Follow these tips to create the magic of an everlasting interior.

MAINTANANCE OF LAMINATES

Cleaning Tips
To clean the surface, use a damp cloth or sponge and a mild soap or detergent. Difficult stains such as coffee or tea can be removed using a mild household cleaner and baking soda; mixing to achieve a paste consistency. Use a stiff nylon bristle brush, scrubbing (approx. 15-20 strokes) the affected area. Do not scrub so as to mar (damage, scratch) the surface finish.

Stubborn stains that resist any of the above cleaning methods may require the use of undiluted household bleach or nail polish remover. Use a cotton ball saturated with bleach or nail polish remover (acetone), gently rub the stain for up to two minutes. Rinse thoroughly with warm water and wipe dry using a soft cloth. This step may be repeated if the stain appears to be going away and the color of the laminate has not been affected.

WARNING: Prolonged exposure of the laminate surface to bleach will cause discoloration.
Always rinse laminate surfaces after cleaning! Failure to rinse after cleaning can cause damage; even if a small amount of cleaning solution remains on the surface. A dry residue may be invisible; however, moisture from cups or drinks can reactivate it, and result in permanently etched scars or stains over time.

A Few Notes of Caution

Acidic or abrasive cleaners can damage laminate surfaces; do not use them. Drain cleaners containing lye will permanently damage the laminate surface. If you spill a drain cleaner, wipe it up immediately and rinse several times with water.

Hair, textile and food dyes can cause permanent stains. If dye should happen to spill, wipe it up immediately with dishwashing detergent or an all-purpose cleaner.

Wipe spills away promptly and rinse several times with water.

Rust removers contain harsh chemicals, which will quickly cause permanent damage. If a spill occurs, wipe off all residue immediately, wash thoroughly with soapy water and rinse several times.

Steel wool and other abrasive pads will damage the laminate face. Do not use them for cleaning and don’t store steel wool pads on your countertop; the metal can rust and leave stains.

Toilet bowl cleaners contain harsh chemicals that can cause permanent damage. If spills occur, wipe up immediately, wash surface with soapy water and rinse several times.

The cleaners listed below can cause damage to the surface of laminate:

Chemical Ingredient	Synonymous Names
Hydrochloric Acid	Muriatic Acid
	Hydrogen Chloride
Sulfuric Acid	Oleic Acid
	Oil of Vitriol
	Oleum
Hydrofluoric Acid	Rust Remover
Phosphoric Acid	Rust Remover
Sodium Hydroxide	Caustic Soda
	Caustic
	Lye
	Soda Lye
Pumice (abrasive)

Remember, sharp objects can damage the surface of Laminates, marring its beauty and lowering wear and stain resistance. Although high pressure laminates are somewhat resistant to scratch and marring, the surface can be damaged, even under normal use.

Laminates may need occasional dusting depending on where it’s used. To keep the surface beautiful, use a non-oily furniture spray. (Remember to clean the spray off several times a year to prevent build-up.) Furniture polish can also help hide fine scratches in the surface.

HOW TO JUDGE A GOOD PLYWOOD

Today the plywood market is crammed full with numerous brands and types of plywood. Once you enter a shop for purchasing plywood, you cant just choose like that. Several points’ need to be kept in mind before buying plywood. As one gets a plywood first thing that needs to be followed is the brand and further it has to be checked whether it has got quality certification mark like ISI.

Besides this other factors that one can opt for judging good plywood are surface quality, its thickness variation, number of layers in plywood, its bonding and bending strength, its working environment, species of face/back, resistance to termites and borers etc.

Check Surface: Its plain and uniform face can judge surface quality of plywood. Surface should be perfectly even and finished well that determines its further glue ability and paint ability properties. Surface should be very clean and devoid from bumps, cups and any other deviation from normal flatness.

Uniformity: Thickness of the plywood should be uniform through out the plywood. Non-uniform thickness may result from delamination in certain areas of plywood due to poor bonding or steam pockets because of non-uniform moisture content during pressing of plywood in factory. By the use of a useful tool,‘micrometer’ the uniformity of the ply can be checked easily and appropriately.

Bonding Strength: A very important factor is determining the bonding quality of plywood. Performing a very easy test can check bonding that is known as Knife test. Knife test is also done to check brittleness and toughness of plywood. Cutting a narrow strip of plywood’s surface layer performs it; if the layer comes out easily it means that the bonding of plywood or adhesion of adjacent layers of plywood is not proper enough.

Hammer Test or Sound Test: Beating the plywood with a hammer at several places can present the toughness and solidity of plywood. This test gives a fair idea about sturdiness of plywood and also depicts whether it has any major gap or not.

Right Selection: Selection of plywood also depends on the end use of plywood in which location it is going to be used, if you want plywood for exterior/outdoor location then go for only BWP grade plywood. For interior application where there is no contact of water to the ply you can take MR grade. main deciding factor while selecting a decorative plywood. Ask for the species used, whether it is Birch, Maple Oak etc.

Along with all these factors, check for the bending property of plywood, check whether it possess good bending strength or not, it should not be very stiff and brittle.

Check how many layers plywood have, whether it’s a 3-ply,5-ply or 7-ply construction. If somebody has enough time, he can perform all these tests to make himself satisfied.