Laminate flooring is popular in the UK because it is quick to install and is available in a huge number of decors and quality options. However, until now it hasn’t been suitable for use in bathrooms or other wet areas. 

Love AQUA is the first water-resistant laminate collection from Lifestyle Floors. Love AQUA can be installed in wet areas such as bathrooms, kitchens, laundries and entrances, it’s our most flexible laminate yet.

We usually say that laminate is suitable for almost any room in the home, with bathrooms and wet areas being the exception. 

However, Love AQUA is designed specifically to extend the capabilities of laminate to include bathrooms. It’s also perfect for other areas that may become wet such as kitchens, laundries and entrances. 

Although Love AQUA is suitable for almost any area in the home, it is important to make sure that you are choosing the correct laminate to suit your interior space. 

There are a few things to consider, including AC rating, thickness and design. 

An AC rating is a way of defining how strong and durable a laminate floor is.  Rated from 1 to 5, the higher the number, the tougher you can expect the floor to be. The floor has undergone rigorous testing to determine its resistance to a number of factors including abrasion and moisture. 

We’re very happy to say that Love AQUA has been rated as AC4, which is the second highest rating available in a laminate floor.  This means it is suitable for homes and commercial spaces, such as small offices, cafes or shops. 

Another factor to consider when choosing laminate is the thickness. Thicker laminate often feels more like real wood, as it allows for more detailed designs on the surface such as register embossing, where the etching perfectly matches the grain of the wood printed on the plank. 

A thicker laminate can also provide additional acoustic insulation, which may be a consideration for rooms upstairs. However, thicker laminates can be more expensive. 

Love AQUA is an 8mm laminate, which is a great middle ground. Its thickness is plenty to obtain a super-realistic look and it offers register embossing on all decors. In addition, although water-resistant laminates are slightly more expensive, Love AQUA remains competitively priced. 

Love AQUA encompasses a wide range of realistic-high definition decors. 

From the knotted white of Ripple through to the stained-oak effect of Bubble, we are sure you will find a floor to fall in love with. 

Love AQUA is constructed in a similar way to all laminates, with several layers sandwiched together under high pressure and heat to form the end product. A special water-repelling coating and lacquered bevel ensures no water can seep through either the surface or through the watertight UNICLIC® connection. 

This coating and bevel protect Love AQUA against stains and fades, as well as making it easy to clean and maintain.  

As with all of our flooring, we recommend that Love AQUA is fitted by a competent, trained installer to BS 8203:2017 standards. You can search for a local retailer on our website, who will be happy to recommend an installer. 

It’s important to always buy laminate from a reputable flooring retailer. If the laminate flooring hasn’t been correctly stored, the boards may have been damaged, which could cause the layers to come away (delaminate), or the click system to not click together as designed. 

Love AQUA uses the world renowned, watertight UNICLIC® locking system to keep your subfloor dry. The UNICLIC® click connection also makes installation simpler, even in tighter spaces. 

Love AQUA can be fitted exactly like a traditional laminate floor. In wet areas, no tanking or special preparation is required. Simply lay a suitable laminate underlay (such as our Ultra-Light XPS Underlay) and then fit as normal. 

To protect against water getting beneath the floor in wet areas, expansion joints must be filled with a compressible PE-foam and sealed with a flexible silicone. Skirting boards, floor profiles and rosettes around the radiator must be sealed along the wall edge or profile and floorcovering.

Love AQUA doesn’t require any more attention or care than regular laminate. The protective, water-resistant layer is designed to protect against stains and damage, to help keep your floor looking good for years to come. 

Dry mopping or wiping the floor every day, alongside regular vacuuming will help to keep dirt and dust at bay – just make sure to use the brush head attachment on your vacuum cleaner to avoid scratches.

Occasionally use a slight damp mop or a towel soaked in warm water and squeezed out to get rid of any stray footprints or other small marks. You can also use a special laminate floor cleaning product for this. 

Wet mopping, washing with water or using soaps, detergents, bleaches and other cleaning agents should be avoided, as this can cause the planks to swell, warp and wear prematurely.

It’s important to be extra careful with the bevelled edge as it may chip more easily than the main plank and this isn’t covered by the wear warranty. 

No matter how well you clean and protect your laminate flooring, accidents are unavoidable, especially if you have pets or children in the house.

The water-repelling coating gives Love AQUA its stain resistance properties to common household spillages including red wine, ketchup, coffee and mud.

Regardless, a quick reaction can save your flooring and avoid permanent staining. The main thing to avoid is liquid seeping into the flooring joints which can weaken or damage them.  Once a spillage has occurred, immediately blot the liquid with paper towels. 

Once you have soaked up the liquid, slightly dampen a towel in warm water and gently scrub the affected area to remove any residue. You may also use laminate floor cleaner to remove the stains.

Any small gouge marks or scratches can be repaired by using touch up kits, but more serious damage may require planks being replaced.

The collection comes with a 20 year residential wear warranty, a 10 year commercial wear warranty and a 5 year residential wet warranty. 

Love AQUA is suitable for any room in the house including bathrooms but excluding wet rooms and the wear warranty covers:

Our warranties ensure that your floorcovering is protected and designed to suit your requirements and your budget. Depending on the range purchased, our warranties last from 5 years to a lifetime, which is another way that you can choose a floorcovering that’s right for you. 

Lifestyle Floors warranties cover the wear of our resilient flooring, including laminate, LVT and vinyl.

The term “residential applications” shall be understood as: the use of the laminate as a floor covering in a private residence that is used for private purposes only.

The term “commercial applications” shall be understood as: the use of the laminate as a floor covering in non-residential premises, including but not limited to hotels, offices and shops.

The above mentioned commercial warranty does not apply to:

The warranty period starts on the date of the purchase.

The residential and commercial warranty are both pro rata. A pro rata warranty is one that provides for a refund or credit that decreases according to a set formula as the warranty period progresses. So, the warranty value is reduced by amount of time that you own it. When a claim is made, the value of the warranty becomes a percentage rate of the number of years of ownership based on the above usage (commercial or residential).

Damage to the product resulting from a defect that was not inherently present at the time of purchase falls outside the scope of this warranty. This includes damage caused by:

Please keep your receipt. If the Love AQUA laminate floor is not installed by the user, but by a floor layer/installer, the latter should provide the user with a copy of the installation and maintenance instructions and the warranty conditions.

For questions regarding guarantees, we recommend that you contact your Love AQUA laminate flooring distributor where you purchased the laminate floor. Should your Love AQUA laminate flooring distributor be unable to provide you with answers or should you need additional information, you can contact us by going to www.lifestyle-floors.co.uk and click on contact. The Lifestyle Floors guarantee conditions do not affect the legally applicable guarantee on Lifestyle Floors products. Lifestyle Floors reserves the right to inspect the complaint and claim concerning its product on site, installed or otherwise, and must be given the opportunity to do so. Without prior approval of Lifestyle Floors, no repairs or replacements may be made to a Lifestyle Floors brand laminate floor for which a warranty claim has been made.