How to Prevent Footprints on Laminate Floors: Right Techniques

But you may get it wrong!

Footprints can happen frequently and almost every day if you do not know how to prevent and clean them correctly. Therefore, knowing how to prevent footprints on laminate floors can help you keep the beauty of your flooring constant.

Let’s see what we will discuss about this topic in the post:

• How to prevent footprints on laminate floors: maintaining a flawless look for your flooring.
• How to clean footprints on the laminate floor: for those who already suffer from this annoying debris.

Things you might do wrong that make your laminate floor look less attractive.

And don't forget to check out the FAQs at the end of the post to get all the answers you need to know about this topic.

Let’s dive right in!

How to prevent footprints on laminate floors: maintaining a flawless look for your flooring

You can’t go around and keep cleaning footprints from laminate floors all the time. Once you have understood the cause of this problem, it is easier to prevent it from happening to your laminate floor.

The reason why you have footprints on the laminate floor is the cleaner you are using is not suitable for your flooring. The footprints can be seen clearer on a dark laminate floor, but even light footprints can make your floor look less beautiful.

Unless you wear socks or slippers all the time, you can easily leave footprints on the laminate floor

Besides switching to a different cleaner that is suitable for your laminate floor, there are two things you can do to prevent footprints from appearing on your laminate floor.  

First of all, clean regularly.

This is one of the basic tips to keep the flawless look for your laminate floor, regardless of the debris. The more you clean your laminate floor, the more shiny and spotless it will become. 

If you do not have time to clean your laminate floor every day, at least try to make it once a week so the debris won’t have the chance to build up on your floor. The longer you let them grow, the harder it is to get rid of them in the future. 

Keeping a consistent cleaning schedule for your laminate floor is what we would like to recommend to everyone.

Secondly, use saline water or mineral spirit with warm distilled water to treat your laminate floor.

The mixture of saline water/mineral spirit with warm distilled water is a perfect combination to avoid footprints from sticking on your laminate floor surface. You can easily make this mixture with a ratio of 50-50 for each ingredient. Then, use this mixture to mop your floor like you normally do.

But I have some tips on how to do this to increase the efficiency of this method:

• Use a mopping pad and dab the mixture gently on your laminate floor.
• When cleaning some vulnerable parts (like a spot that has suffered from heavy stains), use a microfiber cloth to clean it instead. The microfiber cloth will dry it faster, which prevents more damage to the spot. 

Once you’ve done with mopping the laminate floor with this special mixture, let it dry completely and you will see fewer footprints appear on the surface than before.     

And that is how to keep footprints off laminate floors.

How to clean footprints on laminate floor: for those who already suffer from this annoying debris

If there are footprints on your laminate floor already, you should know how to clean them correctly, or they will become a serious problem for your flooring in the long run.

Instead of trying to tip-toe so that you won’t leave footprints on the laminate floor, learn how to clean them correctly

Here is a simple 3 steps tutorial that anyone can do at home to clean footprints on the laminate floors.

• Step 1: Remove debris on your laminate floor with a vacuum cleaner

This particular step can’t be missed in any laminate floor cleaning tutorial. It helps you remove debris that may cause scratches and marks when you do the deep clean steps afterward. You can even call this step “dry cleaning” for your laminate floor.

It only takes 3 to 5 minutes to vacuum your laminate floor so don’t skip it. You will be surprised to know how much dust, dirt, hair/pet hair, and silicone particles you can collect in this step. 

Use a vacuum cleaner to remove debris on your laminate floor. If you are careful, you can vacuum the interior to prevent dust from falling to the floor while doing the next steps.     

• Step 2: Mop your laminate floor

Keep in mind that you should use a homemade cleaning solution instead of a store-bought cleaner in this step. As you already know, store-bought cleaners have a higher chance of making footprints sticking to your laminate floor.

Don’t worry, a homemade cleaning solution is not hard to create. All you have to do is mix vinegar with water in a bucket and use a mop to apply this mixture to your laminate floor. 

You can rinse the floor with tap water afterward with a soft cloth to reduce the funky smell of the vinegar. But remember, don’t use any chemical laminate floor cleaners even when you find the odor is hard to remove, just keep rinsing with water and the smell will go away eventually. 

• Step 3: Use a special solution to clean footprints on your laminate floor  

Now you can learn how to prevent footprints on laminate floors by using one of these 3 solutions on the debris:

1. Vinegar:

Add 50 to 60 ml of vinegar to 3 liters of lukewarm water and mix them well. After that, pour the mixture into a spray bottle and apply it on a mopping pad. Then, spread it on the footprints using the damp mopping pad. Leave the spot to dry for 5 to 10 minutes and clean the marks.

Vinegar is not only good for cooking but also good for cleaning footprints on your laminate floor

2. Window cleaner:

Window cleaner can also be used for cleaning footprints on your laminate floor. Just spray a decent amount of window cleaner on the footprints and use a soft drag (microfiber for example) to clean the marks and prevent scratches on your laminate floor.

3. Nail color remover:

If you have some wax with footprints on your laminate floor, you can use a nail color remover to get rid of both. First, you need to peel off the wax, remember to do it gently or you will scratch the surface. Then, you can apply the nail color remover on the remaining wax and footprints and clean them with a soft cloth.

Things you might do wrong that make your laminate floor look less attractive

Once you have known how to clean and prevent footprints on laminate floors, if you still see the surface not shiny and spotless, then check the list below to see whether you did something wrong that make your laminate floor look less attractive:

• Using the wrong mop:

Different mops create different cleaning results. That is why you should know which mop type is the best choice for your laminate floor. Not only the material of the mop pad but the shape of the mop head also plays an important role in making your laminate floor look more attractive.

A flat-style mop is recommended for laminate floors because it will minimize dirt that grinds into the seam which results in scratches on the surface. This mop type also lessens the amount of water that applies to your laminate floor in each cleaning swipe.

A flat mop is better for cleaning the laminate floor

• Using too much water in cleaning:

Laminate floor is water-resistant to a degree but that does not mean this material is completely waterproof. If you use too much water, especially high-temperature water while cleaning laminate floors, the excess moisture will creep under the layer and destroy the beautiful look.

A way to prevent this problem is using the right mop type. Another thing you can do is dry the floor with a dry microfiber mop after a cleaning session to absorb all the excess water in time.

You can also try to spot clean stains before doing a cleaning session so that you won’t leave the water on your laminate floor for too long while trying to remove stubborn debris in the middle of a cleaning session.   

• Using the wrong cleaners:

As you already know, using the wrong cleaners can result in footprints sticking to your laminate floor easier. But do you know that the wrong cleaner also creates other problems? Many people try to learn how to get film off of laminate flooring, not knowing some cleaners are the causes of this problem in the first place.

If you still wish to use a store-bought cleaner (of course most people would choose this option, because it is more convenient than making a homemade solution every time you clean the floor), at least take some time to test the cleaners to see if it suits your laminate floor or not.

• Wrong sweeping technique:

Sweeping frequently can remove the debris from your laminate floor, which helps it look spotless even when you do not mop the floor very often. But the wrong sweeping technique can create scratches on your laminate floor instead of protecting them. 

If you use a vacuum cleaner, make sure the brush roll is turned off so you will only collect the debris and not scratch your floor during the process.

• Missing the vacuum step before mopping:

Many people think that they will clean the floor while mopping it, so what is the point of vacuuming the floor beforehand? But little did they know, this is exactly how to create scratches on their laminate floor.

Not doing a vacuum session before mopping can create scratches on your laminate floor

When there is dust and other debris on the surface, the moping motion will move them back and forth on the laminate floor, which causes scratches all over the place! That is why you should never skip the vacuum step before mopping the laminate floor to keep it smooth and shiny.

Conclusion

I hope this post is a fruitful discussion about keeping your laminate floor in good shape. From cleaning to preventing footprints on the laminate floor, I also got some guidelines on how you can treat your flooring right to keep a flawless look all the time for the surface.

There are even more helpful posts about keeping your floor and your house in good condition on our website, so don’t forget to check them out as well. I wish our contribution can become a big help to make the life of people around the world better every day!