Laminate floors are always the first choice for many modern families. The design of wood planks of linoleum makes your house modern, stunning, stylish, and especially shiny. Besides aesthetics, laminate floors are more affordable than many kinds of expensive floor materials. However, it requires much more attention to keep it at its best. You have to care for it regularly; otherwise, it can easily lose the original shine – a special highlight of this design.
Will A Steam Mop Damage Laminate Floors?
Many people want to use a steam mop on their laminate floors because of its convenience, but wonder about its damaging ability on laminate floors. The question is: Will a steam mop damage a laminate floor? In this article, I will show you a reliable answer and give out a suggestion for your best decision. Please read out!
Should you use a steam mop on laminate flooring?
A steam mop is often used to give your floors a good scouring and can take away all the dust from your house in the shortest time. However, this kind of mop can ruin your laminate floors. Several steam-mop manufacturers have warned against the damage it can cause. According to Forté, the timber flooring specialists, “It’s best not to use them. The flooring manufacturers gave extremely cautionary advice to users because their warranty also may be voided .” There is a lot of misinformation out there on the World Wide Web about its safety, and you can see many steam-mop brands even claim that. Be wise! Let’s check the care guidelines for your floor first; otherwise, it can do more harm than good.
Why can a steam mop damage laminate floors?
The steam mop is a simple system that heats the water to turn it into steam. They will pass through the mop to disinfect your floors and carpets. Although steam cleaning is taking hold of the market, the hot steam is really a big problem for the laminate floors.
The fact is that there is no such thing as a completely sealed wood or laminate floor. Laminate floors are the arrangement of wood planks, and there are always seams between them. The steam can cause the laminate planks to curl. Almost all hardwood floors are finished with polyurethane (a moisture-resistant finish), but the gaps between planks are not applied with the finish, and of course, the planks left will be exposed to moisture, especially steam.
Laminate floors are made up of prefinished planks, but the seams between them are hardly sealed. The seams will let the steam permeate through the core of the wood material, which is very vulnerable to water or moisture. When the water sits too long on the wood, the laminate floors will be ruined inside and need to be repaired soon.
Steam cleaning sounds like a good idea, right? But, actually, you should not use a wet steam mop on daily laminate flooring. Please check out the manufacturers’ cautions and avoid letting hot steam lead to damage the hardwood planks on your laminate floors.
A smart suggestion for your shiny laminate floor
Forget the steam mop, I will suggest the right mop. Here is where things get juicy.
The right mop is crucial for a shiny floor. For laminate floors, a flathead microfiber mop is a boss for some reasons below.
Better than traditional mops.
This isn’t opinion, this is a fact. The microfiber is the most popular material in the professional cleaning industry, simply because of its surface area. A microfiber mop has more capacity to clean the floor. The flathead microfiber mop will glide across the floor and take away all the dirt or hair, or debris. Moreover, the soft and smooth mop cloth makes you never worry about scratching the floor.
It can be used easily and effortlessly.
A flathead microfiber mop is lightweight. Everything you need is itself without any extra equipment, such as a mop bucket or interlaced wires. Moreover, it can swivel so that you can easily glide everywhere in your house effortlessly, in the room corner or under the furniture. The more you use it, the easier it will become.
Require less water.
Especially, it requires less water, which is an outstanding feature because laminate flooring is ruined easily if exposed to water. Together with a flathead microfiber mop, you just need a spray, a properly formulated laminate floor one ( easily found at home centers or flooring stores). A small amount of water from a spray can never damage laminate floors and even makes your house look shinier.
Conclusion
Above is the answer to your question. Remember, never use a steam mop on laminate floors if you don’t want them to be damaged. In case you need a bit more cleaning power, consider my suggestion, or you can search for commercial floor cleaners that are designed specifically for laminate flooring. Finding approved brands is important because commercial brands ensure safe ingredients are used to clean your floor without removing the protective surface or warping the planks. So long as you are mindful, your floors will look great. Hope you like it and find this as informative as I did!
