Laminate floors are traditionally wood-like floorings. The developers have improved the quality and features over time. Moreover, laminate floors are pretty cost-effective. That’s why people like the laminate floors in their houses.
Although many advantages, laminate floors have some drawbacks too. Many people complain and predict that the laminate floors fade in the sun.
Similarly, you might be confused about laminate floor’s fading in the sunlight. This article will tell you about the laminate floor and its ability to resist fading in the sun.
Do laminate floors fade in the sun?
Some cheap laminate floors can fade in the sun. Many laminate floorings companies developed the quality of the laminates and made them sunlight protective. Generally, quality and the aluminum oxide-coated laminate floor won’t fade in the sun. But if the laminate floor is low-quality, it can fade.
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Most laminate floor manufacturers use aluminum oxide coating over the laminates. These laminates protect the floor from fading in the sun. Even the coated laminate floors last a long time.
But sometimes, some laminate floors are prone to fade in the sun. These laminates are comparatively cheap and low-quality. With continuous sunlight, these laminates start to fade away soon.
Is laminate flooring fade resistant?
Most laminate floorings are fade-resistant. Laminate flooring is prone to fade when low-quality materials are used in the time of manufacturing. But nowadays, most manufacturers guarantee the long-lasting fade resistivity of their laminate floorings.
Aluminum oxide is a protective layer that protects the core material from fading away. That’s why most laminate floorings are coated with aluminum oxide.
This makes the flooring resistant to sunlight and UV rays. Moreover, laminate flooring becomes durable for this coating.
So, for fade-resistant laminate flooring, maintaining quality is a must. A high-quality and coated laminate flooring is fade resistant.
Is laminate flooring UV resistant?
Most laminate floorings are UV resistant. UV (Ultra-violet) is one type of ray of sunlight. This ray can damage the laminate flooring and cause wear to the floor. If there is no protective layer over the laminate flooring, it can get damaged or fade.
So, most laminate flooring manufacturers use aluminum oxide coating on the laminates. Aluminum oxide is a coating that can prevent the floor from fading away by UV and protects the floor from damage.
So, using an aluminum oxide layer, most laminate flooring companies give a warranty of a long time for laminate flooring. If your laminate flooring gets damaged by UV rays, your laminate flooring might be low-quality and cheap.
Can sun-faded laminates be fixed?
Sun-faded laminates can be fixed, but they can’t be refinished. You can follow some techniques to fix the sun-faded laminates in some measures. Fading is a problem that you can never solve entirely.
If your laminates start to fade in the sun, you can predict that the laminates are low-quality. So, the entire floor that is exposed to the sun is going to fade. In this situation, you have to solve the problem and fix the laminate floor.
You can fix the sun-faded laminates by coloring, putting the window or door cover to prevent the sunlight over the floor, replace the affected laminates with new laminates, etc.
How to restore the sun faded laminate floor?
Laminate floors can get faded sometimes in the sun. The sunlight has UV rays that can be harmful to the laminate floors. UV rays fade the floor and damage it quickly. Most faded laminate floors can’t be refinished.
But you can restore some sun-faded laminate floor following some techniques. Let’s see how you can restore the sun-faded laminate floor.
Clean the floor
At first, clean the laminate floor well. Remove any dirt or dust over the floor. If the floor is dirty, it might affect the restoring process.
Dry the laminates
Dry the laminate floor so that the floor isn’t wet with water or liquid. If the floor is wet, it will damp.
Sand the affected area
Sand the sun-faded area well. You must sand the floor very gently because it’s not real wood. Sand only the upper surface of the laminate floor to sand away the affected area. Use 120 grit sandpaper for sanding the laminate floor.
Use primer
Use a good quality primer to get a better finish after painting. You can skip this step if you use a quick spray coating of paint.
Use paint
Choose a suitable paint that matches the unaffected laminates of the floor. You can use latex-based paint for the laminate floor. After painting, you have to wait until one hour to dry the paint.
Clean with vinegar
After drying the paint, clean the floor regularly with vinegar to keep the floor shiny. Use vinegar and water with a 1:1 ratio.
Following these steps, you can restore your laminate floor. Though the sun-faded laminate floor won’t get the original look entirely, you can try the steps to regain the color in some measures.
Can you leave laminate flooring outside?
You can leave the laminate flooring outside for some days. But you can’t leave the laminate flooring outside for a long time. Long-time exposure to the environment can damage the laminate floorings. You must not leave the laminate flooring outside for more than three days.
If you store your laminate flooring in the garage, try to keep it at the same temperature and humidity as the room. If the temperature and humidity are different, sudden changes in the environment can damage the flooring.
If you leave the laminate flooring outside, the temperature and humidity will constantly change every day. This sudden change in the environment can warp the laminate flooring. So, if you want to store the laminate flooring, you better store it in the garage or inside the house.
Read more, Can you stack laminate flooring to acclimate?
What can you put on laminate floors to protect them?
You can put carpets, rugs, door-mats, sealers on the laminate floors to protect them. Laminate floors are prone to damage when they are exposed to water and dirt. Sometimes, low-quality laminate floors get faded in the sunlight.
So, for protecting the laminate floors, you can put a sealer on the floor. Sealer is a polymer-based coating that can protect the floor and makes it more durable. You can use carpets on the floor that can protect the floor from direct sunlight.
You can also put rugs or door-mats where the laminate floor is exposed to direct sunlight. Putting these covers over the floor will protect the floor and keep the floor clean.
You can also put paint on the laminate floor if the laminates are faded. Paint will protect the floor from further fading.
How long will the laminate floor last?
Laminate floor will last about 15 to 25 years on average. How long the laminate floor will last depends on the quality of the laminate floor. Some laminate floors are high-quality with protective layers.
Aluminum oxide coating can protect the laminate floor so well that it can last more than 25 years. Some manufacturers can give a warranty of the laminate floor till lifetime.
Some laminate floors don’t have good quality. Generally, this type of laminate is cheap and not durable. Low-grade materials are used to make this type of laminate. They can get damaged in 10 years.
Even some laminates can fade in the sunlight and get discolored. But most laminate floors are in good condition. So, most laminate floors can last more than 20 years.
How often should laminate flooring be replaced?
Laminate flooring should be replaced every 15 years. The average lifetime of the laminate floors is 15 to 25 years. So, you can check the laminate floors after 10 years of installing.
If the floor gets damaged before the expected time, you have to replace it anyway. For example, some low-grade material’s laminate floorings can fade in the sunlight quickly. You have to replace it if the floor is discolored and you can’t refinish it.
Laminate floorings can chip off, swell and damage by wetting, and damage by the furniture. So, you have to repair the laminates. Most often, repairing or regaining the original appearance of the laminates is difficult. Then you have to replace the laminate flooring with new ones.
So, how often you should replace the laminate flooring depends on the quality of the laminates.
Laminate floors are one of the famous and typical floorings. Many people prefer the wood-like appearance of the laminate floors.
But they aren’t the original wood. So, fading in the sun can be a serious issue for the laminate floors. Moreover, it’s pretty hard to restore the sun-faded laminates.
You have to use protective coatings or coverings over the floor to protect the laminate floors. You can get ideas from this article about how you can restore the sun-faded laminates and how you can protect them.