How to remove scratches from laminate flooring

Laminate flooring is beautiful, low-maintenance, and can last for decades. So, it can be incredibly frustrating when you spot scratches spoiling the look of your beautiful flooring. But don’t panic - there are ways to fix these little imperfections.

Despite laminate flooring's durability, dents, scrapes, and other damage can still occur. Because laminate can’t be sanded down or refinished (you can find more on why this is in our ‘What is laminate flooring?’ guide), your best bet is always to prevent scratches from appearing in the first place. When they do happen, we’ve got some crafty tips to get rid of small imperfections without breaking the bank. 

Scratches and marks on your flooring are inevitable when you live your life in a room – the only way you could keep a floor completely pristine would be to never use it! You can find guidance for looking after your laminate flooring in our laminate flooring care guide. In the meantime, here are some risk factors to look out for:

WEARING SHOES INDOORS

Heavy shoes or shoes with heels can mark your gorgeous laminate or wooden flooring. The scrapes and dents left by shoes don’t tend to dig too deep into the protective layers of the laminate, but they can leave cosmetic scratches. Practice taking your shoes off at the front door and only walking around in bare feet, socks, or soft slippers to avoid marking your flooring. Entrance matting can also help remove some of the abrasive debris that comes in on your shoes.

DROPPING HEAVY OBJECTS

We all know that accidents happen – after all, we’re only human! Dropping heavy objects, like suitcases down the stairs or dumping the shopping down every week can begin to cause marking that is quite hard to cover up or remove. A large rug over your laminate flooring is a great way to ensure that your flooring doesn’t take the impact of heavy objects, and it will look trendy too.

PET PAWS

Your fluffy friends can be another cause of marks and scratches on laminate flooring, with their sharp little claws. Cats in particular can scratches on the flooring, while dogs can often leave scuff marks when they race around during zoomie time. It is not advisable to try to put a sealant on top of laminate flooring to protect it further from your pet’s paws, but you can try keeping your pet’s nails well-clipped. You can also get slip-resistant laminate flooring which should help stop little feet sliding around and digging into the flooring.

FURNITURE SCRAPES

Dragging or frequently moving heavy furniture around a room, for instance during cleaning or hoovering, can result in scratch marks on your laminate flooring – however, there’s an easy fix for this! You can purchase protective pads that sit underneath your heavy furniture to keep your floors protected – and some even have the bonus of making your furniture easier to move with small tabs and smooth undersides.

Here are some of the easiest ways we recommend to fix laminate flooring scratches:

• Touch-up marker pens
• Wax filler sticks
• Burn in sticks
• Crayon
• Intall a new plank

Let's take a more in-depth look at each method. 

We’ve covered some of the basic ways you can fix scratches on your laminate flooring, but you’ll likely have some more questions and ponderings that, as renowned flooring experts, we have the knowledge to answer for you!

What is the best laminate floor scratch remover?

Objectively, the best laminate floor scratch remover is just popping in a fresh new board, but we know that’s not always the easiest approach, so we would recommend purchasing a laminate repair kit which should include an option for scratches of varying levels of severity.

Can I sand away scratches on laminate flooring?

Don’t even think about it! Laminate boards are not the same as hardwood flooring – they are made of different layers, with only the top layer having the colour of the board. If you try to sand or buff laminate flooring, it will only remove more of the colour and make your flooring look much worse.

Can I apply a sealant to protect against future damage?

You can apply specific sealants to laminate flooring if you want to make sure it doesn’t take too much damage in the future – we recommend using a laminate-specific coating if this is a step you want to take. However, laminate flooring is already very durable on its own, and you run the risk of ruining your floor’s aesthetic by covering it with another sealant. 

Do your best to stop scratches from happening in the first place. Because while your new floor is scratch-resistant, it isn’t scratchproof. So, try not to let dirt build up over time as dust and grit can cause scratches when disturbed by footfall. Using a doormat will help to limit the amount of abrasive dirt that enters your home. Luckily, smooth flooring is really easy to keep clean and maintain. For a daily clean, use a soft brush or vacuum cleaner (with a soft parquet brush attachment) to pick up dirt and dust.

For more information on how to look after different flooring types, why not check out our care guides, like our carpet care guide and our vinyl care guide. You can also find some amazing style inspiration in our ideas hub, as well as comparisons on different flooring types, including laminate vs engineered wood, so you can pick the best option for you.