deep cleaning, not a steam cleaner or buffer. Laminate isn't every bit stiff every bit other flooring options, and it's hands damaged past devices like steam cleaners, buffers, and polishers. If your floor is looking dingy, utilize a mop and some elbow grease to clean it. It may accept several passes to get the floor clean, just the mop is safer for your floors.

   • If you can't become your flooring make clean no affair what you try, you can e'er phone call a professional.

4. 

   iv

   Apply vinegar or a mild detergent if y'all need more cleaning power. Every bit another option, you can use a commercial product labeled for use on laminate flooring. Exist sure to read the label and apply the production correctly, equally a little product goes a long way.

   • Avoid using cleaners that promise to create a shiny surface, as these products can crusade a waxy buildup on your floors. Similarly, don't utilize pine scented products on your laminate floors, as they may go out a irksome, soapy residue.^[2]

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1. 1

   Fill a bucket with hot water. The water does not need to exist steaming hot, merely information technology should be more than simply lukewarm.

   • A thorough, wet wash should be performed every few months or afterwards a wide expanse of the flooring has gotten muddy or notably dirty.
   • Hot h2o is often considered ane of the best ways to clean laminate flooring because, when done correctly, it will not leave streaks. It is also the to the lowest degree likely to impairment the protective blanket of the laminate, since h2o is the mildest cleanser possible.

2. 

   ii

   Soak and wring out a mop. Soak a sponge mop in the hot water and wring it out so that information technology is only mildly clammy.

   • You could use a traditional-style mop, but information technology is easier to command the saturation level of sponge mops.
   • The mop should be wrung out well before using it. Even water can stain or warp the laminate floor if it is allowed to sit down on the floor in puddles. That existence the case, the mop should simply exist mildly damp before you use information technology on the laminate.

3. 

   3

   Give the floor a thorough mopping. ^[3] Cover the entire floor, starting from the middle and working your way out.

   • You could too piece of work from one side of the room to the other. The only method you should avert is working from the exterior of the room to the center, since you will demand to walk across the newly-cleaned floor every bit it dries in order to go out the room.
   • Since the mop is only barely damp, you may need to re-soak and re-wring it a few times during the cleaning process.

4. 

   four

   Dry the flooring. If the laminate is barely moist, y'all can let it air dry out. Otherwise, wipe it dry with a clean, dry, microfiber cloth.

   • Do not use an annoying textile, since this may scratch the flooring.
   • Do not let puddles of water sit on the laminate for long periods of time.

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1. 1

   Create a solution of vinegar and water. Pour 1/4 cup (60 ml) white vinegar into a xxx to 32 oz (940 to 1000 ml) spray bottle. Make full the rest of the bottle with plain water and milk shake well to combine.^[4]

   • Diluted vinegar is specially useful when your laminate floor has caked on mud or other stains that have caused it to go faded or dull.
   • Vinegar is too abrasive to be used in its pure form, and so you must combine it with water.
   • You lot could as well create a similar vinegar-based solution by combining ane/iii cup (fourscore ml) vinegar with 3 squirts of liquid dish detergent and i gallon (4 liters) of warm water.

2. 

   two

   Spray the solution onto the laminate a niggling a time. Spray the vinegar onto the floor in areas no larger than modest ane-foot (thirty.5 cm) squares.

   • Practise not spray the entire floor with the vinegar at once. You demand to wipe the solution off the floor almost immediately, and spraying the entire flooring at the aforementioned time will foreclose you from cleaning off the vinegar earlier it starts to wear away at the protective coating of the laminate.

3. 

   iii

   Wipe the solution up with a damp mop or cloth. Immediately after spraying the vinegar solution on the floor, wipe information technology off with a damp terry or sponge mop.

   • You could likewise use a soft microfiber textile. Do not utilize any mops or cloths that are abrasive, notwithstanding.
   • Make sure to wring out the mop or cloth earlier using information technology. Practice non soak the floor with water, since letting moisture sit down on it for too long could cause the floor to warp.

4. 

   4

   Dry the laminate. If a large amount of water has been left behind, soak it upwards and off the flooring with a dry microfiber textile.

   • If simply a small amount of h2o has been left backside, you may allow it to air dry without fearing damage to your laminate.

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1. 1

   Fill a saucepan with hot water. Add together roughly 1 gallon (4 liters) of warm to hot h2o to a big saucepan.

   • The water does not need to be steaming hot, but information technology should be significantly more than but lukewarm.

2. 

   2

   Add a mild detergent or baby shampoo. Stir 2 Tbsp (thirty ml) of infant shampoo or mild liquid dish detergent into the hot water.^[five]

   • Exercise not use a scented or dyed dish detergent, since these are more than probable to create streaks or cause damage to the laminate.
   • Baby shampoo is gentle enough to employ on laminate floors, but do not use standard adult shampoos.
   • Mix the soap and water with your hand until the soap dissolves and bubbles begin to course.
   • Do not use annoying cleaners, like bleach or other stiff cleaning chemicals.

3. 

   three

   Soak and wring out a mop. Soak a terry or sponge mop in the soapy solution. Wring it out thoroughly so that information technology is simply mildly damp.

   • Soapy h2o is a proficient choice when cleaning floors that have been exposed to mud, table salt-covered snow boots, or other major forms of contamination.
   • Yous could also use a microfiber cloth, but mops are preferable since you volition be cleaning the entire floor at one fourth dimension instead of working on small patches.
   • Backlog h2o can cause laminate flooring to go distorted. Every bit a result, it is of import that you wring out the mop until it is only mildly moist rather than soggy.

4. 

   four

   Wipe the flooring from one side to the other. Start from one side of the room and work your style to the other side, roofing the entire floor.

   • You can too beginning in the middle and work your way to the outside perimeter of the room. The only thing you should avoid doing is working your mode from the outside into the heart of the room, since you will have to cantankerous over your newly cleaned floor to get out the room.
   • Re-soak and re-wring the mop as necessary to make your way across the unabridged flooring.

5. 

   v

   Dry the laminate. If you used a small corporeality of h2o, the flooring should air dry out quickly. If it does not evidence whatever signs of air drying by the fourth dimension you attain the other side of the room, dry information technology by manus using a dry microfiber cloth.

   • Exercise not allow puddles of h2o to sit down on the laminate for prolonged periods of time.

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1. 

   1

   Make clean blood stains with window cleaner. Spray a pocket-sized amount of window cleaner on the stain and wipe it away immediately with a warm, mildly damp fabric.

   • Apply a non-abrasive microfiber cloth.
   • The sooner you can attend to the stain, the easier information technology volition exist to remove it.

2. 

   ii

   Remove chewing gum with a plastic knife. Scrape away the mucilage with a plastic knife and rub off any balance with a soft, damp textile.

   • Dampen the cloth with mineral spirits for best results.
   • Do not utilize a metallic knife, since it is also rough and more likely to scratch the floor.

3. 

   3

   Wipe abroad soda, wine, crayon marks, or ink with a damp cloth. These stains can usually be removed simply with a mildly damp microfiber material.

   • You may need to apply mineral spirits to the fabric in lodge to remove waxy crayon marks.
   • For stubborn ink stains, you may need to add a little detergent or ink remover to the fabric in order to completely remove the stain. Make sure to re-clean the surface area with a material soaked in warm, clean water afterwards.

4. 

   4

   Become nail smooth, shoe smoothen, or tar off with acetone nail polish remover. Add a little nail smoothen remover to a microfiber material and scrub the stain until it comes up.

   • Wipe over the area with a microfiber fabric soaked in clean water later.

5. five

   Erase heel marks and scuffs with a pencil eraser. Simply rub the eraser over these marks until they lift off the laminate.

6. 

   6

   Freeze abroad grease. Apply an water ice pack or a bundle of frozen vegetables to the spot until the grease hardens. Scrape the frozen grease off using a plastic kitchen knife.

   • Practice not scrape the grease abroad with a metallic utensil.
   • Wipe off remaining grease residual by spraying a modest amount of window cleaner on the spot and wiping information technology off with a damp cloth.

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Add New Question

• Question

  Can I utilise Futurity Wax on my laminate floors?

  

  Marker Spelman is a General Contractor based in Austin, Texas. With over 30 years of construction experience, Mark specializes in amalgam interiors, project management, and project estimation. He has been a construction professional person since 1987.

  

  Construction Professional

  Good Respond

• Question

  How do I go rid of a stain on a laminate flooring?

  

  Mark Spelman is a General Contractor based in Austin, Texas. With over 30 years of construction feel, Mark specializes in amalgam interiors, project direction, and project estimation. He has been a construction professional since 1987.

  

  Construction Professional

  Good Answer

• Question

  Tin can I utilise vinegar in water to clean my floor using a sponge mop?

  

  Michelle Driscoll is the Owner of Mulberry Maids based in northern Colorado. Driscoll received her Masters in Public Health from the Colorado Schoolhouse of Public Health in 2016.

  

  Founder, Mulberry Maids

  Expert Answer

  

  Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer.

  Yeah, vinegar and h2o are a good pick for cleaning your laminate floors. However, you only need to utilise vinegar when your floors are very dirty, not every time you make clean. If y'all're doing a regular cleaning and your floors aren't dingy, you can mop with merely warm or hot water. If you lot'd like a fiddling more than cleaning ability, add a little balmy dish detergent.

• Question

  How do I go a red wine stain out of laminate floor?

  

  Michelle Driscoll is the Owner of Mulberry Maids based in northern Colorado. Driscoll received her Masters in Public Health from the Colorado Schoolhouse of Public Health in 2016.

  

  Founder, Mulberry Maids

  Expert Answer

  

  Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert reply.

  First, wipe the stain with a damp microfiber cloth. If the stain is still at that place, spray it with vinegar, and then dab information technology with a clammy microfiber cloth. If the vinegar doesn't work, employ mineral spirits to the stain and dab with a damp microfiber cloth. This should get the stain out.

• Question

  Tin I use furniture polish on laminated plastic floors?

  

  No. It will streak to no end and expect awful. Murphy's Oil is very mild, and those who say not to apply it have not looked into it. It is perfect for laminate, because the lather is totally not-abrasive. It protects and shines, but you tin't pour information technology on at that place. Merely like you can't pour water or annihilation moisture. You need to utilise damp dry method and spray the cloth or mop. Never spray the floor direct. Keeping as well much moisture from penetrating the wood is the undercover.

• Question

  Can I use a Swiffer cleaner?

  

  Yep, that will work well.

• Question

  Could I utilise an iRobot Roomba to clean laminate flooring or do I have to employ a dry dust mop?

  

  I have used a Roomba 570 on my laminate floors for years and it does a pretty proficient job at keeping them clean. It hasn't left backside whatever scratches either.

• Question

  Can I employ Murphy's oil lather diluted in h2o to clean laminate floors?

  

  Sure. It won't harm the floor at all, though it may be slippery if non rinsed well.

• Question

  Tin a steam mop exist used on laminate floors?

  

  No. It amercement the flooring by forcing the steam into the cracks, thus warping each board. Steam mops are non recommended at all for utilise on laminate floors.

• Question

  How do I get Liquid Nail off of laminate floor?

  

  Endeavour a plastic pocketknife to gently and carefully scrape it off one time information technology has hardened.

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Things You'll Need

• Microfiber cloth
• Grit mop or vacuum cleaner with soft brush attachment
• i-gallon (4-liter) bucket
• Water
• Vinegar
• Baby shampoo or balmy dish detergent
• Terry or sponge mop
• Window cleaner
• Ice pack
• Plastic knife
• Nail shine remover
• Pencil eraser
• Mineral spirits

• Place rugs nether your furniture legs to protect the flooring from scratches, dents and other damage.

• Go on pet nails trimmed to avert scratches on your laminate flooring. It's piece of cake for long pet nails to scratch the floor as pets walk, run or play in your home.

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Virtually This Article

Article Summary X

To make clean your laminate floors and avoid streaking, soak a mop in hot water and wring information technology out well and then that it's only slightly damp. Mop your floor from the eye outwards, re-soaking and wringing your mop every bit needed. Let the floor air dry, or dry out it with a microfiber material if it's more than a little damp. To remove stains, mix a solution of 1 part vinegar, 3 parts h2o and spray it onto the stained surface area. Wipe information technology up right abroad with a soft, damp fabric. To get rid of stubborn wax stains, sprinkle mineral spirits onto a microfiber textile and wipe the area well. If you lot want to acquire more, like how to remove marks and stains with window cleaners or an eraser, continue reading!

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