What is a laminate?
Laminate flooring, and simply laminate, - in our homes quite common phenomenon. This popularity has gained such popularity thanks to attractive appearance, ease and speed of stacking, relative simplicity of service, etc. Just about the maintenance of this material and I would like to talk.
What is a laminate? If we consider the appearance, then it is thin enough sheets, up to 12 mm in thickness, having grooves and spikes along the edges for docking with each other. The texture of the front side imitates various types of wood. There is a laminate that mimics stone and other materials, but it is not so common. If we consider the internal device of this coating, then a comparison with a layered pie comes to mind.
The top layer( protective) of this coating consists of a high-strength acrylic or melamine film designed to protect this material from external influences, i.e.from abrasion, chemical attack, sunlight, pollution and moisture. The quality and composition of this film and form the price of laminate.
Under the film is a decorative layer. This is specially treated paper or furniture foil, imitating wood or some other texture. Under it, if you move inward, the carrier layer of the board, it is a conventional fiberboard or chipboard. This layer is responsible for the rigidity and geometry of the board. And, finally, the lowest layer is the reverse sheet. It is impregnated with special resins paper, which protects the fiberboard from moisture.
What is the best way to wash a laminate?
As you can see, the composition of the laminate is quite ecological, but at the same time it is quite whimsical. A special detergent for the laminate allows you to protect this coating from getting water in the joints of the board, where there are no protective films.
Also for washing a laminate floor, do not use hard brushes and abrasive powders, becausethey will scratch the protective film, and your floor will very quickly become unusable. And yet, how to properly wash the laminate?
From all of the above, it is clear that for cleaning it is still better to use special mop to wash the laminate, consisting of microfiber. The use of these mops and special tools allows you to remove from the surface of the floor various types of contaminants, such as sand, shoe polish and even glue compounds.
In addition, the use of these mops allows you to answer the often asked question of how to wash a laminate without divorce. Mops from microfiber very quickly absorb water and do not leave unsightly divorces on the harvested surface.
What should not you do when cleaning?
Many housewives use a washing vacuum cleaner for laminate. Of course, from a practical point of view, such cleaning is most acceptable for a person, but is it so good for flooring?
As mentioned above, and what the manufacturers of floor coverings do not tire of saying, moisture is the main enemy of the laminate. And the principle of the detergent vacuum cleaner is precisely the spraying of moisture and its subsequent cleaning.
If you have a 32 or 33 grade laminate flooring, then, perhaps, such cleaning will not lead to instant damage to the coating, but undoubted harm will do, and the lifetime of the laminate floor will be significantly reduced.
To summarize, I would like to note that before you wash the laminate floor, you need to get acquainted with the recommendations of experts in this matter, chat in forums with other happy owners of this coverage and draw the appropriate correct conclusions. And then, with proper use, laminated floors will last you for many years.