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supercet

How do I get laminate wood floors shiny?

supercet
9 years ago

I know a lot of people have posted on this topic, but I am at a loss. Brand new laminate flooring was installed 4 weeks ago so I know the cause for the dull surface can't be a build up of products. I have a west facing balcony window so I get full sun from the afternoon until sunset. Right after construction my landlord sent a cleaning company to come clean up and when they left the sun was directly on them and my new floors looked lovely and shiny. A few days later I took out my steam mop and cleaned thinking I'm going to have the same nice, shiny floor - bad idea, even though I used nothing but steam the floor was so streaky and in the sunlight there was no hiding it. After much research online I found out this is a common issue with the Shark steam mop so I tried a microfiber cloth and a hot water / vinegar mix in a spray bottle. The streaking was a lot less, but it still had some streaking and didn't have a shine to it. So again, hours spent online reading reviews I decided to go try the Bona system. The store recommended the laminate version not the hardwood one so that's what I bought, and while there are no streaks it is definitely not shiny and in the bright light it almost looks like there's a layer of dust over it all - it's that dull. Other than the cleaning company until today using Bona I've used nothing but water or vinegar.

I haven't been able to get hold of the cleaning company to see what they used, but I can't see that what they did could have caused any build up. Aside from the fact that it looked really nice and shiny when they left, they barely did anything - the woman had a wet cloth, stuck it on a broom and swept the whole floor in about 4 seconds flat. At the time I was even annoyed at how little time she took to do it! But it looked lovely and shiny and I have not been able to replicate it.

I'm starting to think that maybe I should not care about the warnings other users give about using polishing products on wood laminate flooring, saying it causes build up, yellowing, etc, because this is a rental unit. I know that's not the most thoughtful approach but I'm at a loss! If I didn't have direct sunlight all afternoon on the floor I don't think I'd even think about it, but once the sun hits it every speck of dust or dirt is so noticeable along with how dull the floor is, to the point that it's distracting me every afternoon!

Any suggestions?

Comments (4)

  • _sophiewheeler
    9 years ago

    Sounds like the heat and steam damaged the top plastic layer. Steam is against all manufacturer's care instructions. That's gonna lose you your security deposit. Your landloris not gonna be happy if you compound your error by applying goop on the floor. Fess up, and pay for the replacement and keep water and steam the heck away from laminate. Or wood.

  • supercet
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Um, no. There's no lost security deposit here for numerous reasons, but most importantly because there's nothing to "fess up to", I didn't damage anything. I only cleaned the area that the sun hits, and it looks exactly the same as the rest of the floor that I didn't touch with the steam mop. It's just not shiny when the sun hits it and I'd like it to be. There is ZERO wrong with the floor and in regular light (without direct sunlight) it looks nice and has a faint shine. I would like it to be shiny in the sun the way it was when the cleaning company left. Not to mention, if cleaning the new floor was such a specific issue I should be given instructions from my building manager when the floor was laid down. I wasn't given any info at all on its care and maintenance so I couldn't be blamed even if I did damage it with the steam mop.

    I have a unique case because of the sun. Without the sun the floors look fine. I happen to have an extremely bright, well lit living room with north, south and west facing windows / balcony doors that allow an enormous amount of direct sun, which acts like a spotlight showing up every smudge or speck of dust. To combat that I'd like it to be shiny.

    So thanks, but not very helpful. I don't need to know what I shouldn't do, I posted because I'd like suggestions on what to do, ie what will make / keep a wood laminate floor in an extremely bright room looking polished.

  • _sophiewheeler
    9 years ago

    Who has to be told to keep water in both liquid and vapor form away from pressed sawdust and paper with a thin plastic coating? Laminate either comes with that pia shows everything piano finish, or it doesn't. If it's a matte finish, you don't make it a shiny one by applying anything.

    If it is a piano finish, and it's not shiny now, then it's been damaged, and you're not adding anything to re-create that factory plastic. It's gone for good. If you've already gooped it up and it has a dulling coating on it instead of being damaged, then an old t-shirt with mineral spirits should remove most anything.

    The only thing that should touch laminate is a dust mop, or the most wrung out sponge mop possible. If you can get water out of it, it's too wet. If it's piano finish, you should follow up with a microfiber cloth to dry it streak free and not go barefoot as you'll see your footprints (and everthing else).

  • roof35
    9 years ago

    Sorry, but your defense that you didn't damage anything had me in stitches.

    The net if full of information on how to properly clean every surface available. A steam cleaner isn't one of them for laminate. I know you have a computer to look it up.