Laminate care: basic rules and cleaning products

How to care for a laminate at home

In order not to damage the floor surface, it is important to know which types of cleaning are safe.

• To get rid of sand grains and dirt, as well as small specks, it is recommended to use a mop with soft bristles.
• So that the sand-abrasive does not scratch the surface, you need to sweep the floor as dirt appears.
• A vacuum cleaner with a gentle nozzle is suitable for dust removal.
• After dry cleaning, the laminate is washed with water, but experts recommend doing this only once a week. An exception is moisture resistant panels that can be washed more often.

How to wash the laminate?

The minus of the laminated coating is the joints. When caring for the laminate at home, you should not allow an excess of water, which, penetrating the base layer of the wood chip board, deforms it. As a result, the floor can swell and the elements have to be changed.

For wet floor cleaning, a soft cloth made of wool, flannel or cotton is suitable, but microfiber, which absorbs moisture perfectly, is preferable. A mop with a microfibre MOS nozzle and a spin lever, which helps to efficiently remove excess water, is even more effective. A washing vacuum cleaner is used exclusively for a moisture resistant laminate. After washing the floor, wipe it dry.

When cleaning the floor, do not use a steam cleaner: hot steam will cause the laminate to swell.

How can I wash a laminate at home?

Thanks to purchased household chemicals, you can achieve maximum purity, but improvised means will also work for some contaminants. All professional compositions differ in consistency and purpose, which you should know about before buying. Store products always contain instructions on the label that must be read before use. It is worthwhile to test the composition in advance on an inconspicuous area of ​​the floor, so as not to spoil the coating in the process.

The best store detergents

Chemicals are used for thorough cleaning, which is performed every few weeks. An infrequent, but regular cleaning of the floor from the laminate will save it for a long time. Modern means for mopping from a laminate easily remove dirt and grease from the surface, softening the water. Here are some of the compounds that have proven themselves in the struggle to clean the house:

• "Laminol"- a Russian-made product for washing laminate without stains. After cleaning, it does not need to be washed off additionally. It has a pleasant orange smell.
• "Unicum"- allows you to achieve a glossy shine, has antibacterial properties.
• "Starwax"- a French floor cleaner that launders the laminate in the hallway or hallway, that is, where dirt from the shoes accumulates.
• "Bagi Laminate"- inexpensive Russian products with special flaxseed impregnation, which protects the laminate flooring from swelling and deformation.
• "Mr. Proper"- a popular tool that even copes with severe pollution. It allows you to get rid of stains that remain after repair. It has a pleasant smell.
• "Hg"- it is good at washing the laminate floor, giving it shine. The main feature is that over time it masks minor scratches, updating the coating.

What detergents can not wash the laminate? It can not be rubbed with compounds if they are intended for polishing other coatings. It is also forbidden to use abrasive substances.

Tools at hand

The easiest laminate cleaning method is hot water temperature above 50 degrees. It is not allowed to use a too wet rag: water must be squeezed out with high quality. You need to move from window to door, sometimes rinsing with a rag. After cleaning, wipe the floor with a microfiber cloth.

It removes old dirt well. dining room vinegar. When using it, protect your hands with rubber gloves. If you need to wash the entire floor, just one glass of vinegar for 7 liters of hot water is enough. If you want to get rid of stubborn dirt, it is recommended to dilute 50 ml of vinegar in a liter of water. Spots should be sprayed from the spray bottle, and after a few minutes, wipe with a rag.

Laminate care rules do not preclude use household liquid soap. It can be replaced with a baby. You will need to dissolve a tablespoon of soap in 5 liters of hot water. The rag soaked in the solution must be wrung out well, and after mopping the floor, wipe it dry.

Prohibited Laminate Cleaning Methods

The use of certain products leads to damage to the laminated surface:

• Powder cleaning causes mechanical damage to the floor.
• Substances containing alkali, ammonia and acid turn the floor into an unattractive matte finish without a protective layer.
• Means with bleach (for example, "White") corrode the floor, spoil the color of the laminate and destroy the laminate boards.
• Do not use hard rough cloth, coats with a rough layer, metal brushes: they leave small scratches on the surface.

How to deal with complex spots?

Footprints Washable with an eraser or baking soda solution. Chewing gum removed with a plastic scraper. Residues are wiped off with a cloth dampened in hot water.

If the laminate is dirtyblood, you can use hydrogen peroxide with liquid ammonia or a means for windows and mirrors: a little sprinkle on the stain, wipe with a rag.

Main part nail polish usually removed with a plastic spatula. A warm, damp cloth should be applied to the remaining spots for 30 seconds. If this does not help, carefully wipe the problem area with denatured alcohol along the picture.

How to wash stains from the fault or juice on laminate flooring? Ordinary wet wipes will do.

Greasy spots in the kitchen they are frozen and scraped off with a plastic spatula.

How to wash the laminate after repair?

Floor protection should be taken care of in advance: cardboard and plastic film will protect the boards from pollution. Unfortunately, during the repair it is not possible to completely secure the floor. How to remove construction dirt from the flooring is described below.

Primer

The easiest way to remove stains from the primer is to apply glass cleaner to them and wipe them with a soft cloth. The old stain should be wetted with a liquid primer and wiped off.

Polyurethane foam

This material quickly hardens and is difficult to remove. If you didn’t get rid of the mounting foam right away, you can purchase a special tool at a hardware store (for example, Penosil Premium Cured). But these compounds contain strong solvents, so you need to be careful when using it: read the instructions and test on an inconspicuous area of ​​the floor.

A safer alternative method is the Dimexid drug. The dried foam should be carefully cleaned with a clerical knife, then moistened with Dimexidum and wet-cleaned the laminate. When working, protect hands with gloves!

Wallpaper glue

Contamination from the surface is easily removed with a soft cloth dampened with a warm soapy solution.

Construction dust

Residues of construction dust should be cleaned with a powerful vacuum cleaner. Particular attention is paid to skirting boards and gaps between chamfers. Then wet cleaning with warm water is carried out.Clean the laminate without stains with the cleaning products that we wrote about earlier.

Laminate paint

Ethyl alcohol will help to wash the paint. White spirit or acetone will remove droplets of oil paint, but it is important to ensure that they dissolve the paint, not the laminate.

Silicone sealant

Frozen sealant is carefully removed using a clerical knife. The main thing is not to touch the surface of the laminate. You can also use a plastic scraper. But the most effective way is a special solvent from the store. It removes hardened silicone without harming the floor.

Marker

Traces of a marker or marker can be smeared with toothpaste and then wiped with a dry cloth. White spirit is suitable for more complex cases, but you should use it carefully.

Scotch

If there are sticky traces of adhesive tape left on the floor, they will be removed with the special detergent "Mr. Proper", vodka or alcohol. There is also a special tool "Antiscotch", but its price is quite high.

How to remove scratches from a laminate?

Over time, damage appears on the laminate floor. To prevent their occurrence, it is necessary to put a mat at the entrance to the house and periodically clean it. If scratches still appear, there are several ways to get rid of them:

1. Vegetable oil applied with a soft cloth.
2. Dark wax pencil matched to the color of the floor. Shallow scratches on light boards can be masked with a simple wax.
3. Iodine applied with a cotton swab.
4. Special paste and putty. They are designed for deep chips. After filling the cracks, the composition must be kept for a day, sanded and varnished.

Other super effective ways to get rid of scratches on the laminate can be found in this video:

Caring for a laminate is a fairly simple task. If you follow all the recommendations, you can not only increase the service life of the laminated coating, but also save its pattern and luster.