Three things a cleaner warns you should never use on laminate flooring and what to use instead

Mopping the floor is a relatively straightforward task, but use the wrong cleaning product and you risk making a very expensive mistake.

Cleaning products aren't suited to all types of floors, and using the wrong thing could damage the finish on your floor or the floor itself.

According to cleaner Michelle, there are three things we need to avoid using on laminate flooring.

She listed the products and why they're bad for this type of floor in a video on her TikTok channel.

Watch the video above.

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The first on the list is chlorine bleach.

"Bleach contains small amounts of sodium [hypochlorite], which is also found in drain cleaners. It'll damage the finish of the laminate flooring over time," she said.

Michelle also warned us to avoid using cleaners that contain oil, wax or a polish because these will make the floor look cloudy. This happens because the oil or wax can't be absorbed into the seal on the floor.

The third cleaning product Michelle said we shouldn't use on laminate floors is steam mops.

"Laminate is made of compressed particle board and it's sensitive to heat and moisture. Steam mops can not only ruin the finish, but also cause them to swell and warp over time," she said.

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Instead of those three cleaners, one of which has strong fumes, while another can be quite expensive, Michelle recommends a cheap and easy product instead.

"The only thing you need for your laminate flooring is hot water and Dawn dish soap," she said.

While Michelle prefers the Dawn brand of dishwashing detergent, any will do to clean your floor with.

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Before finishing her video, Michelle added a bonus tip.

"If your floors aren't dry within a few minutes, you're using too much water,' she said.

The cleaner makes a good suggestion in recommending dishwashing detergent to mop floors with, given the results of a CHOICE review of floor cleaners from 2022.

After testing 15 products on the market, CHOICE found some performed as well as plain water and a few produced worse results than water.

Dishwashing liquid can be purchased for a little as $1.50 from the supermarket if you choose a store branded product.

It's a fantastic cleaner that can be used for most cleaning tasks in the home including shower glass, windows, greasy cabinets, oil stains on clothes, and of course mopping the floor.