Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 Jan 27, 2009 5:06 pm I had floating laminate flooring laid in my new house and now after 9 months of having it down I'm starting to regret my choice of flooring . Though its a lovely floor , It looks dirty.. hazy dried water streaks show up after its been mopped and dried off naturally,.also foot prints show up after walking on the floor in bare feet.
I would love to have that shiny clean floor look.. So does any one know a good floor cleaner for floating laminate flooring? I ve been back to the flooring place where i originally purchased the flooring and i bought after they recommended PARADOR floor clean er (which is expensive) but hasn't made any difference. I have also tried Vinegar , pino clean, plain warm water, changing the water , dishwashing detergeant all with a valeda mop. even drying off with a towel. didn't have this problem with wooden flooring Any suggestions would be appreciated Re: Floating laminate floor cleaner 2Jan 27, 2009 5:18 pm Possible a really good clean then a coat of sealant.
Which I always suggest on laying the floor anyway, it seals the gaps. Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com floor cleaning 3Jan 27, 2009 7:17 pm Hi clath, my grandmother had a cork tiled floor installed many years ago and they told her to use warm water with a splash of metho and a splash of woolwash (no frills is fine). She always used this and the floor still looks fantastic. Now I am not sure if this would be appropriate for your particular floor or not. I use this method on our timber boards and it is great. The woolwash is a gentle clean and the metho helps to dry it streak free. Don't know if this helps or not.
themax Re: Floating laminate floor cleaner 5Jan 27, 2009 8:45 pm You need to be careful before laying any sealer over a pre-finished floor that the new coating wil stick to the old finish. Most floor sealers require any old films to be removed.
Applying a sealer will generally void warranty, if any on the floor. Re: Floating laminate floor cleaner 6Jan 27, 2009 8:48 pm Metho for sure. I use it here most of the time. If I use a 'proper' floor cleaner, the floorboards get that hazy look and get diry again very quickly. I think they get sticky. You might need to go over them a couple of times but metho will bring them up nicely. Cheap too Re: Floating laminate floor cleaner 7Jan 28, 2009 7:15 am A lot of detergents will leave a sticky residue. As the water evaporates it leaves whatever was disolved in the water spread evenly across the floor as a haze. This could be detergent residue if you have left too much on, or oily residue if you have not used enough detergent to break up the oils.
The majority of soils are oily soils and do need something to break up the oils. This is the job of the detergent. Half the trick is in using the mop correctly. Like any other cleaning operation you need to apply detergent, let it do it's job and then rinse it off thoroughly and then dry it off quickly. This may take three seperate operations. If you just mop over the floor with the bucket of detergent you will leave a film of detergent . The detergent residue will continue to look for dirt and that is why they seem to get dirty quickly. The metho is just alchohol and this helps a bit as a rinse. The vinegar is acetic acid and this helps neutralise any alkaline residues from the detergent. Both are good in the rinse but not necessarily together. So mop the floor with a detergent solution. Then rinse it with the metho or white vinegar solution, and then run a drying mop over the floor to remove as much moisture as possible. Microfibre is great as it can almost eliminate the need for detergents. They are being used more and more in hospitals and nursing homes instead of disinfecting. A clean floor does not need disinfecting. I won't go into how they work here, but they do work exceptionally well. One word of caution. Some Laminate floors can be damaged by moisture. So mopping in the traditional sense may be out of the question. Go to your local cleaning supply shop. They have a range of professional gear that is certainly worth the money. We have a large area of tiled floor. I purchased a $250 mop bucket that I take on training courses in nursing homes. I have a struggle getting it back from my wife. Even though it is usually me that does the floor cleaning at home, she hates to be without it in case of some touch up cleaning. So we now have a microfibre flat mop as well with launderable pads for touch up cleaning. cheers Col Nation For information on caring for wool and other carpet and upholstery go to www.woolsafe.com.au Re: Floating laminate floor cleaner 8Jan 28, 2009 10:03 am JellyLegs the floorboards get that hazy look and get diry again very quickly. I think they get sticky. That simply means your using too much detergent in the bucket, there is a residue of the actual chemical left on the floor which gives you the stickiness and haze. Re: Floating laminate floor cleaner 9Jan 28, 2009 12:25 pm There is a product (sorry can't remember the name) that is sold at bunnings that is recommended by Formica for their laminate flooring. Re: Floating laminate floor cleaner 10Jan 31, 2009 11:09 am We have had our Formica Mirabella laminate floors for about 10 months. I thought they were supposed to be easier than real wood--boy was I wrong! If someone walks on them you can see every step. You can clean them and 5 minutes later they look even worse. You have to get on your hands and knees and clean then dry -- it is utterly ridiculous. I have been around and around with the installer and am getting no where. I have put these floors in my whole house! I feel like my life evolves around cleaning these floors. I am at my whits end if anyone has any suggestions please help! Thanks!!!! Re: Floating laminate floor cleaner 11Jan 31, 2009 10:02 pm Disgusted feel your pain as you can see Ive had the same issues. You shouldn't have to go to all that trouble cleaning a floor .Cleaning it once and letting it dry should be sufficient in my opinion as by past experience.
I'm wondering whether there's anyone else who had the same problem with their floating laminate boards? or don't have these problems. But still will try peoples suggestions Re: Floating laminate floor cleaner 12May 24, 2009 6:31 pm Hi clath, My wife has exactly the same problem with our laminate flooring. My wife has tried a lot of different ways to remove water stains and hazy marks. We would be very interested to find the cure. Re: Floating laminate floor cleaner 13Sep 06, 2009 5:19 pm We also have the problem of foot marks being visible immediately on a clean floor. We are using microfibre dust mops and cleaning pads, with rubbing alcohol, white vinegar and water, 1/3 each. This cleans well, but only looks good where you haven't walked afterwards. Drives us mad. The best advice we had was to darken the room so that the marks are not so visible... We were also told that a textured finish doesn't have this problem-ours is smooth. This problem must be the best kept secret in the floor covering business. Re: Floating laminate floor cleaner 14Sep 06, 2009 5:41 pm Hmmm,I will be keeping a eye on this thread because we are wanting to put laminate flooring in our house. Does anyone not have this problem with there flooring? Re: Floating laminate floor cleaner 15Feb 27, 2011 9:41 am Hi, I used to have problems cleaning my laminate floors too. I would have to get down on my hands and knees with a micro fibre cloth, and then polish it off with an old nappy. But who has time for this every week? Somehow, one day, I added just a drop or so of "morning fresh" dish washing liquid, to my 1/2 bucket of very hot water, (laminate needs to dry quickly so I use really hot tap water) and then I added a cap of eucalyptus oil. I use a "Vileda Mop" and the job has never been easier. The laminate shines like a mirror. If I need a touch up, I keep a spray bottle with water and eucalyptus oil (just a few drops or so) and its easy to keep it clean, especially when you have a dog who is in and out the door. One other tip, wring out the mop of as much liquid as possible, laminate doesn't like much water. Re: Floating laminate floor cleaner 16Feb 27, 2011 10:07 am Hi all. I bought floating laminated flooring from Floorworld, Old geelong Rd Hoppers crossing, (Dave or David i think was his name was) I installed it myself, big job, well worth it, saved thousands, a few sore fingers and all. Very rewardiong With this said the floor cleaner they sell I have found to work very well. It is expensive, about $25 but so far I am happy with it, no streakes etc. Dont use to much, just the recommended amount. Hope this helps Re: Floating laminate floor cleaner 17Feb 27, 2011 12:29 pm Do you know what the cleaner is made from? I have now found a better cleaning method.I use a Valida micro fibre mop head now. Easier to use than the Enjo. Vacuum or dust mop (twice if you have cats) thoroughly. Into a 1/2 bucket of warm water add a cup of white vinegar. Wet the mop head and wring as dry as you can. Clean a smallish area then rinse mop in bucket, wring dry and clean a bit more. Repeat until done. I think the secret is to continually clean the mop. Bit of a chore but worth it. Also, mop only in the direction of the flooring. I think the Enjo heads are really hard to clean, and eventually just smear. Re: Floating laminate floor cleaner 18Feb 27, 2011 1:24 pm Floorworld Ph 03 - 99-311-311 Old Geelong Rd Hoppers Crossing Quick Step - 1lt bottle, quick step clean, $30, 2 cap fulls diluted in bucket of water. Slughtly damp cloth / mop then dry off with dry cloth. Hope this helps. Re: Floating laminate floor cleaner 20Jan 13, 2012 11:25 am a big watchout guys! I bought Cabots Wood floor polish from Bunning and its rubbish on laminate floors, it effectively is a lacquer and its going to be fun to take off NOT!! Thanks, that's the motivation I needed to give it a try sooner rather than one day! 4 3394 To put anything over slate you will need to put self level compound over the entire area as slate various in thickness and is very un even. To install most types of… 1 1112 Thanks Simon, I guess I'm no concerned with the volume of the noise rather that dead and hollow sound and feel that is associated with floating floors. But I'm not sure… 3 6713 |