Laminate Floor

Hello D.,

I was forever trying to find something for my laminate floors. Everything I seemed to use left a film of sorts and didn't really clean it. I was reduced to cleaning it on my hands and knees ugggh. I finally went to Lowe's and bought a cleaner and special mop thing for laminate floors. It's called BRUCE. You can buy just the spray cleaner or the spray cleaner with mop in a box. The mop is a microfiber soft cloth held on by velcro and you throw it in with you whites in the laundry. It came with a extra cleaning pad, so while one is being washed you had another. It leaves the floors streak and film free and took care of water spots.

Good Luck
T.

I do not know of any actual item that could help with resisting the water, but I did find some laminate floor cleaner that is used only for laminate & it was very reasonable. Once it fully dries, I noticed it seemed to help just a little with the water, it seemed to bead it up more than it did prior to using it. It is called Bruce's & you don't have to use much & comes with the terry cloth mop/handle thing with the kit. The kit was around $15 at Home Depot. I use it on mine & it looks great, but I just try to wipe up anything that has spilled. I agree it is harder to take care of, but looks much better.

Hi D.!

First, do not use the Shark Steam Mop - it is great for true hardwood and tile floors, but it will ruin laminate flooring over time. I received that advice from flooring specialists.
I have struggled with this - I used water/vinegar/murphy's oil soap. The only issue with this was that I had to do it on my hands and knees plus dry it IMMEDIATELY or the water spots would be terrible.
At Bed, Bath and Beyond, I bought the Bona System for Laminate & Tile Flooring (there is also on specifically for hardwood). It has a "dust/debris" collector and a microfiber cloth. They both velco onto the pole. There is a solution you just spray on the floor when you use the micro-fiber cloth. Does it eliminate foot prints/water spots? Not completely, but it makes cleaning the floor super easy and fast.
The cost was $29.99, but you can also use the 20% off coupons they offer.

Welcome to the world of Laminate floors in the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry areas of your home!
My sister-in-law couldn't wait to install them in her new home and has suffered from this problem now for three years. Short of putting a heavy polyurethene (can't spell today, sorry) coating on it I don't know of any solutions and it isn't really recommended by manufacturers of laminate flooring because it seals the wood. She finally did put it down in the bathrooms and the laundry room because she couldn't stand it anymore! She has used lemon oil on the whole floor and purchased Bruce products which help, but it doesn't eliminate the problem completely.
About two months ago she looked at me across the dinner table and said, "I wish I had listened to you about the laminate flooring in the kitchen. You simply asked me why I would put it there because of the water spotting and the damage water can cause and quickly if it isn't mopped up immediately. You suggested if I wanted the wood look I go with a wood grain tile or vinyl. I just hate it when you are right about anything."

I would check w/the manufacturer of the floor. Sometimes you can put a couple coats of polyethurane (not sure abt spelling)on a surface and it will repel the water.

I'm sorry you spend too much time worrying about your floors. Put rugs everywhere. Life is too short to worry about a perfect floor. I have 4 kids and 1 grandkid on the way. My mother was a perfectionist and drove us crazy. My floor is dirty most of the time. I vacuum weekly and clean when it looks real dirty. I don't want to spend my life cleaning. FOrgive me I am coming across harsh, I don't meant to. I hope you find what you are looking for. Try to relax more and enjoy your family more.

Hi D.,
I clean a few houses a week and most of them have laminate flooring. Trust me when I say, we've tried everything on those floors. The girl I work with and I have come to the conclusion that the Star Fiber mop, found online and a little Spic and Span liquid in a bucket of water is what works best. Cheaper versions of the mop don't work as well but still do an ok job. With the mop we have you dip the mop pad in the water and wring out, it attaches to the mop with velcro away you go. We rinse in clean water, then redip in the Spic and Span and so on. We've tried so many products and they were sticky, streaky or filmy and plain warm water just left spots, after many trials and errors this is what has worked best for us.
The mop also comes with a duster or cleaning type pad, once the floor has dried we go back over it with this pad to get any dirt left behind and to buff any area that may need it.
Best wishes for a beautiful floor.
God Bless,
T.

hallowell house lemon oil

Hi D., I am not really sure what you can put on your flooring to prevent water marks,might want to ask the people where you bouth the flooring at but, I do know the Shark Steam Mop works great and you don't even have to mop as often, I have hardwoood floors, used to mop at least once a week, now I mop once a month! Yes, it is expensive but, worth it. Good luck

A flooring guy have me this formula: equal parts white vinegar, water, & isopropyl alcohol, in a spray bottle. We all know what a great job white vinegar does at cleaning (the smell goes away as soon as it dries), the water helps to dilute the vinegar, so it won't harm your floors, & the alcohol makes it dry very quickly, so there's no water damage done. I use the microfiber mop everyone else is talking about on the forum. I have used commercial cleaners for laminate floors before, but always felt like they left a dirt-attracting film behind.

Have you tried Murphy's Oil? We use that and can go a few weeks without mopping and it gives the floor a nice shine. I have 2 little ones and I am still wiping a towel when they run in with their bathing suits or spill something, but other than that, we don't end up with the dirty marks for about 2 weeks after mopping with it, then we mop again.
Good Luck