Laminate and parquet care: a review of regular and periodic measures

Wooden floors are a worthy decoration of the modern interior, symbolizing the prestige and wealth of the owners. He is preferred for such qualities as warmth, durability, naturalness, elitism, because parquet and laminate successfully cope with the tasks of preserving heat and creating comfort. The decorative possibilities of the material are endless, but caring for a laminate in an apartment requires strength, patience, and financial investments.

Dangers of wood flooring

The “worst enemy”, of course, is water. If liquid has been spilled onto the coating, it must be removed immediately. During wet cleaning, the rag must be wrung out carefully. In no case should you use washing vacuum cleaners.

Parquet care at home comes down to protecting the finish from scratches. Their sources are pets, high-heeled shoes. Therefore, firstly, in the room you need to use soft slippers, and secondly - in time to cut the nails of your favorite animals if they move around the apartment on their own.

All furniture should be equipped with special rubberized or felt linings, especially those interior items that regularly change their location: chairs, coffee tables, armchairs.

Shoes with printed shoes - a separate topic for conversation, you need to be demanding of yourself and guests, change shoes without fail. Naturally, you can’t drop heavy objects on the floor, but no one is safe from this, you just need to be careful.

Sand and dirt can turn a sparkling coating into something faceless and scrambled, in addition, the dust is actively clogged into the pores of the wood, and if you neglect the regular maintenance of the laminated area, the accumulated particles of dirt will have to be removed along with the top layer, so you should spread the rugs in the entrance area and monitor their cleanliness. However, even if the room has carpets, this is not a guarantee of the space being protected from sand, because it is brought in on the sole of street shoes.

The wood lining has an external coating, and care for the parquet covered with oil is to take care of this protective layer.

List of regular activities:

• During the first two weeks after varnishing, cleaning can only be carried out using a vacuum cleaner, after a specified period, wet rags can be introduced into the process. If furniture with castors is used in the house, the latter should have a special rubberized coating, thanks to which chairs and chairs can be safely used. Cleaning and care of the parquet can also be carried out using cotton cloth and a hair brush, with the prohibition of abrasive cleaners. Care must be taken with hard objects: if the lacquer or oil layer is damaged, the wood will be vulnerable to moisture and dirt.
• The rules for the care of the laminate allow the use of special cleaning products - cleaners. They are considered unique due to their chemical neutrality with respect to parquet varnish. The best option is when both the cliner and the varnish are produced by the same brand. You should not check folk recipes on the laminate, for example, use gasoline, paint thinner, dishwashing detergent, alcohol.
• Intensive manual or machine care of the laminate is applicable only in the presence of hardened or stubborn contaminants that cannot be disposed of with gentle methods. We must not forget that caring for parquet, varnished, provides for periodic updating of the protective layer. Usually it is enough to sand the coating every 5-7 years and apply varnish.

How often do you need to use gentle means?

In the residential area, it is enough to apply a laminate care product every 2-3 months. In areas with high traffic, for example, in the corridor, office or on the stairs, you need to carry out such work every 2-3 weeks. In cafes, shops and schools, that is, in institutions with an increased load, the manipulations under consideration are organized weekly.

To preserve the lacquer protective barrier, wax-based polishes, as well as odorless water-dilutable preparations, are suitable. Compared to varnish, oil does not create a thick surface film, it only closes wood pores. This measure helps prevent dirt and moisture from entering the fibers. Caring for a parquet under oil is very simple: you just need to re-process the problem areas.

Oil compositions are convenient due to the very fast restoration of the surface - all manipulations and the rest period of the floors require no more than a day. Therefore, they are increasingly covering the lining in entertainment, retail and other institutions that cannot be idle for a long time. Maintenance comes down to the same gentle dry and wet cleaning. Floors under oil need more frequent renewal of impregnation, application of parquet care products.

Climate value

The wooden floor is environmentally friendly and natural, it breathes, so with an increase in the level of humidity it can change in size, twist and swell. If, on the contrary, the air is dry, there is a high risk of cracks and cracks due to a decrease in the volume of fibers. To prevent significant fluctuations, it is imperative to use a moisture protective agent to care for the laminate.

Hard times come for the parquet at the beginning of the heating season, and to reduce the effects of air drying out, you should take care of additional humidification: either integrate the device into the ventilation system, or purchase a portable household appliance. In the summer season there is an excess of moisture, in such conditions it is also necessary to take special care of the floors: carefully monitor cleanliness, avoid getting any kind of water.

It is worth noting that in hot countries with a tropical climate they use advanced flooring technology: the coating, sanded and treated with oil, is placed on the substrate without the use of glue, this is the so-called free manner. At the walls, the coating is characteristically tightened. As a result, it is possible to mitigate the effects of year-round high humidity.

Typical damage, the possibility of their elimination

Usually, caring for a laminate at home is accompanied by a solution to constantly arising problems. Next, the main ones will be considered.

Intense solar radiation can cause discoloration of parquet and laminate, while different types of wood do not react equally to prolonged contact with ultraviolet light. For example, cherries ripen quickly, dies will soon darken. Shade conversion is a natural process; no countermeasures are needed here.

Finishing can respond to the effects of detergents, pet products, moisture, stains or local discoloration. Everything that has been spilled must be removed immediately, and ammonia-containing products should not be used. The solution may be grinding and coating the affected areas with varnish, in extreme cases, these dies will have to be replaced.

If the air in the room becomes dry in winter, the risk of cracking is high.Usually, after turning off the heating, this phenomenon should disappear. However, proper floor care from laminate flooring includes climate control. On certain types of wood, in particular, on the oak, wave-like cracks appear, which are the result of the movement of the material, they cannot be eliminated. If aesthetics are compromised, you can also replace the problem area.

When the strips swell, it is possible that the effect of high humidity is so manifested, it is possible that the expansion gap was not observed when laying the floor. To avoid such troubles, it is worth taking care of a complete waterproofing of the coating and, at the installation stage, check the compliance of all stages with the installation rules.

Proper care of the laminate and parquet is a multifaceted, multi-stage process. The primary measure is to create an optimal microclimate, then you need to take care to protect the flooring from mechanical damage with the help of linings and rugs. Regular care is reduced to the elimination of dirt and dust, including with the help of aerosols and special cleaning concentrates. Finally, intensive care is manifested in the periodic application of protective compounds.