Remove scratches in laminate: 7 home remedies and tips

Scratches in the laminate are annoying, after all, such a synthetic floor cannot simply be sanded down and repainted like parquet. You can at least remove superficial damage with a few home remedies, as our seven tips show. In the case of deep scratches, on the other hand, the only solution is often to replace the damaged panels, provided it is a modern click laminate.

Prevention is better than repair

Compared to a real wooden floor, laminate has a serious disadvantage: If it is damaged, it cannot simply be sanded down and repainted. After all, it is a plastic floor that is difficult to repair invisibly if it is damaged - unless it is a matter of superficial, light scratches. For this reason, preventive measures make sense to keep damage as low as possible:

• use high-quality laminate from stress class 23 and higher
• Lay out rugs and carpets on frequently used paths
• Glue felt pads under chair, table and furniture legs
• Use special floor protection mats for heavy furniture and furniture on wheels
• Clean laminate properly: only slightly damp, not wet and with a dash of vinegar-based cleaner in the cleaning water

Remove slight damage in the laminate

But whatever you do, scratches cannot be avoided over time. This is part of the normal wear and tear of laminate flooring, after all you certainly don't want to tiptoe through your own apartment for fear of it. Most of the time, the damage is minor and only superficial and has not penetrated into the deeper layers of the laminate.

However, you should definitely treat them, even if you do not find them visually disturbing. These scratches, no matter how small, can have serious consequences: if the protective layer is damaged, wet cleaning will penetrate the deeper layers of the laminate. This in turn causes the floor to swell and become unattractively uneven.

Natural home remedies help with superficial scratches

However, you don't have to run straight to the hardware store for a small scratch. Instead, a reach into the kitchen cupboard is sufficient, because most people already have the essential ingredients for a natural repair kit at home.

olive oil / cooking oil

The top layer of the laminate - the so-called decorative layer - consists of plastic, which is mostly made of cellulose. Another component is petroleum, which is why small scratches can be sealed very well with an oily lubricant. Plain olive oil is great for this purpose:

• Thoroughly clean the floor of dust and dirt particles.
• However, only wipe slightly damp, not wet.
• Let the floor dry well.
• Put a few drops of olive oil on the scratch.
• Gently buff the area with a clean cotton cloth.
• Repeat the treatment until you are satisfied with the result.

You can basically use any other oil instead of olive oil. Baby oil or another cooking oil such as sunflower or rapeseed oil have also given good results. For dark laminate floors, you should use walnut or linseed oil, as they naturally have the right color.

beeswax

A treatment with beeswax also delivers very good results, and this household remedy is also absorbed more quickly and leaves a less slippery floor. Heat the wax - for example from a beeswax candle - and pour it into the scratch in liquid form. Spread it out with a spatula or a similar suitable device. Allow the wax to harden and then carefully polish it.

Light or dark shoe polish

Even simple shoe polish can be used for repair purposes, provided the color matches. It is best to check in an inconspicuous place beforehand whether the coloring of the care product actually harmonises with that of the floor. Of course, a colorless leather care product made from hard wax (e.g. beeswax or carnauba wax) would be perfect, which basically goes with all laminate colors. Thorough polishing with a soft cloth also ensures the right finish in this case.

Walnut kernels

If you want to repair a dark laminate floor, you can try this tip: Crack a walnut and rub the scratch several times with a core (without the shell!). The nut particles fill it down to the smallest crack and, if it is only superficial, make it almost invisible. But be careful: walnuts have a strong coloring effect and are therefore only suitable for really dark floors.

Repair kits from the hardware store

Handy repair kits containing all the necessary materials and tools for restoring the damaged laminate floor are available for little money in hardware stores.

Floor repair set with hard wax

Such a set costs around EUR 25 and contains several sticks of hard wax in different colors, a wax melter as well as a planer, spatula, sanding sponge and polishing cloth. The application is very simple: The wax is made lubricious with the battery-operated wax melter and filled into the damaged area with the spatula. Depending on the color of the laminate, different colors can be mixed so that you can achieve a result that is as inconspicuous as possible, even in the case of major damage. After drying, scrape off excess wax with the spatula, clean and polish the area.

repair paste

Sets with repair paste and individually combinable color pigments also work according to a similar principle as described. Here, too, the cost range is between around 20 and 25 euros.

Retouching pens / repair spray

You can treat small, superficial scratches with a retouching pen (sometimes called a furniture pen) or a repair spray. These agents are easy to use and only cost a few euros, but have a limited color spectrum and are also not very durable. Therefore, if possible, only use them in rarely frequented places, where you do not walk often or which are rarely blocked by furniture, etc. are claimed. Before treating with repair pens or spray, the affected area should be cleaned, dried well and slightly roughened for better adhesion.

What to do with deep scratches on the floor?

Naturally, the home remedies mentioned can only help with superficial scratches. If, on the other hand, the damage is deeper, the only solution is often to replace the damaged area. The click laminate, which is easy to install, is practical here. If the worst comes to the worst, you only need to remove the damaged panels and replace them with undamaged ones. However, since the damage areas are not on the edge in most cases, but in the middle of the room, you usually have to remove all the panels in a row - otherwise you cannot get to the one to be replaced Area. Make a note of the order in which you inserted the panels and put them back in the same way.

What to do with dents in the laminate floor?

Sometimes the problem is less the scratches than more or less pronounced dents in the laminate floor For example, if heavy pieces of furniture are left in the same place for a long time or the floor is wiped too wet is swollen. You can iron the covering smooth again with an iron:

• Moisten the dent well.
• Turn the iron on to the highest setting.
• Now hold it repeatedly over the dented area.
• However, only briefly and never directly on the floor!
• Steam irons are particularly suitable.

Learn more about flooring: laminate / vinyl / carpet