How to Make Laminate floors shine at Little or no cost

Laminate flooring is a high-end flooring option that meticulously mimics wood appearance. The flooring is highly durable with remarkable water resistance. Moreover, laminate flooring is smooth and warm to feel underfoot. With laminates, you will have an easy time of cleaning due to its smooth surface that traps no dust. However, maintaining a shiny surface of laminate flooring has been a significant challenge among many house owners. Wrong cleaning practices can, at times, lead to the accumulation of residues from the wrong cleaning products, thus making the surface of your laminate gloomy. In this article, you’ll learn how to make laminate floors shine.

How To Clean Dust From Laminate Floors

Regular cleaning of dust can keep your laminates clean.  When dust accumulates on the laminate floor, people will trample on it, thus making it stick on the floor surface and mask the laminate floor shine. Therefore, we recommend regular sweeping to prevent dust build-up on the floor surface. Daily dust removal is the first method of making laminate floors shine. You can achieve that through the following steps:

• Remove dirt, dust and loose debris from the floor surface by use of vacuum or a microfiber mop.
• When using a vacuum, avoid using the hard floor attachment to prevent causing scratches on the floor. Moreover, do not use a vacuum with a beater bar.
• Avoid hard scouring brooms as they may leave scratches on your flooring too.

How To Clean Laminates With A Home-made Cleaner

The haze on the surface of laminate floors is as a result of using wrong cleaning agents including both the soapy ones and oil-based. Therefore, go for the best cleaner with specific formulation for use on laminate floors. However, you can also formulate your home-made cleaner using the simple steps below.

1. Look for an empty and clean spray bottle in which you will make your laminate cleaner.
2. To ½ cup of water in the spray bottle, add a ½ cup of rubbing alcohol and white vinegar of the equal amount to water in the bottle and mix properly. With this simple method, you do not need to struggle with how to clean and shine laminates using expensive but wrong products while you can make your own.
3. Directly apply a thin and even layer of the cleaner on the floor surface. Always start working on a small portion to avoid stepping on the already cleaned surface. To make it easy, start cleaning from the interior end towards the door and finally out.
4. Avoid applying a large amount of cleaning solution that may make the floor surface excessively wet. Also, you should avoid using a mop and a bucket to clean laminates as they may make it easy for you to apply excess cleaning solution onto the floor.
5. Gently wipe the floor using a clean, flat-head microfiber mop in the direction of the grain. It is one of the best ways to make laminate wood floors shine.
6. Never use a sponge as it may leave streaks on the floor when it dries.
7. Work systematically on small portions of the floor and ensure you wipe the mopped place properly.
8. Continue applying the cleaning solution in spray and wipe until you’re through with the whole floor.
9. Leave the floor to air-dry for about 30 minutes before walking into the room. Also, avoid stepping on the floor or anybody else stepping on the wet surface.
10. Always remember to buff-up your floor with a dry microfiber cloth to restore the shine.

How To Keep Laminates Shiny

Even though you’ve known how to make laminate floors shine, it would be equally essential to learn about what keeps laminate floor shine. Below are some of the practices that will make your laminate floor to glimmer every day.

Vacuum or sweep regularly to remove the dust and dirt that makes your floor dirty. The active house will always get dirty every day due to several activities by the house occupants. If you have kids and pets, you will have to clean more often. Removing the dust will make your laminate floor shine

Mop regularly with a microfiber mop and the right cleaning solution for laminate floors. The method is one of the best in making laminate wood floor shine organically and prevent dullness.

Promptly clean the spills as the laminates are not a hundred percent water-resistant. Thus, frequent wetting of the floor may cause warping. Use a soft dry mop to dry up any liquid spill and use a towel or a spoon to pick up wet solid food.

Use of a dust trap mat at the entrance of the house to prevent the mud, dust, dirt, and debris from being carried into the house. The debris may cause scratches on the floor when you step on them. Thus, the method proves to be a perfect preventive method to keep the shine on laminate hardwood floors

Never polish or wax laminate floors since they are made to be shiny without waxing or polishing. Applying wax or polish on laminates masks the shiny surface and makes them dull. Instead, stick to cleaning with laminate-specific floor cleaners.

Always avoid using abrasive cleaning pads that may result in floor scratches. Also, keep off wet cleaning methods such as steam as they may cause warping

The above techniques are essential to shine laminate wood floors at home without a hassle. However, you should try to maintain high levels of hygiene and ensure that you have a dust trap mat, or rug to avoid getting the dust and debris from the shoes onto the interior floors.