If you own a laminate floor on your home or commercial space, you might have to deal with several kinds of specks of dirt and stains on it. And footprints might sound like one of the smallest and insignificant kinds of them.
But my friend, you are wrong. Footprints are not as harmless as many of us think them to be. Specially, when it comes to a sensitive surface like laminate floors.
However, we have got this sorted for you. The article you are up to right now contains a two-stage guide on cleaning footprints and how to prevent footprints on laminate floors. If you’ve got some minutes to check them out, here you go-
What Can Footprint Cause on A Laminate Floor?
Footprint might sound like quite a decent kind of stain for many of us. But when it’s about the footprint on a laminate floor, this might be something serious to worry about.
If a dirty footprint stays on the laminated floor without being taken care of, it will be almost stubborn on the floor. And from being small and insignificant, it will slowly cause widespread damage to the floor. And the same goes for the small dings and scratches on the laminate floor as well.
Cleaning Footprint vs Preventing Footprint on Laminate Floor
If you have got a laminate floor, you should clearly keep it in your mind that there are some clear differences between cleaning the laminate floor and preventing it from catching further footprints.
Cleaning footprints from the laminate floor involve several types of cleaning, where preventing it contains actions to provide a smooth and preventive finish on the laminate floor. However, we have therefore, we have discussed this whole problem into two spheres. One is- how to clean the footprint on laminate floors, and next on, how to prevent footprint on the laminate floor.
Let’s go on-
How to clean footprints on laminate floors?
A three-step cleaning process comes in forward when it’s about cleaning a laminate floor. Here you go-
Step 1: Dry Cleaning
The first and quite basic kind of cleaning action that you can take on your laminate floor is dry cleaning. As a matter of fact, if the footprints and other dirty spots don’t have oily or greasy components in them, a dry cleaning can be enough to deal with them.
So, do dry clean the laminate floor once or twice a day. No need to use any additives or wet chemicals throughout the process. It’s applicable to how to prevent footprints on hardwood floors.
Step 2: Sweeping the floor
There are a number of sweeping tools like a wet mop or dry mop that has to be used to clean footprints if they are not too old to be stubborn. For regular, day to day footprint cleaning, just wipe the spot perfectly with a wet mop.
To take the effectiveness of sweeping your floor, you can use warm water instead of regular water. Warm water is more likely to take oily and greasy specks of dirt away. If your laminate floor has got footprints that are too dirty, this might be the go-to formula to choose from.
Step 3: Clean it with a vinegar solution
Vinegar is a widely applicable cleaning agent, which is available just in your kitchen. For that, take 40-50 ml of vinegar, and mix it with 3 liters of water.
Now, mix it up and take it in a sprayer. Once again, shake it properly. Now, spray the solution on the footprints and other sorts of dirty spots on the laminate floor.
Now, use a dry mop or cloth to clean the spots out.
How to prevent footprints on laminate floors?
Done with the cleaning part? Now, it’s time to take some action so that no further buildup of footprint takes place on your laminate floor. Let’s go and check them out-
Step 1: Clean on a regular basis
One of the basic 101 of keeping your laminate floor shiny and clean is to clean it on a regular basis. At this step, we won’t go in-depth about how to clean it or what chemicals to use. But we would remind you to clean it on a daily basis. If you want to take it one step further, you are advised to deep clean it once every week. This will prevent any kind of permanent buildup of footprints on the laminate floor.
Step 2: Use mineral spirits and water
The mix of mineral spirit and water is another kind of way that you can apply on your laminate floor to prevent placements of footprints on it. There are many cheap and odorless mineral spirits that can be taken into consideration as long as cleaning the footprints on a laminate floor is concerned.
Once you buy the right one, make a mixture of 50-50 with water and the spirit. Now, use a mopping pad and work on the floor with it. After taking care of each of the small sections, take care of the mopped area with an old bath towel. Keep rubbing the towel on the section that had been cleaned, and make it dry.
Now, let the entire floor be dry enough to feel no presence of the wetness. Once dried, the floor is ready to be walked on. But this time, the chance of footprint catch up will be way less than before.
Bottom Line
When it’s about learning how to prevent footprints on laminate floors, there is a lot to learn. In fact, over the course of time, you might have your own strategy to take care of that somehow.
But if you go for choosing some commercial product to clean up your laminate floor, we would tell you to be super selective. Because not every cleaner in the market is a good suit for a laminate floor. Better consult more with homecare professionals before you seek the best laminate floor cleaner.
Till then, Good luck!