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This Is How to Seal Laminate Flooring the Right Way

The most ubiquitous inventions are sometimes the ones that we appreciate the least. Every year, people spend more than $27 billion on the services of flooring installers in the United States. There is so much demand for quality flooring installation that the industry employs upwards of 185,000 people.

Those numbers are some indicator of how important it is to people to have quality floors. Many people find that laminate flooring provides the perfect combination of beauty and practicality. However, many people find that it is important to know how to seal laminate flooring to make the most of it.

So how does the sealing process work? Why is it so important? Read on to learn all about the most important things to understand about how to seal laminate floors!

Prepare Before Sealing Floors

There are several steps in the laminate flooring sealing process. It is important to prepare in advance so that you can complete each step without taking too much time between them. If you get halfway through the process and have to stop to prepare something, it can affect the quality of your seal.

The first thing to do is prepare your flooring to receive the seal. Everything under the seal is going to stay there, so you don't want to seal a bunch of dust or dirt onto the surface of your floor. That means that you may want to give your flooring the best washing it has ever received.

It is important to eliminate even small specks of dust. After that, it is helpful to let your flooring dry.

Use the Right Tools for Home Laminate Floors

To seal your home laminate flooring, you will need to prepare a solution of sealant. There is no one best sealant for every situation. Instead, different floors do best with different kinds of sealant.

It is important to assess the options for sealant that you can find. Buy one of the options that is designed specifically for your kind of flooring.

It is also important to make sure that you have enough sealant. If you get partway through the sealing job and run out, it will be difficult to end up with a perfect seal. Even if you get more sealant, by the time you can apply it, the sealant already on the floor will be at least partially dry.

Keep in mind that not all types of sealants are ready to use as soon as you buy them. Make sure to read the instructions before you buy a sealant to find out if you need to dilute it with water or otherwise prepare it.

Understand How to Seal Floors With the Sealant

You can think of sealing your laminate flooring like painting a wall. You want to apply an even coat across the entire surface. You can also use similar tools.

That means that you can get plenty of use out of a brush or a roller. You can also use a mop or other tool designed to push liquid across a floor.

In most cases, applying a single layer of sealant will not provide a seal that lasts. You will need at least a second coat. To be safe, you might even consider applying three layers of sealant.

The more that you can learn about the kind of wood in your laminate, the better you can decide which kind of sealant is right for it and how many layers you will need.

Remember not to start applying any more sealant until the prior layer is dry. Another important thing to realize is that more layers is not always better. Three is a safe number, but that does not mean that four or five will be better.

If you create too thick of a layer of sealant, people will be able to tell that there is a transparent layer on top of your floor. On top of that, this extra sealant won't provide you with better results.

Combine that with the fact that using more sealant costs more money and time, and there is no reason to apply more than three layers of sealant.

Let Sealant Dry to Enjoy the Benefits of Laminate Floors

Some sealants will instruct you to speed up the drying process with a source of heat of some kind. However, most will not say to do so. Unless your sealant specifically says to use a heat source for drying, allow your sealant to dry naturally.

Once your sealant is dry, it can help to give it a buff with a towel or a tool intended specifically for buffing. The sooner you do this after applying your seal, the better it will look.

Buffering your new seal is more important the more layers you use. Buffering makes the surface of your seal even smoother. That means that it will look transparent rather than dull or matte.

Be Careful With Laminate Floor Maintenance

Take care of your seal to help it last as long as possible. Many people love how a good seal can make it easier to clean up spills. However, that does not mean that you should allow spills to sit on your sealed floor for hours at a time.

Continue to treat your floor with the same kind of care that you treat laminate flooring without a seal. The result will be that it lasts as long as possible and maintains a beautiful appearance.

Understand How to Seal Laminate Flooring the Right Way

The more that you know about how to seal laminate flooring, the better you can assess if it is a job you can handle on your own. Most people find that it is best to rely on professionals to seal laminate flooring. After all, you are going to live with the results of the sealing job for many years.

To learn more about how to find the right people to help you seal your laminate floor, feel free to reach out and get in touch with us here at any time!