Laminate Floor Facts

Have you been considering upgrading to laminate floors? Great idea! Laminated flooring is much easier to maintain than just about any other type of flooring, and the various styles available will knock your socks off. It’s also probably the easiest type of flooring to install yourself, if you so choose.

But after your laminated flooring is installed, how do you maintain it? If you’ve been using carpet or hardwood floors, then you’re probably thinking the process of keeping your laminate floor looking nice is going to be a bit different. In part, you would be correct, but laminated flooring is also very easy to maintain.

General cleaning of laminate floors is very simple. A normal sweeping job will take care of any dirt and dust, but you can use a vacuum if you so choose. Using a vacuum cleaner is a much better idea if you have any allergy sufferers in the home, as it contains the dirt and dust instead of knocking it about. Most modern vacuums, and some not so modern, have a switch or lever on them for non-carpeted floors.

If it doesn’t come off using only a broom or vacuum, you may have to put a bit more elbow grease into it. Luckily, a cloth moistened with a very little bit of plain water should take care of it for you. Just be sure to wipe the floor clean with a dry cloth afterward, as standing water is the enemy of the laminate wood flooring. Under no circumstances should your laminated flooring ever be wet mopped as this can lead to warping of the floors. Any standing water should always be cleaned up as soon as possible.

Every once in a while, you may encounter a heavy enough stain that plain water simply can’t touch it. For these times, most flooring retailers, be they online or your local hardware store, carry cleaner specifically made for laminate floors. As it’s very rare that you’ll have such stains, one bottle of laminate floor cleaner will go a long ways. Again, do not attempt to mop your floor with this cleaner. Simply follow the directions on the bottle and your laminated flooring will look like new again.

Never, ever use any kind of chemicals on your laminate floor that were not made especially for it. Any generic soap solutions can cause damage to your floor. Waxes, polishes, and sealers are also both harmful and completely unnecessary. Obviously any type of abrasive material is completely out of the question.

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No other type of flooring will provide you with nearly as many options as a laminate floor.  With all sorts of options available, including laminate wood floors such as oak, merbau, beech, cherry, maple, and walnut, you can be sure that laminate floors will give you the look you want for your home, and likely at a lower cost than what it is emulating. Laminate wood flooring also has the added advantage of being quite a bit more durable than the so called real thing.

Believe it or not, laminate floors were only introduced in the US market about a decade ago, yet it has already become one of the fastest selling floor types in the US today. Ease of installation, low prices, and ability to withstand punishment are some of the most likely reasons for laminate flooring’s popularity. Billions of square feet of laminate floor have been sold to homeowners throughout the country, and far more worldwide, being placed in many new homes in many new subdivisions as well as used to replacement in older homes to give them a much more modern look.

Manufacturers of flooring have been very quick to pick up on the laminate floor trend and most now produce laminated floor tiles and planks in a truly ridiculous array of colors, textures, and styles. Not only that, but there are many different installation formats as well for laminate floor, such as click lock, floating, and gluedown to mention but a few.

Pergo and Armstrong, for example, have become household names and many others are making a name for themselves by bringing to market high quality flooring in finishes and styles that surprise even the most jaded of consumers.  Pergo has a very pretty walnut laminate flooring as well as an extremely popular maple laminate flooring, and Armstrong is very proud of their SwiftLock laminate flooring which promises easy installation.  With Quick Step laminate flooring, laminate has become even easier to install yourself, not that installing laminate flooring was ever particularly difficult.  There’s also always companies offering discount laminate floors if you’re willing to add a little risk to your laminate flooring installation.

With all of these choices to choose from, buyers will often become confused when trying to choose the right floor for them. In addition, AC Ratings and various groove and tongue systems can really convolute things. With this type of flooring being rather young, the options are sure to expand and become even more confusing as time goes on, though there will always be those who are brave enough to attempt their own laminate floor installation no matter how complicated the landscape becomes.

Be sure to look around, either on the web or at your local hardware store, so that you can learn about laminate floor, it’s durability, and see just how affordable it can be.  Be careful though, as with everything else, cheap laminate flooring may not be up to par with the more expensive, better known brands.

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As more and more homeowners look for alternatives to the weaker, hard to install, and expensive hardwood, oak laminate flooring is quickly gaining popularity. Oak laminate floor, on the other hand, is generally extremely durable, very easy to install, and far more affordable than your typical hard wood flooring. What you don’t give up, however, is the beauty of the authentic wood floor, which will be yours for the lower price and ease to install of laminate floors.

As everyone loves the rich colors that oak flooring can provide, oak laminate floor is an awesome choice. Creating a warm feel in your home that welcomes everyone is much easier and cheaper with oak laminated flooring. Oak laminate floor comes in many very natural colors, including honey shades, and some with an almost cherry coloration. Durable laminate floor will add a classy, sophisticated, even dramatic look to your home.

Quick Step Laminate Flooring, Westhollow, and BHK are some of the better known oak laminate floor brands. Although there are many, many more brands out there, these three companies are both very reputable and offer a wide selection of oak laminate in their laminate floor collections. To decide which laminate floor is right for you, you would need to browse through each of their selection. Here, though, is some information with which to get started.

Quick Step Laminate Flooring, a fairly new players in the field of laminate floors, has recently become a popular provider of oak laminate floors due to affordability, ease of use, and style. One of their most stunning selections would be their Natural Oak product. Also, in contrast to Natural Oak would be the Dark Oak option, which is much deeper in color, but still just as gorgeous as Natural Oak. Although these Quick Step Laminate Flooring can be used everywhere in your home, some of their options have beveled edges which are great for adding a decorative touch in living areas and entry ways.

With their Heritage Collection, Westhollow Flooring offers some truly beautiful oak laminate flooring. Cathedral French Oak, for example, is both stunning and affordable. This medium tone laminate floor works great in a staircase, entry way, dining room, or even a living room. From that same range, Barn Milled Oak is another wonderful wood laminate floor. Although the cost is very similar to the French Oak, the color is very different and can show you just how different each oak laminate can be.

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