Laminate care guide

Laminate flooring can be a great look in any room of your home, and with the correct care and cleaning, laminate can keep its good looks for decades.

From how to mop laminate floors without damaging them to what cleaning products to use to avoid streaky marks, read on for our top tips for cleaning laminate flooring and caring for it properly.

In this guide:

How to care for laminate floors
Can you mop laminate flooring?
How to clean laminate flooring
Laminate floor care FAQs

How to care for laminate floors

Knowing how to care for laminate flooring will help you prevent damage before it happens. It’s easy once you have the basics sorted. Here are our top tips for daily laminate floor care:

Do your best to stop scratches from happening in the first place – Your new floor is scratch resistant, but it isn’t scratch proof. For a daily clean, use a soft brush or vacuum cleaner (with a soft parquet brush attachment) to pick up dirt and dust. If scratches do happen, you can read our useful guide exploring how to repair scratches on laminate flooring for some quick help.
Spot cleaning – Where possible, the best way to clean laminate floors after an accident is to spot clean any marks or spills rather than cleaning the whole floor.
Use door mats inside and outside your home – Cleaning laminate flooring is a lot easier when dirt doesn’t even make it onto your floor. Placing mats outside and inside any entrance and back doors can pick up a surprising amount of dirt, so put them high on your priority list.
Shoes off indoors – Avoid wearing outdoor shoes on your laminate where possible, especially high heels or metal-trimmed soles.
Add floor protectors to furniture legs – Your furniture can potentially cause dents or scrapes where it comes into contact with your floor. Floor protectors can help minimise the chance of this happening.
Avoid dragging furniture – Safely lift items instead of dragging them across the floor. Make sure to lift furniture with your legs, rather than your back, and avoid lifting anything you can’t safely move on your own.
Keep up claw maintenance – If you have furry members of the family, make sure their nails are trimmed regularly!

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Can you mop laminate flooring?

Yes, you can gently mop laminate flooring with a lightly damp mop. Microfibre mops are the best option, as they’re soft and gentle on laminate flooring. If you have a normal mop, make sure to wring it out thoroughly so it’s not soaking wet – it should be almost dry. Remember, laminate is not waterproof so any excess water can oversaturate and damage laminate planks. Even water resistant laminate needs to be cleaned carefully.

How to clean laminate flooring

Beyond the occasional spills and splodges, the best way to clean laminate floors is to be gentle. If it’s time to clean your laminate flooring more thoroughly, find out how to mop and vacuum laminate floors with extra care with our tips below:

Use as little water as possible – Laminate will expand if exposed to too much water over a period of time, and the joins in the laminate are particularly susceptible to water damage. If you’re using a conventional mop, ensure it’s wrung out so that it’s almost dry before it touches the boards. Or spray with a laminate floor cleaner and wipe away with a microfibre mop head.
Vacuum and/or sweep your floor regularly – Vacuuming laminate floors with soft bristle tools will help remove any debris which could scratch it - discover how often you should vacuum your flooring in our handy guide.

Never use harsh chemicals, ammonia or wax-based cleaners, or abrasive materials – Strong cleaning products can permanently damage laminate flooring. If in doubt, test the cleaner on a spare board first.
Never use a steam mop – Steam mops are too heavy-handed for laminate flooring, generating too much heat and moisture for laminate’s wood-based format.

How to clean laminate floors without leaving a film

Sometimes using the wrong cleaning products can leave a streaky or sticky film behind. For a quick DIY solution, you can keep your laminate floors looking beautiful by using a weak solution of warm water and a squeeze of lemon juice. Remember to always wring out your mop or cloth until it’s no longer soaking wet. You can also use dedicated laminate cleaning products made for gentle floor cleaning.

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Laminate floor care FAQs

Many customers have questions about caring for their laminate flooring. We’re always on hand to share our flooring knowledge in-store or online, but we’ve compiled some of the most common questions below:

How to make laminate floors shine

After some time, you might notice that your floor seems to have dulled a little. Don’t reach for wax or polish intended for solid wood floors – this isn’t the way to make your laminate floors shine again! Wax helps smooth and resurface scuffs and scratches in wood, so it isn’t suitable for the clear top coat of laminate – and could leave your floor slippery.

It’s worth remembering that many modern laminates are designed to be low sheen to better mimic the appearance of solid wood. But if your floor has developed a dull look beyond the matte quality of wood, or what you’d expect from normal wear and tear, it’s likely the culprit is a residue left by cleaning products. A soft microfibre mop sprayed with either our homemade mix of warm water and a squeeze of lemon juice or laminate floor cleaner can help your laminate flooring gleam again.

What is the best laminate floor cleaner?

With so many different recommendations out there, it can be tricky to know what to clean laminate floors with. The best laminate floor cleaners are often specialised laminate cleaning products, designed to clean your flooring while protecting the high-density fibreboards beneath.

However, if you’re looking for a simple way to cut through grease, you can also use warm water and a squeeze of lemon juice. Easy peasy! You may read advice to add a splash of washing-up liquid or another detergent, but this can leave a dull, faintly sticky residue that attracts dust and dirt over time. If you’re dealing with a stubborn residue, you may have to repeat this step several times.

The key step is to ensure the mop is just barely damp, not wet! Your laminate flooring comes with a hygienic antibacterial topcoat, so there’s no need for cleaners with harsh chemicals, which could cause damage.

And if you do decide to try a commercial product, we do suggest choosing a specialised laminate cleaner and testing it on a spare bit or sample of the laminate before using it on your floor.

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Hopefully, you’ve learned everything you need to know about cleaning laminate flooring from our care guide. If you have any more questions about how to care for laminate flooring or want to take a look at our fabulous collections including Quick-Step laminate flooring, book a visit at your nearest Tapi store.

Can't get to a store? No worries - we can also bring our laminate collections to you when you book a home visit. In the meantime, head over to our Ideas Hub, which is full of inspiration and advice, including how to acclimatise laminate flooring and much more.

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Charlie Harris Buying Director

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Published: 14-05-2025