[vasudeva]

Since there would definitely be many people who have wooden (laminated) flooring (not the real one!, though there may be some), my query is directed at them, regarding cleaning and shining (to make it almost new):

My History
Bought Pergo 9 mm laminating flooring (rate Rs. 100/sq. Ft.) for my home in Nov 2005.

2-BR house, and above normal (not abnormal) passion for cleanliness on floors and in the home. Furniture has rubber rounds on legs to reduce scratching. Floors in all rooms are mopped around 2 times a day with damp cloth. Mild high quality detergent also used every 3-4 days (do not laugh or smirk at this since this is India and dirt is air and air is dirt). Plus, the cost is not much and I would rather keep the floor clean than keep it long.

Nevertheless, even Pergo sales rep has been amazed at the cleanliness and the relatively low number of scratches.

Periodic (2-3 month) cleaning with high quality detergent (no Pergo cleaning accessories used so far).

However, after 3 years, some scratches have developed on high traffic areas. These may not be visible to everyone, but they are to me! Further, floor does not shine so much, and some joints of planks have hard to remove dirt.

Possible Solutions thought so far:
Relaying the floor so that unused/relatively less used/planks with less traffic (e.g., under the bed, corners) could be put in place of the existing more scratched/used ones. This is a cheaper option, but Pergo has quoted Rs. 6/sq. Ft for removal and Rs. 6/sq. Ft. For relaying. a 140 sq. Feet bedroom, this costs around Rs. 2000. In addition, there could be wastage of 10-15% because of removal of relaying. Based on this, I estimate a cost of Rs. 10-15K.

Pergo’s sales rep has said that there is a chemical costing Rs. 5 K which can remove (or at least blur) the scratches, remove hard to remove dirt (from joints of planks), and shine the surface so that it looks around 85-90% of new. This will take around 1-1.5 days for my home. This seems acceptable to me, if the sales rep’s claim is truthful.

Replace substantially and incur a cost of Rs. 30-40K. Does not seem justified with a 3-year old floor.

My query
How have members on this forum gone about maintaining their wooden floors and has anyone had experience with the possible solutions outlined above. Any other solutions.

[Steeroid]

You havent mentioned whether your floor is parquet or hardwood. Please clarify, because the solution on hardwood is quite simple - you need to get them to skim and polish the entire floor again. I am not sure about parquet, though.

[Sam Kapasi]

My question is - where can I buy Pergo for Rs. 100/- a square foot!?

You havent mentioned whether your floor is parquet or hardwood.

Sir Steeroid, where can I get Hardwood floor for Rs. 100/- a square foot? lol

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Sir Steeroid, where can I get Hardwood floor for Rs. 100/- a square foot? lol

Didnt see the price quote.

Okay if its parquet I guess he can only re-lay the damaged bits.

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

My question is - where can I buy Pergo for Rs. 100/- a square foot!?

Sir Steeroid, where can I get Hardwood floor for Rs. 100/- a square foot? lol

Hardwood is not available at Rs. 100/sq. ft; and IMHO not practical for the dusty environment in which most of us live (experienced Delhi summers and stroms?). Pergo though starts with 80 and goes up to 270. My floor is presently selling at MRP (first quote from dealer) of 137.

This was 3 years ago, the floor is laminated, 9 mm, and cost Rs. 100/sq. ft. after bargaining. Hardwood is a lot more expensive, and even in laminated, floors can cost around Rs. 250/sq. ft.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

Hardwood is not available at Rs. 100/sq. ft; and IMHO not practical for the dusty environment in which most of us live (experienced Delhi summers and stroms?).

My apartment is in Kerala where we have more than normal rainfall, moisture and dampness. We have had no issues with hardwood flooring and it has been over 3 years since it was laid. Yes it is expensive, but it does not demand as much maintenance as parquet.

However this is doing nothing to help you with your problem

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Didnt see the price quote.

Okay if its parquet I guess he can only re-lay the damaged bits.

That is the second option (after chemical cleaning). I can relay drawing/dining and forget the bedrooms which anyway are quite clean and scratch free. What about chemicals. Relaying a 250 sq. ft. area (my drawing/dining) would cost Rs. 6-7 K (after wasting), take 2 days, and be an incomplete job (bedrooms not touched).

Originally Posted by Steeroid

My apartment is in Kerala where we have more than normal rainfall, moisture and dampness. We have had no issues with hardwood flooring and it has been over 3 years since it was laid. Yes it is expensive, but it does not demand as much maintenance as parquet.

However this is doing nothing to help you with your problem

Since hardwood is mentioned, I did think of that but did not because of (a) almost tripling of costs and equally important (b) can it be cleaned with a wet cloth 2/times a day or at will.