Laminate Flooring? ... READ THIS
 

In general, laminate flooring is Great, looks very nice, and supposedly is easy to maintain.

But there is one big exception; DON'T put any wax on it ! ! ! ! Or anything for that matter that is not specifically made for YOUR particular brand of flooring.

We had some renters a while back that were "doing us a favor" and waxed a fairly new white-grained laminate floor with something called "Rejuvenate," which is made for laminate flooring. Oop's.... It quickly became very evident that something was wrong. It immediately became dirty, grundgy and impossible to clean. The renters put even more Rejuvenate on because the bottle says that it CLEANS. It doesn't.

We found that the wax layer collected (and retained) microscopic particles (dirt, lint, hair, etc) and those items couldn't be simply damp mopped-up as before. The particles were entrapped by the wax. Worse, the grain in the laminate caught even more wax, and that is probably impossible to remove.

After several hours of on-your-knee's drudgery to remove the surface wax the floor looks much better, but will probably never look like it did Before the !*^% wax. We're nearly done with the cleaning (Thank God...) but I wanted to share this painful lesson.

If anyone actually has experience in removing wax from laminate flooring, and has a magic solution or technique, we'd love to hear your recommendations. We tried a variety of different solutions and found that straight ammonia worked as well as any thing else (regardless of what you read on the Internet). The installer sent his main Tech-guy over to look at the situation. After a lengthy discussion he made it pretty clear that using virtually anything on the flooring (other than the manufacturer's products [which didn't work either]), steam cleaning, or other bright ideas will void the lifetime warranty. The Tech had personally experienced a similar problem with his flooring at home, and found that ammonia (and LOT of elbow grease) was about the only thing that worked. Regrettably, the Tech couldn't even recommend anyone to do the was removal; the task is that onerous. (Many problems can be fixed just by writing a check - evidently this isn't one of them!)

So the bottom line is ONLY DRY or DAMP MOP YOUR LAMINATE FLOOR !!

Future renters will be warned for sure!

Best,
C&M

Sorry for what has happened, but thank you so much for sharing what has and could happen.

Sorry that happened to you and hope you get your floors beautiful again.

When I had mine installed a month ago I was told to clean with Armstrong or Bona laminate floor cleaner. I tried the Bona and it leaves smudges. I sparingly use plain water, only.

I have had laminate floors for six years and only use Bruce hardwood and laminate cleaner on them and they look great. You can get it at Lowe's.

Many years ago in Illinois we put laminate in out town home. The flooring company that did it said the best thing to use is Windex! So I bought one of the flat mops that you attached a terry cloth cleaning cloth to and use Windex have for years both there and here in our bedrooms that have laminate. Next week are are putting laminate in the living room and I will continue to clean as I always have. No streaks clean floor and easy.

Is laminate flooring slippery?

Mine never has been. Tile ruined my knee when I slipped on it a few years back.

I've always had carpet. I envision my dog slipping and sliding on it.

Try straight rubbing alcohol. Worked great when I could not get hairspray residue off my tile floors. Required a hands and knees job but works!

Another vote for Bruce here. I've found it to leave no residue, unlike Bona. If you're going to use Windex, suggest you use ammonia-free product. This was recommended to me by a floor installer.

In a previous home with Laminate, we were advised to use Windex. Worked great!!

Water and vinegar (not balsamic) :)

Thank you.
 

Very generous of you to take the time to share this. Wow. I think the company should be held responsible for the damage since it claimed to be for laminate floors. How to make them pay though is the question. This is horrible. Just horrible. Good luck with it.

A cup of white vinegar mixed with a gallon of water on a slightly damp mop, works great!!!

Sorry this has happened to you.

The other side of the coin is there are many reasons we love laminate. It truly is easier to maintain than hardwood and the newer better laminate is not like that of years ago. My neighbors installed it throughout their entire house a couple of years ago and when you walk in their house you would swear it was hardwood. We've had it in out bedrooms for going on 6 years now and it looks as good as the day we had it installed. Mostly I just dust mop or vacuum it and once a month I use the windex. But everyone has their preference there truly is no right or wrong. People should go with what they like just make sure it's a quality product and installed properly and you'll be happy.

:agree:

I dust it every week and once a month, I clean with water and vinegar. I have it only a few months, but it looks great. Much better than rugs. Same for the vinyl flooring in my kichen/laundry room and two bathrooms. Easy to clean and looks great all the time.

I find laminate easier on the feet than tile but everyone has their own preferences. :smiley:

BTW - I have rugs in my two bedrooms. I just like the feel of rugs when I get out of bed. A friend of mine's daughter is an environmentalists and says that 70% of all germs in a house, comes from what people track in with their shoes. I tend to remove my shoes upon entering but don't require or ask guests to do so. Most people who visit are nice and take off their shoes without asking which embarrasses me.

I am not a germaphobic, (made word up), like Howard Hughes!!!! :D

Our laminate floor installer told us to use window cleaner with NO ammonia. Glass Plus works great!

The vinegar/water solution is my choice too. It's even better if the water is very hot. I'll bet the renters feel so bad about ruining that flooring. They were trying to be good renters. A shame.

Rejuvenate 32oz. Floor Cleaner
I just looked at the products on this site and I've begun to wonder.....do you know for sure this is what the renter used on your floors? The products sound very good plus five stars. Just wondering.

I have used Bruce laminate cleaner and liked it just fine. When I emptied the spray bottle, instead of buying more, I pour in a cup of white vinegar and a cup of rubbing alcohol, then filled with water (about a quart total). I dampen my mop and just spray and mop as I go. The alcohol helps it to dry faster and I assume kills germs.

I used the Rejuvenate on hardwood and it was terrific at filling in the scratches. I can imagine it didn't do very well on the laminate.

I've used Rejuvenate on solid wood floors--not laminate, and it works beautifully. We use it in all our rental properties that have hardwood. It saves me having to sand and redo the floors every 5 years. So far, even with regular abuse, many are still looking great after 7 years. We don't use anything on our laminate...just Murphy's Oil Soap. But a little bit of vinegar and warm water also removes stains quickly.

Yea it was Rejuvenate - I saw the bottle, and yes, it said it was for laminate flooring.

At this point we are not going to try to pursue it with anyone, just learn (and share) from the experience.

I suspect the term "shine" may be a give away that tells you there is wax in the formulation.

Life and learn; we've finished the clean-up and the floor looks Much better. ...now, to KEEP it that way!

Thanks for your comments and ideas.

Best,
Casey