Linoleum care, factors influencing it, methods of protecting the coating, care products for it, cleaning it, wet cleaning and polishing.
How to clean linoleum floors
The first few days after installing the floor covering, you should refrain from wet cleaning, since the process of acclimatization of the materials used has not yet been completed.
At this time, dust, sand and dry dirt can be removed from the floor surface with brushes, brooms or a vacuum cleaner. This procedure is absolutely safe to cover, and it can be done at least every day. It should be borne in mind that the protective layer of linoleum must already be present for any action with it.
Before you wash your linoleum floor, you need to thoroughly sweep it. Otherwise, when wet cleaning, strong streaks will remain on the coating. Use a soft cloth for washing, rinsing and wringing out frequently during use. For high-quality cleaning, it is recommended to periodically change the water in the bucket.
In case of severe contamination of the linoleum surface, a detergent can be added to a container with water, which must be chemically neutral with a pH = 7-9. A small amount of this substance dissolves easily in warm water. Recommendations for the optimal proportion of the composition are available on its packaging. It is not recommended to apply pure detergent to linoleum.
Wet flooring is quite slippery, so damp cleaning should be done with care. After its completion, the linoleum surface must be completely dry for safe walking on the floor.
Cleaning linoleum after apartment renovation
In order not to create problems for yourself in cleaning the floor covering from traces of apartment renovations, it is better to worry in advance about covering the linoleum before carrying out work with plastic wrap or at least old newspapers. After repairs, future troubles may remain on the floor in the form of polyurethane foam, lime, cement mortar and other construction debris.
If they do get on the coating, bypassing its covering, cleaning and maintenance of the linoleum floor should be done in this way:
- To begin with, dry the floor to collect construction debris. It is advisable to perform this procedure with your hands and a vacuum cleaner, since the use of a broom can damage the protective layer of linoleum when rubbing abrasive waste particles against its surface.
- Cured putty from the coating should be carefully removed with a metal spatula.
- Foam dry to linoleum can be removed with a sharp knife. To do this, you need to carefully cut and scrape off the bead, while being careful not to damage the protective layer of the coating. Then the problem area needs to be covered with a wet rag for 10-12 hours to soak the traces of foam, and then wipe them off with the same rag.
- White bloom and dust are washed off with heated water and rags. The water needs to be changed frequently to achieve the desired effect.
- Stubborn stains can be removed with white spirit or linoleum cleaner.
- At the final stage of work, a little potassium permanganate or vinegar should be added to a container filled with water. Use this solution and a clean rag to clean the floor covering.
- After that, the linoleum should be wiped dry, treated with a layer of drying oil or linseed oil, and then polished to give the floor surface a fresh look.
Features of linoleum polishing
The PVC coating is polished to restore its protective film and give the linoleum surface shine. It is recommended to perform it at least once a week. Before polishing, the floor should be damp cleaned and then treated with a rag with water containing a special polish.
In addition, the gloss of the linoleum surface can be achieved using a polishing machine. But such a large-scale and expensive procedure will be appropriate only in large spacious rooms: hotels, supermarkets, educational institutions and other facilities.
The renewal of polishing is included in the mandatory procedure for caring for natural linoleum or its polyvinyl chloride analogue. It is performed at least once every three months, for rooms with intensive traffic - monthly, and in living rooms - if necessary.
Before applying a new coating to linoleum, the old one should be completely removed. For this, special products are commercially available that clean the coatings from mastics or other polymers. After cleaning the floor, rinse it with clean water and let it dry. Then several layers of polishing can be applied sequentially to the linoleum. In this case, the floors of large rooms are also processed with single-disk machines.
At home, you can return the shine to the old coating with the help of milk diluted with water 1: 1. Another way is to use the water in which the potatoes were boiled. Just before that, it is recommended to cool it. The toolkit for carrying out these procedures in all cases is the same - a rag, a mop and a bucket.
Finally, I would like to give a couple of useful tips:
- When using the renewed coating, supply furniture with wide rollers or use protective pads under its legs, but in no case move it with a drag along the linoleum to avoid rupture.
- At the entrance to the room, it is worth putting a porous mat that can collect sand and small debris from the soles of shoes, which are often the cause of premature wear of the coating. At the same time, cleaning the room will take much less time.
How to care for linoleum - watch the video:
Observing all the rules for caring for linoleum, you can not worry about its appearance and quality for many years.
