Laminate floors are easy to clean with a vacuum or broom. Mop with a slightly damp mop, or better yet, use laminate floor cleaner. No floor waxing is ever necessary for laminate floors. Avoid excessive water when mopping, which can seep into the seams between boards, causing swelling. Laminate flooring will not tolerate standing pools of water, which often appear in bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms. For areas with heavy moisture, you need an impervious surface, such as vinyl or porcelain tile. Laminate flooring has a wear layer that protects the photographic layer underneath and makes it somewhat resistant to scratches and dents, and very resistant to stains. Some manufacturers even issue very generous 10+ year warranties on the wear layer itself. If you do get a stain, it is usually easy to clean off. The inability to sand and refinish is a major disadvantage of laminate flooring. If laminate flooring is heavily worn, deep scratched, or grooved, it cannot be sanded or refinished like solid hardwood—it must be replaced.