Laminate Wood Flooring

The following was written by a dear friend of mine, Sharon Stover with Carpet Direct:

Today's laminate so closely resembles hardwood, you'll have trouble spotting the difference.

A tribute to modern manufacturing, laminate flooring continues to make innovative breakthroughs. It now conveys the authentic look of wood or ceramic tile. A variety of shades and finishes allows you to choose the wood look down to the species and now, laminates are mimicking hardwood even more.
Shaw's Touchable Texture laminates offer beveled, distressed, and highly textured options to give your laminate floor the look and feel of true hardwood, wood grain and all. Use texture to add a distinguishing touch to your home or choose a distressed look to provide affordable beauty.

Laminate is durable, affordable, and easy to maintain.

Laminate is constructed in layers to create lasting, affordable, beautiful floors.
Four layers of material, each with its own purpose, are fused together to create laminate flooring that is durable and will last for years to come.
Layer 1: A melamine backing layer provides a moisture barrier and structural integrity.
Layer 2: EnviroCore™ - Shaw's environmentally friendly coreboard - is the dense inner layer made of recycled wood fiber meaning fewer trees used with less waste.
Layer 3: Beneath the top layer is the decor layer featuring natural hardwood designs.
Layer 4: A melamine wear top layer offers a tough, beautiful finish.

Be sure that you choose an aluminum oxide finish since this lasts nearly 7 times longer than other finishes.

Follow routine maintenance guidelines to clean your laminate flooring
Use a damp cloth to blot up spills as soon as they happen. Never allow liquids to stand on your floor.

For tough spots, such as oil, paint, markers, lipstick, ink, or tar, use acetone/nail polish remover on a clean white cloth, then wipe the area with a damp cloth to remove any remaining residue.

Sweep, dust, or vacuum the floor regularly with the hard floor attachment (not the beater bar) to prevent accumulation of dirt and grit that can scratch or dull the floor finish.

Periodically clean the floor with cleaning products made specifically for laminate floor care. For optimum results, we recommend Shaw's R2X Hard Surfaces Flooring Cleaner.

Do not wash or wet mop the floor with soap, water, oil-soap detergent, or any other liquid cleaning material. This could cause swelling, warping, delamination, and joint-line separation, and void the warranty.

Do not use steel wool, abrasive cleaners, or strong ammoniated or chlorinated type cleaners.

Do not use any type of buffing or polishing machine.

For spots such as candle wax or chewing gum, harden the spot with ice and then gently scrape with a plastic scraper, such as a credit card. Be careful not to scratch the flooring surface. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.

A more frequent dust-mopping or vacuuming schedule may be required in very sandy areas such as a beach home.

Entry mats will help collect the dirt, sand, grit, and other substances such as oil, asphalt, or driveway sealer that might otherwise be tracked onto your floor

Use floor protectors and wide-load bearing leg bases/rollers to minimize the chance of indentations and scratches from heavy objects. As a rule, the heavier the object, the wider the floor protector.

Maintain a normal indoor relative humidity level between 35% and 65% throughout the year to minimize the natural expansion and contraction of the wood.

For more information, contact SharonStover with Carpet Direct at (480) 982-2457.

Sincerely,

The Editor