Can You Strip Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring comes apart as easily as it goes together but the edges are fragile so you have to disassemble a floor carefully if you want to reuse the boards.

Can you strip laminate flooring.

Never try to slide anything heavy across the laminate floor. A laminate floor should be treated like a no wax kitchen floor. Remove excess adhesive with a clean rag. If the tongue breaks off within the removal process the plank has to be scrapped because it will not fit its neighbouring planks properly.

Never use a floor buffer or polisher on laminate floors. This guide from the home depot teaches you how to remove laminate flooring and provides tips to keep in mind as you remove old laminate to prepare for new. The best way to refinish the floor is to strip off. Refinishing a laminate wood floor is completely different than refinishing a traditional hardwood floor.

Removing laminate flooring may seem like a big task but the project is easy enough for you to take on yourself. Adjust the transition strip so it covers the unfinished edge of the laminate flooring and the edge of the old flooring. House counselor new rental flooring a sandy blonde hard wearing laminate floor was laid with a high quality underlayment to keep noise to a minimum. Applying too much pressure can break the tongue portion of the laminate.

If the methods above don t fully remove the wax from the floor you can try using mineral spirits or paint thinner. You can use a plastic scraper and homemade laminate floor cleaner made by pouring 2 cups of distilled white vinegar into a gallon of hot water and using it to rub off the wax. Avoid using ammonia on laminate. A laminate floor may look like hardwood but it isn t and you can t treat it the same way.

You can use a window cleaner occasionally for spills but don t over use ammonia which can strip protective sealant. The hardwood design on most laminate planks is basically stamped on and coated with super hard floor finish and trying to fix it with a sander is like trying to fix a painting with an eraser. You should never wax laminate floors but if you do you ll eventually have to remove it because it dulls the finish. Make sure you use plenty of ventilation and wear gloves and eye protection.

Although it s a popular and effective method for removing wax it can strip away the protective sealant from laminate. That means no sanding. Using a few common tools and a little bit of patience taking out the old laminate floor in a room can be done in an afternoon. Do not use abrasive or acidic cleaners or any abrasive tools as any harsh cleaner can potentially strip the protective coating.

Use protective mats under all heavy furniture or anything with castors.