Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) / Linoleum Floor Care Tips
Vinyl or Linoleum is a popular type of resilient flooring in homes and businesses. It may be in the shape of a tile, plank or a one piece sheet cut to fit. This flooring looks great often imitating the look of hardwood, stone, or tile. It can be easy to install and maintain if done correctly. Many vinyl and linoleum floors have texture, grooves or grain that adds to the look, but over time soil can build up and cause the floor to look dirty. The following tips will help you keep your floor clean and looking great!
1- Sweep dry soil or dust mop daily.
- Sweep the floor regularly with a soft bristle broom to remove loose dirt.
- Use a vacuum with the option to turn off the rotating beater bar / brush roller and use suction only. A rotating beater bar designed for carpet could scratch the surface and scatter the debris you are trying to pick up.
2- Damp-mop weekly
- For a deeper clean, use a mop moistened with warm water and a neutral PH floor cleaner.
- Avoid traditional sponge, string or steam mops. These can leave the floor to wet, leave streaks, push dirty water into seams, leave lint or cause damage from high heat and steam. Stiff brisles can scratch the finish.
- A good option is a Microfiber Mop. These use soft, reusable microfiber pads that trap dust, hair, and grime while requiring very little water — often just damp, not soaking wet. A popular option for a microfiber mop is the Bona Sweep and Clean Microfiber Mop.
- A better option is a spray mop because a light mist of cleaner is dispensed directly, preventing over-wetting. The Bona Spray Mop Premium has a built in cleaning solution tank to make life easier.
- The best option is a tool like the Bissell Crosswave. It can vacuum dry debris only, or it can clean the floor by applying a cleaning solution, light scrubbing the floor, then extracting the dirty water to a separate waste tank. The floors are left cleaner and drier than any other type of traditional mopping.
- Low moisture application: It doesn’t flood the floor like a bucket and mop; the machine controls the water output and immediately extracts it.
- It is safe and gentle on the surface. The hard floor brush roll (often blue/white or labeled for hard surfaces) is softer and designed for sealed hard floors like vinyl. Avoid the multi-surface or red-bristled roll (meant for rugs), as it could be too aggressive and risk minor scratching or streaking over time. It does not use hot steam instead it uses room temperature or warm water.
3- Use proper cleaning solutions.
- Avoid using improper harsh cleaning chemicals that damage the luxury vinyl’s surface. Using a improper cleaing product can void your vinyl flooring warranty. Improper products cause long term damage by breaking down the floors protective surface finish leading to a dull floor without shine, fading or discoloration, and increased scratching and dirt attraction over time. They can also leave behind residue and streaks.
- Use a Neutral PH Cleaner like Bona Multisurface Floor Cleaner, Zep Neutral PH Floor Cleaner, or the Bissell Multisurface Floor Cleaner for the Crosswave
- Ammonia has a very high PH, so it and other unnecessary strong cleaners can leave behind a dirt attracting residue if not rinsed throughly.
- Vinegar has a low, acidic PH so its not the best option for cleaning since cleaning is more effective with a neutral or alkaline PH.
- Acid based products like vinegar gradually breaks down the surface finish when used regularly.
- Bleach is also overkill and it’s purpose is more disinfecting, not cleaning. Bleach is a strong oxidizer and alkaline which gradually breaks down the vinyls protective finish.
- Read label directions to be sure you are mixing / diluting the product correctly.
- Abrasive cleaners contain gritty particles (like in scouring powders, Comet, Ajax, or similar) or are paired with rough tools (steel wool, scouring pads, stiff-bristle brushes, or aggressive scrubbers). These work by physically grinding away dirt, but on vinyl they will scratch and damage the thin protective surface layer.
- Do not use oil soaps, waxes, shines or polishes. They cause a cloudy sticky film to develop which can be difficult to remove. An ammonia based solution, floor stripper or polish remover is needed to remove this sticky coating.
- For spots such as sticky tape residue, tar, or oil based spots, use rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) or a solvent like Goof Off with a clean white cloth.
4- Wipe up spills quickly.
- Spills and excess liquid that is not cleaned up quickly could soak in between and under planks or tiles damaging the subfloor below. Vinyl is not affected by moisture, but this is especially urgent if the floor is wood or laminate as moisture can permanently damage and swell the wood.
5- Use protective pads for furniture and appliances to prevent indentations and scratches.
- Ideally, all furniture legs and feet should have some sort of protective felt pad. This especially applies to items that may be moved across the floor often like dining room chairs. Larger diameter pads are helpful to distribute the weight of heavy furniture or appliances. There different types, sizes and colors:
- Avoid high heel shoes on your floor as they can cause permanent indentations.
6- Moving Furniture: Never push, pull, or drag furniture across vinyl flooring.
- Vinyl flooring can be permanently scratched, cut, gouged or indented. Therefore it is best NOT to push, pull, roll or drag furniture across the floor. Always lift and carry furniture. If this is not possible, be sure the floor is clean and free of grit or soil. Use a felt type furniture slider made for hard surfaces.
7- Walk Off Mats
- Walk-off mats should be used at all entrances to trap and absorb soil and moisture. If mats are placed directly on top of the vinyl or linoleum floor, use mats without latex or rubber backings to avoid possible discoloration. Ideally, place a trapper style mat outside or in the garage with the purpose of preventing soil from ever entering the home or business. Then inside, place a rug or walk off mat made from a fiber that is more focused on absorbing moisture.
8- Chair Mats and Rubber Chair Wheels/Casters
- Protect the floor from wear by placing a chair mat over the floor if you use a rolling chair at a desk. Another way to help reduce permenant wear from a rolling chair is to remove plastic wheels and replace with rubber wheels / casters.
9- Protect your floors against burns.
- Burns or melted spots from cigarettes, matches, hot pans or other extremely hot items can cause permanent damage.
10- Call Distinctive For Professional Floor Deep Cleaning
- If your home or business is in the Fort Wayne, Northeast Indiana, Allen County area and the vinyl flooring needs a thorough, deep cleaning, call Distinctive. Learn more about our LVT & LVP Cleaning Services here. Contact us at 260-250-4664 to have your vinyl flooring professionally deep cleaned.
We are happy to share for free these maintenance and care tips that we have learned over decades of professional training and experience. Many of the featured products will make it easier for you to keep your home looking great for years to come. When you buy items through links we provide, as an Amazon Associate we earn a small percentage of the purchase. There is no additional or extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting our efforts to share this information for free.
