Cleaning Laminate Flooring

Cleaning laminate flooring is a simple process, and should only take you a few minutes each week. While there are commercially prepared cleaners for laminate floors, they do contain chemicals and strong fragrances. If you want to eliminate commercial cleaners from your home, and clean a “greener” way, there are some environmentally safe ways to care for and clean your laminate floors.

• Reduce the amount of dirt that comes into the house: Dirt and related little particles can settle on top of your flooring. This not only affects the appearance of your floors—it can actually damage them as well. These tiny pieces can make scratches in your floors surface, and over time, wear down the finish. Place a mat at every entrance, and use area rugs in high traffic areas to reduce dirt whenever possible. Cleaning laminate flooring is simple if you reduce the amount of dirt that enters you home.
• Do not drag or scrape heavy items across the floor. Even while you are cleaning laminate flooring, don’t just shove heavy furniture out of the way. Either lift the piece and move it, or use felt pads to gently slide it across the floor.
• Use a dry mop or dust mop to pick up dirt and debris. A broom will just spread the dirt around, but a dry mop will cling to the debris and allow you to remove it.
• Make some polar fleece or cotton pads to use as mop covers. Fleece will naturally pick up debris, making your cleanup fast and easy, and covers can be removed and laundered for reuse.
• Covers are simple to make—just measure the mop head, and cut a piece of fleece to fit. Secure with ties or Velcro. You can even choose decorator or themed prints, for cleaning laminate floors in style. Don’t sew? Ask a crafty friend for help!
• Make a habit of cleaning laminate the second a spill occurs. Anything wet will damage your floors, so wipe spills away completely as soon as they happen. Never let water sit on your laminate floors! You can wipe away a spill, or pour baking soda on it to absorb the liquid—then whisk the baking soda away, the spill will be gone.
• If your floors sustain minor scrapes or damage, you can use a wax crayon designed for furniture to fix the spot. While this will not make the spot “go away”, it will make it less noticeable.

Laminate floors are designed to have a tough, durable finish, and to resist scratches and scraping. It is important to retain this finish, so there are a few items you should never use for cleaning laminate:

• Water or wet mopping
• Soap
• Abrasive cleaners
• Steam

Any of the above items will do more harm than good when used for cleaning laminate.