If the laminate is swollen

If laminate is swollen, do not rush to completely change the floor covering or scold the manufacturer. In many cases, this trouble is easily removable and does not require additional costs.

Before you make any manipulations with the boards, you should understand the root cause of the problem. Most often it is:

• mistakes made when laying laminate;
• poured water on the floor;
• poor quality of the material itself.

Depending on the nature of the swelling, each problem is eliminated in its own way.

If the laminate is bulging and going in waves due to the absence of this gap, you must perform the following steps:

1. Remove all skirting;
2. Find the places where the laminate rests against the wall;
3. Carefully trim the slats in these areas so that a distance of 1-2 cm is obtained between the coating and the wall;
4. Remove from the floor all the objects that prevent the boards to straighten. Gradually the laminate will straighten itself.

5. Sometimes bloating cause heating pipes. There is also a gap between them and the coating.

Another reason why laminate has become swollen can be plinths screwed to the floor, door retainers and other elements that need to be fixed to the floor. In this case, the baseboards are fastened exclusively to the walls. For the remaining elements, it is necessary to pre-cut the holes in the planks and mount directly to the floor screed.

If the cause of bloating is water, then you need to act quickly:

1. Remove damaged boards. Lamellae of good quality, drying out, can restore their former appearance. And because they can be returned to the place. Cheap low quality laminate swells up a lot and rarely returns to its original shape, and therefore requires replacement.
2. Wipe up the water that has accumulated under the planks.
3. Replace the underlay floor.

If the dried boards have retained their shape, then they must be returned to their place. Otherwise, damaged laminate should be replaced.

When the coating is several years old, it is much more difficult to choose lamellas in color and texture. Alternatively, to replace, you can dismantle the boards from under the cabinet or sofa, and in their place to put new slats. Such castling, hidden furniture, will not be visible to the outside eye.

If laminate at the joints is blown up due to the poor quality of the lamellae, the only way out is to replace damaged boards.

Buy only high-quality material and correctly lay laminate. Otherwise, over time, the cost of repairing such coverage will consume the imaginary savings.

It is important to remember that laminate does not like wet cleaning. Therefore, the coating requires special care: surface treatment with water-repellent polishes or wax.

And in rooms with high humidity it is recommended to lay a special waterproof laminate.

Another common problem is that the laminate creaks. Eliminate the creaking is also possible.