It is pretty common to hear about paint spills or paint stains on fresh new house floors. This is probably because the house owner decided to add a fresh coat of paint to improve the house interior. But, did you know that with laminate floors, you can't risk the paint stains or paint spills staying longer? Although laminate floors are popular for their durability, their beauty and aesthetics can suffer significantly from paint damage. In fact, painting materials like mineral spirits, acetone, turpentine, and paint thinner can damage laminate flooring. This is possible despite the presence of melamine resin, synthetic fibers, and other chemicals in the composition of laminate floors.
So, to get paint off laminate flooring, you can follow this helpful guide. It'll answer all the questions that you have regarding any paint stain.
First and foremost, there are many ways that you can remove paint from your laminate floor. However, before you start scrubbing your valuable flooring with an inappropriate cleaning solution, know a few things. What kind of paint you spill matters because a homemade paint cleaning solution isn't suitable for every type of paint. Home improvement projects are a common cause of paint stains on house floors. You might color your house for a new look, but when a few drops of paint fall to the ground, everything can seem out of order.
Why is that? Well, laminate floors are aesthetical and relatively expensive than other types of flooring. So if you are dealing with dry paint issues on your laminate floors, you don't have to go for harsh paint removers. Instead, try some of our suggestions and see if you can remove paint from laminate flooring. The best thing about cleaning dry paint off laminate flooring is that you have many paint removing options at hand —these range from a homemade cleaning solution to any type of polish remover.
However, keep in mind that cleaning your floor surface is just as important as installing one. We will start with removing dry paint off laminate flooring first and move to some other types of paint stains that risk the loss of laminate aesthetics.
How Do You Get Dried Paint off Laminate Flooring?
If you think that removing dry paint off laminate flooring will be easy, think again. Instantly cleaning off the paint that you spill on your floor by mistake is the best approach. Since the paint will be fresh and wet, it will easily come off because it won't bond with the floor material. However, once the paint dries, it attaches to the floor surface and becomes quite difficult for you to remove. This can prompt you to use harsh cleaning methods and substances. While such removers might come in handy, they will undoubtedly damage your laminate flooring.
Here's a better approach to removing dry paint from your laminate floor.
Ammonia-Based Window Cleaner for Pain Stains
Use a vacuum cleaner to remove debris and dirt to get dry paint off of your laminate flooring. This prevents scratches on the floor during the paint removal process. Use a dust mop or light brush to remove any dust gently for the small particles that the vacuum cleaner leaves behind. Next, you can use an ammonia-based window cleaner onto the dry paint stains and let the solution dissolve the paint. After a few minutes, when the paint is completely soaked in the solution, scrub off the dissolved paint using a cloth rag, but gently. You have to make sure that you don't scrub the laminate flooring too roughly.
Keep soaking the paint stain with the ammonia solution to remove as much of the paint you can. Then, use an acetone-based nail polish remover to clean paint residue off the floor. Let the nail polish remover soak the paint, and then use the soft cloth rag to scrub the dried-up paint until it comes off gently.
Rinse the laminate surface with warm water, and use make sure that you're using a soft microfiber cloth rag. Let the floor air dry and leave it for a while.
Homemade Cleaning Solution for Laminate Floor
Always use a vacuum cleaner to remove the debris and dust clutter off your laminate surface before removing the paint to avoid any scratches on the floor. Then, it would help if you always used a dust mop to remove the remaining residue and dust particles. Now, you have to create the right solution to clean your floor surface.
Instead of an ammonia-based solution, create a homemade paint stain-cleaner solution. You can go for a half cup of white vinegar, rubbing alcohol, and water in a half-filled bucket of warm water. Stir the mixture with several drops of dish detergent for a few minutes in a bowl. Stop when you see suds forming.
Use a soft cloth to wipe the paint stain in a back-and-forth motion on the floor properly. Keep soaking the rag in the mixing bowl and scrubbing the paint stain until the paint comes off. Leave the floor surface to dry once done. After that, use an acetone nail polish remover with a cotton wool swab to rinse the paint stain with it. Leave the stain on the laminate surface by soaking it for a few minutes.
Use a putty knife or a tweezer to remove any pointy paint stains after you rinse the nail polish remover off the floor with warm water.
How to Get Acrylic Pain off the Laminate Floor?
Acrylic paint is unlike any mineral spirits and paints thinner. Acrylic paints dry quickly and make the cleaning process difficult. You might encounter acrylic paint stains on your floor if you were recently painting on a canvas. In any case, the best approach is to act quickly and remove the paint drops as soon as they fall on the laminate surface. It is best to use mild cleaners for instant paint stain removal. Otherwise, you can go for the below-mentioned removal process rather than a direct and extreme approach.
Removing Acrylic Paint Stains from Laminate Floor
You can get paint off of laminate flooring without any problem if you follow the same steps as above. For starters, try using a homemade solution. But first, use a dust mop to remove any remaining dust particles when you have vacuumed your laminate floor. Further, ensure that you remove any material that can potentially scratch the surface. Once the dust is clean, you can move on to using the homemade cleaning solution.
Mix equal parts of rubbing alcohol, white vinegar, warm water, and dish detergent to create a small mixture in a bowl that has soap foam. The dish soap might help with the foam while gathering a cotton wool swab or using a dry rag to dip into the mixture to clean the paint stain. Remember that you can use the homemade cleaning solution to lift nearly all types of paint from your laminate floor surface. Whether oil-based paints or water-based paints, a mild cleaner like that can help.
Rub the dry rag or cotton wool in a circular motion over the paint stain. Use proper techniques to preserve the looks of your laminate floor. Once done, use a few drops of an acetone nail polish remover to remove the remaining paint residue.
Clear any remaining paint drips once you clean the light stains with the remover. Make sure that you leave your laminate flooring to air dry because using a dry or even a soft rag can deteriorate its appearance.
How to Get Oil-based Paint off the Laminate Floor?
The best thing about oil-based paints is that they dry very slowly. That is one of the main reasons you may see one of the best finishes on the floor with oil-based paints. Since these dry extremely slow, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Moreover, you won't have to use a window cleaner or quite possibly paint remover. You can remove paint stains using a paper towel. You won't have to remove dried paint if you are prompt in taking action.
Removing Oil-Based Paint Stain from Laminate Floor
However, if by any chance you have missed your opportunity to clean off a paint stain from your laminate floor effortlessly, a homemade solution is a good alternative. It effectively removes dried paint from any type of surface. But be careful not to overuse the homemade solution on a laminate floor surface because rubbing alcohol like isopropyl alcohol is present in it.
Create the said homemade solution by mixing equal parts of white vinegar, isopropyl alcohol, and warm water. Mix these ingredients before adding several drops of dish soap that have petroleum-based alcohol. It will create a lathering texture once the foam is ready. Set down a bucket at the work surface and pick up a soft rag.
Remove the dried paint with rubbing alcohol and ]dish soap solution you made. You can use either the back and forth technique or circular motion to remove dried paint from the surface.
Use an acetone-based nail polish remover, but gently, since oil-based paint stains come off the floor easily. Your laminate flooring shouldn't have any scratches, and to prevent that from happening, use moisture protection for your laminate floor and avoid being harsh with the floor surface when cleaning it.
How to Get Water-Based Paint off the Laminate Floor?
If you get water-based paint stains, you can easily rinse them off with warm water or use a dry cloth rag to wipe them off the floor. In all instances, you have to be reasonably gentle with your floor. However, if you think the tough stains won't come off that easy, use an acetone-based nail polish remover. These nail polish removers are effective because of the mineral spirits present inside them. Still, scrub with a lightweight and soft mesh cloth to avoid scratching the surface or removing the actual paint job of the laminate floor.
You can go for an ammonia-based window cleaner solution or a homemade solution like above because both of them can easily remove water-based paint stains. What's rather interesting is that all types of paints benefit from the same stain cleaning solutions.
Wrap-Up
If you are struggling with removing your paint stains, you can try one of the methods above for any type of paint. Always remember that you will be cleaning your valuable laminate flooring, which requires special care and attentive cleaning technique to avoid further damage.