Laminate wood flooring is indeed water sensitive, but as long as you apply a reasonable amount of care it shouldn’t be a problem to install in your kitchen. Clean with a dry mop (to just "dust" it off) and a very occasional spot-rub with a damp cloth and special laminate cleaner (which you can purchase at Home Depot). Don’t use a regular mop – water is not laminate flooring’s friend! Just remember to never a significant amount of water on your flooring for any length of time, and if you do spill water clean it up quickly or it could warp. You might opt for commercial-grade just to be safe. This can be a great option for kitchens as long as you’re careful in cleaning up spills!

Katherine, you are slowly destroying your landlord's floor with your washing method. DON'T use water and bleach as you do. You can buy products specially made for laminate floors. Ask anyone who sells or installs laminate and they will tell you not to mop them with water.

I think that you should be looking into the VERY realistic-looking, plank vinyl flooring instead of a wood-type laminate. It is my experience that although the laminate might advertised to stand up to heavy wear - it doesn't. Seams between the sections wear first, and the topcoat actually chips off in these areas. I put laminate on my son's basement floor bedroom a number of years ago, and the movement of his desk chair over the surface caused wear that I didn't catch immediately. Also, water has a way of infiltrating through the tiniest of spaces, and once it gets under the surface - which is relatively easy to do, the edges of the laminate planks will rise, and not re-flatten even when the surface and subsurface has been thoroughly dried. Eventually, all dishwashers will leak, usually prompting time for replacement, but such a leak on a laminate floor would be disastrous. Also, I have seen a laminate floor which was not kept scrupulously clean - and wow, what a mess - that floor was quickly scuffed and worn looking. On the contrary, I have seen vinyl plank flooring applied to produce sections in grocery stores, and I had to touch it to assure myself it wasn't real wood. I will be using this product in the master bathroom that I am now remodeling, and would do my kitchen floor with this in a heartbeat. Also, unlike the wooden planked flooring (full plank thickness) I now have in my kitchen, it would be far more resistant to stains, water, and denting caused by dropped objects such as cans or pots. Laying vinyl planking should be just about as easy as putting down a laminate surface. Have fun!!

Katherine: I also strongly recommend that you stop your current cleaning method as previously stated by someone else. You will end up damaging the floor. Dry mop, spot clean or use those special laminate cleaners. STOP wet mopping, esp. with the bleach, or anything else. As to the kitchen question: Laminate can take a water spill somewhat better than real wood (both will be damaged if it is not wiped up right away) I would still be leery of putting it in the kitchen. While it might last forever, you will most likely have problems if there is a major spill, fridge leak, or worse yet, an overflowing dishwasher. If possible, think tile or vinyl.

I have the tap and lock laminate flooring. It is great as far as kids go but my dog has scratched it up. It is not good with water. It will absorb water and cause the floor to buckle and warp. I have found any substantial amount of water/liquid will do this.

We have laminate in almost every room in our house & I can't stand it!!! Gaps are always showing up, I've lost count of the chips in it and the floor just feels TINNY! What really did it for me, though, was when the dishwasher sprung a leak. Not a flood, mind you, just a bit at a time. Every now & then I'd notice a little puddle, wipe it up and think nothing of it. By the time I realized the dishwasher was the culprit, it had gotten underneath the flooring between the dishwasher and the island - an area about 3 feet wide. As someone mentioned earlier "You can never get it to lay completely flat again!" It looks awful but I try (hard) not to let it bother me. Now I'm getting ready to put the house on the market and I NEED to repair the floor. I've been advised by more than one tradesman that they cannot simply 'pop out' the damaged section since it's in the MIDDLE of the room. In order for them to repair it, the entire floor from either one end or the other needs to be taken up! You can bet the next house I buy will have anything BUT laminate!!!