Are you proud to own a house with a laminate floor but you are facing challenges of bringing out that shine and brightness as it should be? Do you always experience this dull, streaked, or hazy appearance after cleaning it?
Don’t worry. There is a solution to that.
When your laminate floor lacks to shine, you will be missing out one of the essential qualities of this type of a floor which is to add quality to your floor décor. The streaks and the hazy appearance will cover the decorative illumine prints that add beauty to your floor.
To change this appearance, you need to learn how to shine your laminate floor. Here are a few pointers that will help you out.
4 Pointers to Shine Your Laminate Floor
Instead of blaming it on the solutions or the tools as many do, learn where you go wrong. You will be surprised to know out that the problem lies on that trivial thing you always missed to do as we explain.
#1 – Use a Door Mat on the Entrance
Make your visitor fee welcome by adorning your threshold with a doormat that has beautiful prints or even a ‘welcome’ print on it. Have a mat on your doorway will not only be a part of your floor décor but also a polite way of asking anyone entering the house to wipe their feet on the mat.
By doing that, you will reduce the amount of dirt brought in by shoes or feet.
#2 – Vacuum Cleaning or Dust Mopping Regularly
The top of the list for a hazy laminate floor is a highly trodden or high traffic floor that hardly gets dust mopping or vacuum cleaning. Despite looking unsightly dull, the laminate floor can be at a high risk of scratches from the grit that come by shoes.
Using the right laminate floor vacuum cleaner or a microfiber dust mop, sweep it regularly as a first step to making it shine.
Sweeping the floor once a week should be enough to make it shine and also to ensure you form a routine. Nevertheless, if you experience high traffic on your floor, it is up to you to make that wise decision when to sweep it.
#3 – Regular Damp Mopping
Form another schedule for damp mopping your floor such as every other week. Remember, a laminate floor is an enemy to moisture and therefore you don’t want to expose it to too much of it.
Use a damp microfiber mop or pad but not a wet one to avoid bubbling or warp your floor.
Avoid using any detergent and also never use fabric softener on your microfiber mop or pad as they contribute to floor streaking or haziness.
If you are to use any cleaner, pick the best hard floor cleaner which you can use on your tiles as well to avoid causing damages. Some of those cleaners can be abrasive. Also, read the care instructions carefully of the solution you intend to use to know how to do it.
The rule of thumb when using floor cleaners – ‘Never be tempted to mix cleaners’ to better your cleaning. Each cleaning solution has different ingredients, and mixing them can either damage your floor or leave streaks.
#4 – Wipe Liquid Spills Immediately
Wipe any spilled liquid immediately and then clean the spot using either a damp cloth or spraying a cleaner.
Some liquid spills can stain your floor and the more reason to wipe immediately. Another reason for immediate action on liquid spillages is to prevent damaging your floor by warping or bubbling.
Sweep dry spillages to prevent anyone stepping on them which can dirty or scratch your floor.
Conclusion
Always remember that a laminate floor is different from other solid floors, and thus you have to be careful in everything you do to it. If you are keen to care for it, you will extend its life and therefore give you the best value for your money.
Hardwood flooring is a considerable investment that would require all that you can to care and maintain it. Its appearance and durability will depend on how you manage it.
There are various ways to maintain a hardwood floor. However, to be precise on how to manage it, you must first be sure of the type of finish. Run a test to check.
Use on an inconspicuous area of your floor to run the test. Drib a little bit of water on the selected place. You will know that it is polyurethane if the water will remain on top. If the water soaks into the floor, it is wax-coated.
Here are some essential points to consider while maintaining a polyurethane-finish hardwood floor.
7 Essential Tips to Maintaining Polyurethane-Finish Hardwood Floor
While you have these tips up your sleeves, they will help you maintain your floor to its original brand new appearance always while extending its durability.
#1 – Sweeping
Use a one of the best hardwood floor brooms or a hardwood vacuum cleaner to sweep the floor. You will need to do this as often as you notice some dirt and grit. With a high-traffic, it will have to be frequent since it will get dirtier quickly.
Be careful when selecting a vacuum cleaner as some of them are meant for other types of floors and may damage your floor. For instance, a beater bar vacuum cleaner is intended for carpets and rugs and can ruin your hardwood floor if you unknowingly use it.
#2 – Deep cleaning
Deep cleaning is essential to give your floor a lift and remove dirt and grime buildup. For better results, get yourself the best hardwood floor cleaner that will seem best to use. Use a hardwood floor mop, spray mop, or a microfiber pad.
Some cleaning solutions would require squirting just a bit on the floor as you wipe. Others will require mixing with water. Just be careful to follow instructions to avoid ruining your floor.
You can deep clean once a month if you have high traffic or once in a couple of months as you deem best.
#3 – Polishing
Polishing your floor is another routine task you must form if you want a glossy shining floor. At one time, your hardwood floor will have noticeable scratches which would make it appear old and drab. But, polishing it using the best hardwood floor polish once in a while would hide the wear and tear marks and scuffs to be invisible.
Some surface areas where sunlight hits directly will have color tone different to others hidden from the light. Polishing will not only create a glossy shining floor but will also even out the color tone.
#4 – Shades
Use shades on your window where there is direct sunlight hitting the floor to protect it against fading and losing its original color
#5 – Doormats
Use doormats both outside and inside the door to prevent your surface from collecting grit from people’s shoes. It is the most significant contributor to floor scratches. Moreover, your floor will keep clean for longer.
#6 – Repositioning Furniture and Rugs
Reposition rugs and moveable furniture to even the color tone of your floor as it ages. Leaving them at one place for an extended time will give your floor patches of uneven shades.
Try to lift them as much as possible when moving them. Use protective pads under the legs of furniture to prevent them from scratching your floor, especially when moving them.
#7 – Refinishing
A polyurethane-finish hardwood floor will require rejuvenating or lifting it due to wear and tear from weather elements and human traffic. You will know it is time to take this course of action when all the above fail to restore a glossy shine. Contact your nearest hardwood floor professional for more advice on the same.
Conclusion
Put these care tips to action, and you will keep your hardwood floor well maintained with its original sheen and beautiful always.
The critical importance of a carpet in a home is relaxing comfort after a day of hustles and bustles. But, how would it be when getting home to a ‘welcome’ of the fetid atmosphere.
Pets are a lovely company to have around. They are little friends most people can’t do without them. But, when you get caught up by an unexpected, and you fail to get home at your expected time, you may find the messy accident right on your carpet thanks to your pet.
No wonder the strong acrid smell all over your house.
Don’t worry. With the right cleaning solution, you will reverse the sorry messy state of your house in no time to what you expected to find.
5 Exclusive Things-to-do to Remove Pet Odor
Follow the following procedures to eliminate the odor.
#1 – Identifying the Messy Spot
It might be challenging to determine the exact spot where your pet made the mess and especially if it is urine. ‘Following the smell’ may not help much in identifying it. Use UV light or backlight to track the urine spot. Mark the area that has the pet urine for cleaning.
#2 – Cleaning
Use odor-removing carpet shampoo for such cleaning. A carpet cleaner that contains enzymes can entirely neutralize pet odor. If you use any other carpet cleaner, it will not remove the odor and thus leave the place still smelling urine. It may cause your pet to use that spot as its litter area once again.
Spray the spot with the cleaner and allow it to sit for a while before wiping it out. If the odor is still there, repeat the process until you are sure your carpet is completely odor-free.
#3 – Drying the Spot
Since you didn’t clean the entire carpet but only the targeted spot, use dry clothes to absorb any wetness or use a hair dryer to dry the place completely.
#4 – Recheck the Spot Using UV Light
To make sure there is no urine spot on your carpet, recheck it with the same UV light or backlight. If it is gone, well done! But, if it is still there, you will have to follow the cleaning procedure once again.
#5 – Stain Removal
The odor may have gone, but there is stain spot left behind. In such a situation, you need to use a pet stain remover. You can only restore your beautiful carpet by removing all stains.
There are some stain removers which double up as odor removers as well. Get one such as that to save you from double cleaning tasks to remove the odor and the stains at the same time. For better results, follow the product’s user instructions carefully and to the latter.
Conclusion
The best pet odor cleaning shampoo is one with enzymatic bacteria that can deal effectively with ammonia crystals. Refrain from using any ammonia cleaning product as it will attract your pet to messing on the spot because of ammonia smell.
If the pet persists to urine on your surfaces, have it checked by a vet to rule out any health issue such as infection in the kidney or urinary tract.
Have a pet odor-free day! Won’t you?
Currently, many models of pools exist in the market, these vary according to the material with which they are made, the height or depth they possess and even the accessories with which they are equipped. The above-ground pools require a much simpler installation process than the conventional ones, there are some composed of tubes or pieces that can be assembled and other inflatable ones, however, there is a series of advices that are recommended to follow at the time of doing it.
The first step that must be carried out before performing this process is the verification of the land. The ground must be level, that is to say, it must not have any type of undulations since this would generate more depth in some areas of the pool and may even alter its structure. In addition, check that there are no elements such as rocks or tree roots that can damage the lower part of the structure. Also, it must be verified if the soil is strong enough to support the weight generated by the pool full of water, since a weak ground may subside and this would be harmful.
Location is another factor that must be given due attention. While this type of pool has the advantage of being able to be installed in spaces much smaller than those required by conventional pools, it must be taken into account that they are designed for specific types of environments. It is best to place them in sunny areas such as gardens or terraces. It is not advisable to install them in enclosed and small spaces such as balconies since they are generally built for wide and open spaces.
It is also recommended to install the pool near an electrical outlet. This is due to the fact that, since they are not large installations with included cleaning systems, we must purchase accessories that support the maintenance work, especially in large pools. To avoid emptying the pool every time the water is dirty, it is recommended to use small scrubbers, pool cleaners and filters or chlorinators that can be easily connected to the electrical network and can be used in pools without problems.
The fact that the pool is located near a water intake is another point of great importance as this will allow it to be filled much more quickly and easily. It must be remembered that they do not have a filling and emptying system like the conventional ones, so this process must be carried out manually. In the market, there are several types of hoses that can be very helpful when directing water to the pool, but the closer the water connection is; the easier it will be to fill.
If you plan to install the pool in the garden, be careful with the presence of trees and place it away from them as they can release leaves or some other type of waste that would soil the water. There are also covers that are placed on the pool to prevent it from getting some kind of dirty while it is not in use but it is not recommended to have the pool covered for a long time as this can generate the accumulation of bacteria.
Most people enjoy traveling or camping in RVs, these vehicles are able to bring whole families providing the comfort they can find in spaces very similar to those of their homes. Their main characteristic is that they are usually equipped with devices that allow us to carry out daily activities during the period of time that it takes us to travel the route to reach our destination, or simply to enjoy the RV itself.
We usually think that there is just an RV and that’s it but the reality is that we have a categorization that divides the types of RVs into classes. But, before mentioning them, it is important to understand the different kinds of recreational vehicles that exist. First of all, we have the motorhomes; they are self-propelled RVs which have spaces that offers sleeping and also living accommodation. They are larger than other types of RVs and its main purpose is to provide comfort to the users.
On the other hand, we have campervans, also known as caravanette. It describes a vehicle whose central objective is to give both transportation and accommodation. The principal difference between the motorhomes and these ones is that the latter is smaller and it is focused on giving low cost and easy transport while the former is made with the intention of offering more comfort.
Finally, we have caravans, also known as travel trailer, towed trailer or camper. It is a space towed behind a vehicle that offers a place where the user can rest. This kind of RVs is specially designed for people who love to travel in large trips but do not like to spend the night at hotels. They are similar to tents but they are widely safer than the former.
Following these general lines, we have the classes in which each type of them is divided. It should be noted that the determinant characteristics of recreational vehicles are summarized in their size and the level of comfort that can offer the user, for that reason, these aspects are the most important to consider when choosing a model. The RVs classes are the next ones:
- Class A: Those are the largest in the market. They are, literally, houses on wheels that come equipped with all the accessories and spaces that are needed. They are designed for large families in order to provide maximum comfort possible, their size allows them to accommodate large appliances such as king-size beds and even washing machines or dryers. They require a greater amount of energy than other types and are perfect for the installation of solar panel systems.
- Class B: This model represents the smallest vehicles on the category. They are focused, especially, on the conveyance, with the aim of making it much faster, simpler and cheaper. Their space is small, but they can offer amenities such as a bed or bathroom area; but, of course, without the luxuries of class A RVs.
- Class C: This model is the medium size one. Many people prefer them because they are not as large as those of class A nor as small as those of class B, which offers advantageous features of both models. They have rooms for sleeping and even bathrooms that, unlike those of class B, are separated, although they are much smaller than those of class A.
Remember that mobile homes are vehicles or spaces in which we will spend a lot of time so we must equip them as best we can, for this; there are many implements such as generators for RVs or energy inverters that will allow us to make the most of our resources.
