How to Care for Laminate Flooring

| by E. Timothy Uy | April 18, 2005
It's hard to damage and easy to care for laminate floors. Here are some tips on how to properly maintain them:

  •  Carefully read the warranty and care instructions provided for your flooring. Follow them as much as you can and refer to them if a problem develops.

  •  Ask for post-installation care instructions.You may not be able to mop the floor for 48 hours or you may be given other care instructions,depending on the flooring brand.

  •  Don't wet-mop laminate floors, because puddles could seep behind basebords and under your floor, damaging them.Only vacuum and then damp-mop them.

  •  Don't ever apply wax or acrylic floor finishes.

  •  Use only the stain-removal products recommended by the flooring manufacturer.Typical suggestions in product literature are: acetone, for cigarette burns and nail-polish spills, and mineral spirits for grease and tar.

  •  Buy doormats for doorways that lead to the garage or outdoors.These doormats will trap grit that can gradually cause light scratching on the laminate floor's surface.

  •  Put easy-glide protective buttons on the feet of the furniture.

  •  Use dollies when moving a large piece of furniture or a heavy appliance across a laminate floor or else you could leave a scratch by getting tiny peebles caught under a furniture foot or a wheel.

Take common-sense precautions to protect your floor when working with sharp or heavy objects.For example, put down a thick tarp or a carpet scrap to protect the laminate floor when installing a ceiling fan and using a drill; you can damage the floor by accidentally dropping it.

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Laminate flooring enthusiasts unite! Installation, maintenance, selection, e.g., Harmonics, Pergo, Shaw, Mannington - you name it, we are talking about it. Join us at http://laminateflooring.oncloud8.com.

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