Compared to most other flooring, laminate floors are rather low maintenance. However, to get the best performance out of your laminate floor still requires an effort.
• Wipe up wet spills immediately. Water + Laminate = Disaster
• Sweep often. A soft-bristle broom can get up most of the pet hair, dust and dirt that collects on your floor.
• Excessive sun exposure can seriously damage a laminate floor. Use curtains or blinds on any south facing windows. A few strategically placed rugs can also help. Remember to prevent ‘tan marks’ from developing on your floor by rotating them regularly.
• Position doormats at all of your home’s entry points and encourage people to use them. Place mats under your furry friend’s water bowl and consider a mat under your baby’s high chair.
• Pet nails can do a lot of damage to a laminate floor if their nails aren’t kept trimmed. Ensure that your pets nails are trimmed on a regular basis so that they are never long enough to scratch your floors.
• Moving furniture can lead to scratches, scrapes and gouges on a laminate floor. Use protective pads to prevent them from causing damage.
• To grab the hard-to-reach dust in the corners of your rooms, use a soft-brush attachment on your vacuum.
• Avoid traditional wet mopping! Use a damp mop instead. Less water will seep in between your laminate seams. Use very hot water and a few drops of dish soap.
• Use a steam mop occasionally for a very deep clean. Not often because repeated steaming can cause the laminate to buckle.
• You can use a window cleaner occasionally for spills but ammonia can strip protective sealant.
To extend the life of your floor it will need a deeper clean every few weeks, requiring a specially designed cleaner for laminate floors – for best results, ask your flooring manufacturer for recommendations.