Cleaning Tips: Hardwood vs. Laminate

Cleaning your floor has never been easier: Thanks to a series of major updates to the way hardwood and laminate are produced, modern floors stand tough against the inevitable spills and scratches of a busy home. Still, there are some general rules your floor will thank you for observing, and some important ways in which best practices for hardwood and laminate flooring care differ. We’ve outlined all these points for you below:

Harwood Flooring Care

Most major manufacturers of hardwood flooring products, with their advanced aluminum oxide or ceramic finish, provide superior wear; easy, no-wax care; plus superior resistance to staining from all common household products such as coffee, wine, shoe polish, lipstick, mustard, and more. However, a few simple maintenance steps will help protect your investment and keep your hardwood flooring looking like new.

For cleaning, make sure you:

• Use a damp cloth to blot spills and spots as soon as they happen. For tough spots, such as oil, paint, markers, lipstick, ink, tar, or cigarette marks, use mineral spirits on a clean white cloth, then wipe with a damp cloth. Always avoid allowing liquids to stand on your floor.
• Sweep, dust, or vacuum the floor regularly with a soft floor attachment (not the beater bar) to prevent accumulation of dirt or grit that can scratch or dull the floor finish.
• Occasionally wipe the floor with a damp mop or cloth.
• Periodically clean the floor with products safe for urethane finishes

While cleaning is easy, there are a few things to avoid:

• Don’t use oil based, wax, polish, or strong ammoniated or abrasive cleaners.
• Don’t use steel wool or scouring powder.
• Don’t wash or wet-mop the floor with soap, water, oil-soap detergent, or any other liquid cleaning material. This could cause swelling, warping, delaminating, and joint-line separation, and void the warranty.
• Don’t use any type of buffing machine.
• For spots such as candle wax or chewing gum, harden the spot with ice and then gently scrape with a plastic scraper, such as a credit card. Be careful not to scratch the flooring surface. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.
• Use protective mats. Good quality entry and exit mats will help collect the dirt, sand, grit, and other substances such as oil, asphalt, or driveway sealer that can otherwise be tracked onto your flooring. Do not use petroleum based rubber-or foam-backed plastic mats as they may discolor the flooring. To prevent slippage, use an approved no-slip rug underlayment.

Use floor protectors on furniture

Use floor protectors and wide-load-bearing leg bases/rollers to minimize indentations and scratches from heavy objects. As a rule, the heavier the object, the wider the floor protector should be.

Maintain relative humidity level

Maintain a normal indoor relative humidity level between 30% – 50% throughout the year to minimize the natural expansion and contraction of wood.

• Heating season (Dry under 20%): A humidifier is recommended to prevent excess shrinkage due to low humidity levels. Wood stove and electric heat tend to create very dry conditions.
• Non heating season (Wet over 55%): An air conditioner, dehumidifier or periodically turning on your heating system can maintain humidity during the summer months. Avoid excessive exposure to water during periods of inclement weather.

Watch your feet

Don’t walk on your flooring with stiletto-style heels, spiked golf shoes, or cleats. They may cause indentations in your flooring.

Watch your pet’s feet

Keep pet’s nails trimmed to keep them from scratching your flooring.

Rearrange your rugs and furniture

Periodically rearranging your area rugs and furniture will allow the flooring to age evenly. UV sunlight will soften the tone of different species of hardwood to varying degrees.

Laminate Flooring Care

Laminate flooring is naturally durable; learn how to keep it looking great while standing up to the toughest household conditions.

Follow routine maintenance guidelines to clean your laminate flooring:

• Use a damp cloth to blot up spills as soon as they happen. Never allow liquids to stand on your floor.
• For tough spots, such as oil, paint, markers, lipstick, ink, or tar, use mineral spirits on a clean white cloth, then wipe the area with a damp cloth to remove any remaining residue.
• Sweep, dust, or vacuum the floor regularly with the hard floor attachment (not the beater bar) to prevent accumulation of dirt and grit that can scratch or dull the floor finish.
• Periodically clean the floor with cleaning products made specifically for laminate floor.
• Do not wash or wet mop the floor with soap, water, oil-soap detergent, or any other liquid cleaning material. This could cause swelling, warping, delaminating, and joint-line separation, and void the warranty.
• Do not use steel wool, abrasive cleaners, or strong ammoniated or chlorinated type cleaners.
• Do not use any type of buffing or polishing machine.
• For spots such as candle wax or chewing gum, harden the spot with ice and then gently scrape with a plastic scraper, such as a credit card. Be careful not to scratch the flooring surface. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.
• A more frequent dust-mopping or vacuuming schedule may be required in very sandy areas such as a beach home.

Protect your laminate flooring to keep it looking like new:

• Entry mats will help collect the dirt, sand, grit, and other substances such as oil, asphalt, or driveway sealer that might otherwise be tracked onto your floor.
• To prevent slippage of area rugs, use an approved vinyl rug underlayment.
• Use floor protectors and wide-load bearing leg bases/rollers to minimize t he chance of indentations and scratches from heavy objects. As a rule, the heavier the object, the wider the floor protector.
• Maintain a normal indoor relative humidity level between 35% and 65% throughout the year to minimize the natural expansion and contraction of the wood.
• Heating season (Dry under 20%): A humidifier is recommended to prevent excess shrinkage due to low humidity levels. Wood stove and electric heat tend to create very dry conditions.
• Non heating season (Wet over 65%): An air conditioner, dehumidifier or periodically turning on your heating system can maintain humidity during the summer months. Avoid excessive exposure to water during periods of inclement weather.
• Avoid excessive exposure to water during periods of inclement weather.
• Keep your pets nails trimmed to prevent them from scratching your floor.
• Never try to slide heavy objects across the floor.
• A protective mat should be used for furniture or chairs with castors.