Anyone have a laminate wood floor?

[HollyJoy]

We are considering putting this down in our foyer and into our powder room. I've heard that this stuff is good, and that it doesn't scratch, dent, etc.. Just wondering how anyone here feels about it! Thanks!

 

[grinningghost]

My mom has one in her kitchen. It looks awesome. Her only complaint is cleaning it. You can only use a barely damp cloth because everything else leaves streaks or spots.

My dog also dislikes it because she doesn't like to slide. It's pretty slippery.

 

[HollyJoy]

Can you use a wet swiffer on it?

 

[JVL1018]

I do! I put it in my kitchen and I love it! Very easy to care for and comes with a 15 year guarantee.

 

[grinningghost]

Originally posted by HollyJoy
Can you use a wet swiffer on it?

She's tried it and it left streaks. I should add that my mom is VERY persnickety about cleaning. If it isn't perfect, it isn't good. So take that into consideration.

 

[HollyJoy]

Cool! I'm also having trouble picking out a color! We have a very dark stained wood banister going up the stairs, and I don't know what color floor to put in. I really don't want a very dark wood there. I want to lighten up the entryway. Also, we are THINKING about doing the kitchen as well... again, the cabinets are a dark wood. Any suggestions as to wood coloring?

 

[SplshMtn99]

Before you pick your floor, you might want to visit www.flooringguide.com. They have forums just like here. I've started the search for floors for our new home to be built. There is some good advice there & some comments from people who had problems with floors & then had to rip them out.

Good luck. There's so much to consider. My head is spinning.

 

[LUVDSNY04]

I love my kitchen floor. After we put the floor down our kitchen cabinets looked terrible so we replaced them! We have two dogs and they do not hurt the floor. It can be cleaned so easily with just water and a cloth.

 

[Yardbird]

Hi Holly

Last year we had one installed in our kitchen, and I love it. We purchased from the Expo Center in Columbia. My cabinets are really dark (need to be replaced too), and we chose a light maple, which looks really nice against the dark cabinets. It is very easy to clean. I actually do the hands and knees cleaning with a damp cloth. As long as I don't use a lot of water, I don't have a problem with streaking.

 

[Pembo]

This kind of flooring is all over our house. It was here when we got here. It looks pretty but it is hard to keep clean. The Swiffer left a film on it and I'm still trying to bring back the shine. Ammonia and water works better. It is VERY slippery and the dog hates it. Also it shows all the dust. I don't think I'd get it again but that is just my opinion.

 

[Alice28]

We have Pergo flooring in our entire downstairs. It was installed two years ago by an outside professional (meaning we did not go through Home Depot- he gave us his contractor license and we got to go to a Contractor only store and pick out what we wanted, paid for it, and then paid him to install it). We got the high end Pergo (there are different levels of quality- what they sell at Home Depot is at the lower end) in a honeyed pine color and it has "knots" in the planks to look more like real wood. We debated about hardwood vs. Pergo and the Pergo worked for us cause we have young children and at the time we had a large dog. We have had ZERO problems with it and we love it. Very durable, very pretty and easy to clean. I use my Clorox Wet Jet on it 1-2 times a week; it is a little streaky I guess, but is definitely clean to my standards!

 

[CEDmom]

We have Pergo honey oak laminite flooring throughout our house (all bedrooms, family room & hallways). We love it. DH has bad allergies and this makes it so much easier to keep the house dust free (well mostly dust free ). We also have a dark banister and the honey oak looks good next to it. We brought several samples home and tried them out before picking the color.

Anyway, it's so easy to clean. I use the Swiffer wetjet and as someone said it can leave streaks but I've learned how to get around that by mopping in different directions. I found the streaks happen because the floor is not completely level in some spots and so I go over those places a few times.

We've had it now for about 5 years without any problems. It looks as good as the day it was installed. We used the contractors from our local independent home improvement center. It wasn't something DH and/or I wanted to tackle on our own.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I just had hardwood put in almost my entire downstairs, entry, familyroom, kitchen, bathroom & yes even the laundry room. (I have an open floor plan).

I choose a dark color. The guy kept urging me to pick the lighter color as it is easier to "hide" dirt. It's true but the dirt is still there and I need to see it to clean it.
I have grown to dislike honey colored oak, that is what I have my kitchen cabinets (which is fine) and table. Didn't realize my table turned yellow till after the dark floor was installed.
Our old entryway was that color as well. It totally turned YELLOW from the sun. I didn't even have alot of sun coming in & that was only for 3yrs.

Dark can be formal or country but honey colored only looks country. (at least to me)

I do use the dry swifter or you can buy a electric broom. Haven't done that yet.
To clean you buy this big, terry-clothed mop thing, found in Home Depot. My installer uses a product that only he can get of course but he said a solution of vinegar & glass plus works just as good.

 

[Eeyore1954]

We have Pergo in our downstairs. The wet Swiffer will clean it, but it dries with a film you can easily see in the light. Our cats got used to it after a while -- they just can run on it easily. One usually ends up crashing into the entertainment center nearly every time. It's great flooring, just not the easiest to mop.

 

[dejr_8]

We have Mannington wood floors. It is an engineered wood floor. Depending on the level (bronze, silver or gold) the floor has 3 - 5 laminant layers (sorta like plywood) with the final layer being real wood (not a "picture" of wood like in Pergo flooring). It comes in many widths (2.5 to 5 inches) and many styles.

The polyeurathane finish is as hard as nails. We have two large dogs and after 5 years of them running around the floor looks as good as new.

We are building a new house and plan to install Mannington wood floors througout. I really like the product.

It will be more expensive than Pergo but much less expensive than solid wood.

It can be cleaned with a swifter.

 

[my3kids]

I have it in my kitchen and wood everywhere else. I really like the laminate as I don't wory about scratches or spills. My husband thinks it is hard to keep it looking clean, but I don't think that is accurate. We do use a Swiffer Wet Jet for ease, but the think that worked the best was the spray Pergo Cleaner. I guess I could spray the Pergo cleaner and then wipe it up with the Wet Jet. (Our brand is not Pergo, but the cleaner is for all laminate floors.)

We installed it ourselves without too much trouble. It has been in for probably 5 years without any problems or signs of wear.

 

[tkd lisa]

We had Pergo put in a house we had about 5 years ago in the kitchen, hallway and powder room. About 1 month after we put it in, my DD sprayed a bunch of water all over it (really long, but funny story). I mopped it up, but the next morning, you could see the edges of the boards all curled up. The contractor said that it was defective, and they replaced it all for free, but it was a major mess whie they did it.

Overall, I really liked the feel of the flooring. It was warm feeling (unlike tile or vinyl). I cleaned it with a murphy's oil soap product they had out. We did put little pads on the bottoms of our kitchen chairs so they didn't damage the floor. I never had problems with it being excessively slippery. We had a dog at the time, and he didn't scratch it at all.

 

[Trish Bessette]

We have the Pergo flooring in our dining room thanks to my husband who was "showing off" in front of our daughters that he can jump on a pogo stick. Yup, he did about 3 jumps in the dining room and went right through the floor That's how we got the laminate flooring done

I love it!! I have the lighter color flooring. The swifter wet does streak. I've made out well just using bleach with water. I also am a lover of Armstrong floor cleaner for my bathroom and I've even used it a few times on the wood floor without any streaking.

 

[AmazingGrace]

We're moving into our house today. It has Pergo. Where can we find the pergo cleaner?
Thanks,

 

[KristiKelly]

We have the hardwood "look" laminate flooring in our kitchen. It was installed when we built our house 4 year 3 monthes ago. I've been wanting to replace it for about 4 years 2 monthes. I realize that I'm in the majority here, but I just don't like it. With kids & a dog, I feel like I'm constantly sweeping it & it always feels gritty. It is extremely loud, DH leaves for work between 5:45 - 6:15 a.m., he dropped his keys one morning & woke the whole house up (we're upstairs). Others tell me it looks like hardwood, but I don't think it has the "richness" of hardwoods. We have those in our foyer, downstairs powder room & staircase & I love them.

1-1/2 years ago during an ice storm the power went out for 4 days, we left. When we got home, we realized that the ice in the ice maker had melted but no sign of water, a few days later, the laminate had a slight buckle around the refrigerator. Another time, I was using our Bissell carpet cleaner in the family room, when I got through I pulled it into the kitchen to clean it, a little water leaked out & caused another little buckle. By buckle, I mean that, that the top layer of the flooring loosened & then hardened again - I suppose. I can't really explain it & it's not obvious to anyone but me, but I'm the one that cleans it & see it everyday.

Can you hit it with a hammer & not scratch it? Yep! Do dogs scratch when they run across the floor? Nope! Do kids scratch it dragging toys across it? Nope! It's very durable in the "no-scratch" aspect. Water can damage this floor & yes, I use a Swiffer on it and it does streak, not as noticable if you mop with the grain, not against it.

Sorry to be so negative, but just wanted to share my thoughts. The floor does live up to its' name with no scratches & I am satisfied with it, but it is loud & I would love to replace it with hardwoods like my foyer. That's my next big purchase, hardwoods in family room, kitchen & dining room to match the foyer.