Laminate floors are meant to look shiny and glossy which is the original look of laminate flooring. However, sometimes you may notice cloudiness over the surface of your home’s laminate flooring.
Such a situation can make you wonder about the reasons behind it. And you possibly will be thinking, why does your laminate floor look cloudy.
However, all your confusion and inquiries are going to have an end as this article is going to present all the reasons that make the laminate floor look cloudy.
Why Does My Laminate Floor Look Cloudy?
Laminate flooring looks cloudy when someone has used a wax-based floor cleaner to clean the floor’s surface. Laminate flooring’s surface doesn’t need any wax coating. So, if someone uses wax-based floor cleaning products or sealers, it leaves a cloudy haze over the floor’s surface.
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Laminate flooring actually doesn’t need any type of wax coating to maintain the shine and glossiness of the floor. However, some people may not know about it or they unknowingly have used wax-based floor cleaning products or sealers to clean/seal their laminate floor.
And as a result, wax cleaner or coating leaves a cloudy haze on the laminate floor’s surface.
And to remove this cloudiness over the floor, only one way can be adopted which is stripping. One can use stripping or physical labor to remove wax from the laminate flooring surface.
3 Reasons Why Laminate Floor Looks Cloudy?
Here are the 3 main reasons why the laminate flooring surface looks cloudy have been explained.
Unknowing Usage Of Wax-Based Cleaner/Sealer
Laminate flooring does not require any type of wax coating or wax-cleaner to preserve its shine and glossy appearance. But if you don’t know the fact and use a wax-based cleaner or sealer on your laminate flooring surfaces, it will leave cloudiness on your flooring.
Over Usage Of Cleaning Products
Unless your laminate floor surface is not dirty, you don’t need to use any cleaning products. But if you frequently do use cleaning products too much to clean the flooring, it will leave a cloudy film on your flooring surface.
Dabbing Of Sponge To Remove Glue Residues
If there were any glue residues, and you have used a damped sponge to remove them, possibly you are going to leave a cloudy appearance behind from the dabbing of the sponge.
How To Get Rid Of Cloudy Laminate Floors?
You would be wanting to know the ways of getting rid of the cloudiness from your laminate floor.
Therefore, to rescue you some effective ways are described below that can help to get rid of the cloudy laminate floors.
Laminate Cleaner
You can always use laminate cleaners to remove cloudy haziness from your laminate flooring surface.
Just take the cleaner and mix it up in your mop bucket with some warm water or follow the manufacturer’s direction. And then mop the floor thoroughly until haziness is completely gone.
Laminate floor cleaners kind of work the same as any regular household cleaner. But remember that, laminate cleaners can not be used to remove any adhesives.
Physical Labour/Stripping
The stripping process or giving physical labor is the only solution to remove the cloudy look from your laminate flooring which is caused by using wax-based cleaning products.
You will be needing a plastic scraper and a scrubbing pad, heat machine, and hot water to remove the wax from your laminate floor surface.
First, heat the wax using a heat machine, then scrape it using a plastic scraper, and lastly, scrub the residue and wipe it off with a sponge damped in hot water.
Vinegar And Water Solution
If there’s slight cloudiness on your laminate floor’s surface, a dash of vinegar and water mixed solution is enough to remove that haziness from the laminate flooring surface.
Just make a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water, and mop the floor with that mixture. Then leave for some time so that the flooring can soak up the solution and then wipe with clean water.
Heat Machine And Hot Water
Your laminate floor can get a cloudy look because there were glue residues left and those were cleaned up by dabbing the damp sponge. In that case, you can use hot water and a heat machine to remove the cloudy look from your floor’s surface.
Just heat the hazed spot and make the glue lose up. And then scrub with a sponge and wipe with a sponge damped in hot water.
How Do You Get Cloudy Film Off Laminate Floors?
A cloudy film on your laminate flooring is a result of using too much floor cleaning products. However, getting that cloudy film off the laminate floor is quite easy. You will be only needing a mop and plain warm water for it.
First, just take your regular mop bucket and fill that with plain warm water. Then swoop your mop in the warm water and squeeze the excess water. Remember you just need a damp mop, not a water-dropping one.
Then, mop the cloudy film areas straightly and evenly. Start moping from the furthest inner corner to the doorway. As it will not let you step on the freshly mopped surface to go out of the area.
Lastly, allow the floor to dry for 1-2 hours. If there’s more cloudy film left then mop the floor once again.
But this time, don’t use any cleaning product to mop the floor to remove the cloudy film, plain water is enough to do the job.
How Can I Restore The Shine To My Laminate Floor?
Here are the simplest yet effective steps given for you to help you restore the shine and glossiness of your laminate flooring.
Mop The floor To Remove Dust Or Vacuum The floor
Start with cleaning the floor thoroughly. Just gently mop the floor surface to remove all dust and dirt. But don’t use any harsh mop to clear all dust and dirt from the laminate floor as it is likely to have surface damage.
Or you can vacuum the floor to collect all fine dirt/dust particles. Vacuuming is a more effective method but never use a vacuum cleaner with a beater bar.
Clean The Floor With The Right Cleaner
Both a commercial laminate floor cleaner and a homemade floor cleaner can be used to clean the floor.
You can use a 1:1:1 proportion mixture of water, alcohol, and white vinegar to make your homemade floor cleaner.
Spray The Cleaner On Floor
Spray a little floor cleaner at one time and mop the area quickly and let it dry before you spray the solution to clean again.
You effortlessly will clean the whole room without even stepping onto the damp floor by spraying the floor cleaner in small sections to clean the floor.
Use A Microfiber Mop To Wipe The Floor
Take a clean microfiber mop to wipe away the cleaning product’s residues. You must wring out the mop leaving it slightly damp before every time you use it to wipe the floor. Wiping with a microfiber mop will help to restore the shine again.
Let The Laminate Flooring To Dry
Once you are done cleaning the whole floor, let it air dry completely. And if there are still any dull-looking areas, just rub and buff the area with a microfiber mop to restore glossiness.
Does Vinegar Ruin Laminate Floors?
Vinegar will not ruin the laminate floors. In fact, vinegar solution is considered as a safe cleaning solution for laminate flooring. Because vinegar is an acid and naturally it has cleaning elements that can thoroughly clean the laminate floor surface.
However, use vinegar by mixing with plain water as a water-vinegar cleaning solution. And make sure to wring out the mop after dipping into the solution, leaving no dropping water. The vinegar solution is as effective as any commercial cleaning product.
Is Murphy Oil Good For Laminate Floor?
Murphy Oil soap or cleaner is packed with 98% all-natural elements that are so good for any kind of flooring, so undoubtedly it’s good for laminate floors too. Regular use of Murphy Oil for laminate flooring will even increase the lifespan of the flooring.
Just make sure that you wring out your mop very nicely leaving no excess water before you wipe the laminate flooring.
What Is The Best Cleaner For Laminate Floors?
Here is a list of the top recommended cleaners for laminate flooring.
- Better Life Naturally Dirt-Destroying Floor Cleaner
- Rejuvenate All Floors Cleaner
- ZEP Hardwood And Laminate Floor Cleaner
- Black Diamond Stoneworks Laminate Floor Cleaner
- Bruce NoWax Hardwood And Laminate Floor Cleaner
- Bona Laminate Floor Cleaner Spray
What Is The Best Polish For Laminate Floors?
Here is the list given for all the top picks of best polish for laminate floors.
- Bona Stone Tile And Laminate Floor Care
- Bona Tile And Laminate Floor Polish
- Rejuvenate All Floors Polish
- Quick Shine Multi-Surface Floor Finish And Polish
- Better Life Natural Plant-Based Floor Cleaner
How Do You Clean Laminate Floors Without Leaving Residue?
A laminate floor can still feel sticky after cleaning it thoroughly because of the residue. A solution of an equal portion of vinegar and plain warm water is considered as the best homemade laminate floor cleaner that can even beat any commercial laminate floor cleaner.
All you just need to spray the mixture onto the floor in small sections and mop the floor with a microfiber mop. And there you are done cleaning your laminate floors without leaving any trace of residue.
Your unknowing usage of wax-based cleaning products or sealers or overuse of cleaning products causes a cloudy appearance on laminate flooring. Therefore, never use any wax-based product and don’t use cleaning products too often unless the floor is too dirty.