Laminate flooring can be a really nice addition to your home. It looks nice, it’s durable and it’s affordable. This type of flooring is perfect for high traffic homes and homes with pets and children. It’s hard to turn down the combination of durability and affordability when it comes to laminate flooring. With that said you’re going to want to preserve your laminate flooring for as long as possible. Is it okay to turn to carpet cleaners to clean your laminate flooring or will cleaners meant for carpets do more damage than good when it comes to your laminate flooring?
Most carpet cleaners use brushes and steam to get down into the fibers of the carpet and extract the dirt that gets caught in the carpet. Laminate flooring does not present the same kind of surface as carpet. When it comes to your laminate flooring you do not want to use steam or abrasive brushes. Given this fact carpet cleaners are not ideal to use on laminate flooring.
Now that you know what not to use on your laminate flooring I’m sure you are wondering what you should use instead. When cleaning your laminate flooring you should take care in using a microfiber mop or dusting cloth and some kind of cleaner that is specifically made for laminate flooring. It is okay to use a broom or a vacuum as well but you should avoid vacuums that use beater brushes and instead go for one that doesn’t use the abrasive brushing system. A damp cloth is okay but one should avoid using cleaners that are going to make the flooring very wet. Blot up spills immediately, don’t spray cleaners directly on the floor. Dampen a microfiber cloth and run it over the flooring instead of spraying anything directly on the floor. Avoid oil soaps, abrasive cleaners, and buffing or polishing machines.
The key things to remember is that a gently damp or dry microfiber cloth is the best thing you can use on your laminate flooring. Cleaners that use too vigorous methods are subject to scratching your flooring and using wet cleaning methods stands a chance of warping the flooring. Be gentle with your laminate flooring and you’ll find that you can prolong its life much farther. If you are tempted to go with commercial carpet cleaning methods stop and think about the life of your flooring.
Ultimately, stay away from the laminate flooring with anything wet, steamy or abrasive. Use gently cleaners and damp or dry clothes. Keep the carpet cleaning for the carpet.