In message ,
Mark Carver wrote:

We've just had a laminate floor laid, and very nice it is too.

I've done a Google search in this group, and more generally in Usenet
but there doesn't seem to be a definitive guide to the best cleaning
methods/products/practice.

Can someone prove me wrong ?


We have exactly the same problem. We installed laminate because we
couldn't afford anything more durable, and carpet simply isn't an option
in a kitchen/dining area with small children. We're not just talking
about food; even vinyl flooring would suffer with toy cars etc.

Most of the proprietry laminate cleaners seem to concentrate not on
cleaning, but on polishing. Without the children this'd be fine: a sweep
with a soft brush and then a polish is likely to get rid of most muck.

*With* the children however, it is a different story. Quite apart from
sticky food on the floor (we installed the laminate when they were 9
months and 3 years) there's muddy feet, paint and play-dough to think
about. The only sensible way to clean the floor is "wet" and yet the
vast majority of laminates (including ours of course) have dire warnings
on the packaging about never allowing the floor to get wet. There is a
house a few doors down which is set below the level of the road; if you
look over their wall you can see that the laminate in their living room
is quite badly warped along the joins.

Our current solution is twofold: as soon as possible after a spill you
can usually get most of it off with a damp (not wet) cloth, or one of
those large "Dettol" type floor wipes. The wipes seem to be
alcohol-based which evaporates (dries) a lot quicker than water. If it
has dried on or is too sticky for the above then we use a wet cloth (or
well-wrung mop) with the other person following with an old towel to dry
the floor.

Neither solution is entirely satisfactory. Given the same time and
budget constraints as we had when we chose to use laminate we'd probably
still do it (though we might at least cost-out a sealed variety), but
next time we're in this situation we're going to be saving up and
looking seriously at alternatives which don't mind getting wet and being
scrubbed!

Hwyl!

M.

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