Caring for Laminate Flooring
The Make-Up and Maintenance of an Attractive, Affordable Floor
Laminate flooring is an economical, low maintenance alternative to traditional hardwood floors. Here's a look at its composition and care.
Caring for Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring sales have been overtaking traditional hardwood flooring sales in the past few years. Many factors contribute to this but the main ones are price (as the cost of quality hardwoods rise), ease of installation, low maintenance, and variety. Variety is important because a plank of laminate pine costs the manufacturer the same price to produce as a plank of a truly exotic wood such as laminate ebony. Thus, the homeowner can get a much more expensive looking floor for a reasonable price. Fortunately, caring for laminate flooring is easier than caring for a hardwood floor.
Laminate Flooring Composition
In order to understand why proper care is important for laminate floors, it is helpful to understand just what laminate is and what it is made of. The exact makeup of a laminate flooring plank varies slightly by manufacturer but they are all relatively similar. The plank consists of a number of layers of different materials and this is where the term laminate comes from. Following is a generic breakdown.
- The bottom material layer is a material such as Melamine. This is a molded plastic material using Melamine resin. One advantage of it is its heat resistant properties. For this reason, Melamine is also used as a component of Formica, suits that firemen use, and even in some dishware.
- The next layer up is the core layer, typically made of of a form of fiber board. This layer serves two purposes: it gives the plank its strength and rigidity, and it includes the interlocking mechanism. This is a variation of a tongue-and-groove joint.
- Proceeding up one more layer is the design layer. This is the layer that is visible; it is actually a graphic representation of the wood grain and color.
- Finally, the top layer is the protective layer. This layer is transparent and protects against moisture, scuffs and scrapes.
Care and Maintenance of Laminate Flooring
Caring for and maintenance of laminate flooring is fairly straightforward. The most important thing to do is sweep on a regular basis. This will minimize any scratching by abrasive particles such as sand or dirt brought in by pedestrian traffic.
Laminate planks should never be wet mopped, just damp mopped. Although the top layer affords excellent protection and the core layer is very water resistant, it is not waterproof. This is why laminate flooring should not be installed in a bathroom.
Due to the strength and gloss level of the protective layer, waxes and other polish products are not needed. In fact, most laminate manufacturers recommend against their use.
Unlike traditional hardwood floors, laminate floors do not require periodic sanding and refinishing. The top protective layer is all that's needed. A properly cared for laminate floor will maintain its beauty and durability for many years.
