Caring for Your Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is by nature of the way it is made one of the most durable floor coverings available today. The fact that it doesn’t cost a great deal of money compared to other floor coverings doesn’t mean that you should look after it any less. Ok, so maybe you don’t have to constantly monitor it for signs of debris like you would monitor a carpet but a little care helps. What will last a long time already, could end up lasting a lot longer if you pay it a little respect.
The first thing that should be said is that you should always make sure your laminate flooring is fitted properly. Any lumps or low points under your laminate boards will create weaknesses and could possibly cause damage. This is not usually a major problem as most people prepare properly and use suitable underlay.
When The Association of European Producers of Laminate Flooring carried out their test for durability, they used specific cleaning rotas. They recommend the amount of cleaning they suggest be followed as a general rule so as to prolong the life of your boards. For domestic properties with domestic grade coverings, a wet mop should only be used approximately once per week. A commercial laminate floor covering should be wet mopped up to 4 times a week.
These are obviously not practical for all places and that’s why there are many other products on the market today that enable you to protect your floors further. For instance there are polishes that have been designed specifically for laminate flooring which when applied regularly can provide an extra protective barrier against spillages and excessive mopping.
To be realistic though, you would rarely need to mop your laminate floor every day, unless of course you have a home with young children or dogs perhaps. Usually any spillage can be quickly mopped up and doesn’t call for the whole floor to be cleaned. In most homes, all that you would need to do would be to run a soft brush over it occasionally.
If you polish your laminate flooring once or twice a week then you will no doubt have it down for a long time to come. It’s important though not to polish just after using a wet mop. Although the boards are normally waterproof, there is a very small chance that you could be sealing in moisture if you apply polish after wetting.