RESILIENT MAINTENANCE CHECKLIST

Proper care of your resilient floor will help maintain the appearance and performance of your resilient floor by following recommended preventative, routine, and wet cleaning guidelines.

Maintenance instructions for Resilient Flooring (LVT and Sheet)

Post Construction Cleaning

• Dry mop floor using a microfiber mop pad or appropriate floor vacuum to remove dust particulate from the floor.

• Spray neutral pH cleaner (true neutral pH is 7.0 - it is important to be as close to 7.0 as possible to prevent soil attracting residue), such as Shaw TOTALCARE® Hard Surface Cleaner or Diversey Stride, onto the floor in manageable area (spray mist will dry quickly). Use a microfiber wet mop pad to mop the floor with cleaner. If the pad becomes dirty, be sure to replace the pad with a new microfiber wet mop pad. Work floor in sections.

• Always rinse the floor by mopping it with water only to remove any remaining residue from the floor.

• Avoid using mop and shine products on resilient flooring.

• In the event where dry wall dust/construction dust is mopped with water only, a residue film will appear on the floor after drying. Use the process below to remove the film from the floor.

Process to remove construction residue or cloudy film from resilient flooring

• Dry mop floor to remove any construction dust or exterior soil tracked onto the flooring. Use microfiber dry mop pad. If microfiber dry mop pad gets dirty, replace the pad with a clean pad.

• Spray neutral pH cleaner, such as Shaw TOTALCARE® Hard Surface Cleaner or Diversey’s Stride, onto the floor in manageable area (spray mist will dry quickly). Work floor in sections. For smooth surface, use a low rpm (175 rpm) buffer with a 3M red pad on flooring with neutral pH cleaner applied to the floor to remove the residue film. (Never Dry Buff). For embossed or textured flooring, use a cylindrical brush scrubber with red brushes and a neutral pH cleaner applied to the floor to remove the residue film.

• Using a wet microfiber mop pad, rinse with water only to remove any remaining residue from the flooring. When a wet mop pad becomes dirty, be sure to replace the pad with a new microfiber wet mop pad.

Repeat steps #2 and #3, if necessary.

When the resilient flooring is cleaned properly, the floor will have the same visual as right out of the box!

PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE

1. Care for newly installed floors

• Avoid heavy traffic for 24 hours.

• Adhering tape to the surface of your resilient flooring could damage the surface. Do not use tape to secure floor protection directly to the floor during construction or renovation. Instead, adhere tape to the material used to protect the floor and secure it to the base molding along the wall. A material such as ram board can also be used to protect your flooring.

• Proper furniture protection is required to prevent scratching and scuffing of LVT flooring. It is recommended to use industrial strength felt protection. These can be purchased from the following websites:

1. www.1877floorguy.com

2. www.expandedtechnologies.com

3. www.shifflerequipment.com

4. www.allglides.com

• Moving heavy objects requires protective barriers to distribute the weight such as plywood (¼” or thicker) or heavy cardboard to prevent damage to the wear layer.

• Place chair pads underneath rolling chairs to prevent damage to the LVT flooring.

• Remove adhesive residue with a clean white cloth dampened with odorless mineral spirits or isopropyl alcohol.

• Only low moisture or damp mopping is recommended initially, if needed.

• Wait 4 days before normal wet cleaning and/or auto scrubbing the floor.

• Avoid direct sunlight on LVT flooring as it can cause fading and expansion of vinyl planks. Use window protection.

• Surface temperature should not exceed 100F (38C) from sunlight, bed bug treatment, steam mop, etc, and temperatures should not fall below 55F (13C). Exposing products to temperatures outside the recommended range could cause expansion of vinyl planks.

2. Identify and address all sources of soiling

• Maintain a clean exterior (parking lots and walkways) where dirt enters the building.

• Proper mats should have non-staining backing, use PVC backed matting. Use mats at entranceways, transition areas and special areas such as food service areas/restrooms to confine soil, oil, grease, and high moisture areas.

• Entrance mats keep soil and moisture outside. Two matting categories are:

Soil Removal – used at exterior entrances to remove soil from shoes.

Absorbent mats – used inside to minimize moisture.

• Mats should cover at least 6 footsteps to capture soil transferring from shoes. Additional matting may be necessary during inclement weather. Include mats in the maintenance program and keep them clean.

ROUTINE MAINTENANCE

1. Remove dry soil

• Sweep, vacuum or dust-mop frequently to remove soil particles that can abrade the wear layer.

• Dust mop treatments are not recommended since these products can transfer and attract soil.

• Do not use vacuums with rotating beater bars on hard surfaces.

2. Promptly address spots and spills

• All spills should be addressed as quickly as possible to avoid staining and slip/fall hazards.

• Absorb wet spills and if necessary, use a neutral pH vinyl cleaner* and rinse with water.

• Isopropyl alcohol or mineral spirits can be used for oil/grease (petroleum-based) and/or scuff marks.

3. Remove scuffs

• Cleaning with an auto scrubber or spray buffing with a spray/buff solutions* using a low (175 rpm) machine and red pad will remove scuff marks. Agitation is the key to remove these marks.

• A tennis ball placed on the end of a stick, such as a broom handle, can be used as a tool to remove scuff marks. This allows you to remove scuffs from a standing position on smaller areas.

DISINFECTION AND CLEANING

• Some disinfectants contain chemicals that can stain, discolor, and cause general harm to your flooring product. Quaternary Ammonium Salts are among those that have been found to be harmful to your flooring when used over time. If a quaternary ammonium-based chemical is used, allow for the recommended kill time and immediately rinse the area with water. Failure to remove quaternary based chemistry from the floor can result in sticky soil attracting residue and potential discoloration.A Neutral pH cleaner is designed to aid in the removal of dirt and soil, which is any non-living particle. To aid in the removal of living bacteria of viruses, a disinfection chemistry must be used.

• ProKure V - This is an EPA registered disinfectant

• Diversey Virex II 256 can be used as a disinfectant cleaner. It is bactericidal, virucidal and fungicidal. Rinsing with water is required after use.

Kills MRSA and VRE.

Meets bloodborne pathogen standards for decontaminating blood and body fluids.

• 3M C-Diff tables are safe for vinyl flooring. Bleach will damage the wear layer of vinyl, do not use bleach. Rinsing with water is required after use.

WET CLEANING

• Always pre-vacuum or dry dust mop before wet cleaning.

• Use neutral pH floor cleaner* and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for dilution and use.

• Common systems are: Microfiber wet mop or mop and two-bucket system and Automatic scrubbing with a red 3M pad/equivalent brushes.

• Rinse the floor with clean water. Repeat the rinse process if necessary to remove all haze.

• Do not use brown or black pads/brushes. These pads are too aggressive and can damage the floor.

• Products containing bleach and steam mops are not recommended.

The above guidelines are recommended to maintain LVT, LVP, SPC, WPC and sheet resilient products. Application of finish is optional in certain applications. Always follow the finish manufacturer’s instructions for mixing and method of application. It is also recommended that if a finish is applied, the stripping process be performed using a 175 RPM buffer with red pad and compatible stripping solution. Specialty floors such as sports floors with cushion back, ESD/static-control, and floating floors will have exceptions to the maintenance guidelines. Contact the Information Center or Technical Support at 1.800.471.7429. 

* There are many available cleaning and maintenance products for hard surfaces, especially resilient floors. These products should be evaluated since each location can have different requirements due to the type of soil, performance expectations and available maintenance equipment. Applying finishes will change the original product and the finish becomes the wear layer. The following are suggested products to assist the maintenance program:

· Neutral Cleaners – Diversey’s STRIDE or PROMINENCE or Shaw TOTALCARE® Hard Surface Cleaner

· Ecolab neutral cleaners – High Performance Cleaner, Oasis 100

· Spray and Buff – Diversey SNAPBACK. Unitex Rebound

· Gloss Finish – Diversey Carefree, Ecolab Maxx Durable, Hilway Direct Plus Gloss

· Matte Finish – Diversey Carefree Matte, Ecolab Maxx Matte Durable, Hilway Direct Primo · www.1877floorguy.com 1.877.356-6748

Proper care of your resilient floor will help maintain the appearance and performance of your resilient floor by following recommended preventative, routine and wet cleaning guidelines.

Maintenance instructions for Resilient Flooring (LVT and Sheet)

Post Construction Cleaning

• Dry mop floor using a micro fiber mop pad or appropriate floor vacuum to remove dust particulate from the floor.

• Spray neutral pH cleaner, such as Shaw TOTALCARE® Hard Surface Cleaner or Diversey Stride, onto the floor in manageable area (spray mist will dry quickly). Use a micro fiber wet mop pad to mop the floor with cleaner. If pad becomes dirty, be sure to replace the pad with a new micro fiber wet mop pad. Work floor in sections.

• Always rinse the floor with water only by mopping water to remove any remaining residue from the floor.

• Avoid using mop and shine products on resilient flooring.

• ​Some disinfectants contain chemicals that can stain, discolor and cause general harm to your flooring product.  Quaternary Ammonium Salts are among those that have been found to be harmful to your flooring when used over time.  Take care to choose pH neutral products only. 

• In the event where dry wall dust/construction dust is mopped with water only, a residue film will appear on the floor after drying. Use the process below to remove the film from the floor.

Process to remove construction residue or cloudy film from resilient flooring

• Dry mop floor to remove any construction dust or exterior soil tracked onto the flooring. Use micro fiber dry mop pad. If micro fiber dry mop pad gets dirty, replace pad with a clean pad.

• Spray neutral pH cleaner, such as Shaw TOTALCARE® Hard Surface Cleaner or Diversey’s Stride, onto the floor in manageable area (spray mist will dry quickly). Work floor in sections. For smooth surface, use a low rpm (175 rpm) buffer with a 3M red pad on flooring with neutral pH cleaner applied to the floor to remove the residue film. (Never Dry Buff). For embossed or textured flooring, use a cylindrical brush scrubber with red brushes and a neutral pH cleaner applied to the floor to remove the residue film.

• Using a wet micro fiber mop pad, rinse with water only to remove any remaining residue from the flooring. When wet mop pad becomes dirty, be sure to replace the pad with a new micro fiber wet mop pad.

Repeat steps #2 and #3, if necessary.

When the resilient flooring is cleaned properly, the floor will have the same visual as right out of the box!

SUGGESTED FREQUENCY CHART FOR RESILIENT FLOOR CARE