Extending your flooring’s life
Here, Envirobuild detail how best to maintain and preserve different types of flooring, and what measures to avoid.
With effective care and maintenance, you can help to increase the overall lifespan of your flooring. Adopting a few good habits early on will save time and effort further down the line when it comes to maintaining the quality and finish of your flooring.
Whether it’s tiles, hardwood, laminate or carpet, there are many easy steps you can take to prevent residue and dirt build-up, as well as solutions for tougher stains and scratches. We’ve put together a few top tips to help you make your flooring last longer.
Preparation
As with most things, prevention is better than cure. To avoid the need for excessive cleaning and maintenance, here are some general tips for keeping your floor in great condition. As always, make sure to check the manufacturer’s care and maintenance guide when using specialist products on your flooring as it can vary from brand to brand.
Avoid dragging heavy furniture or sharp items across the floor to prevent damage and scratching, and place felt pads on furniture legs that touch the floor. Use good quality entrance mats to capture dirt or grit which could scratch and contaminate the floor – and, if the inevitable happens, mop up any spills as soon as possible to avoid permanent staining.
54 | FLOORCARE AND MAINTENANCE Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVT)
LVT is an increasingly popular type of flooring, with authentic stone and wood finishes that can be installed in most rooms of the house due to its water-resistant properties. It’s also a low maintenance flooring option which does not require sealing or waxing, as well as little water and chemicals to maintain it.
In order to preserve its good condition, avoid using household cleaners containing bleach or other chemicals (i.e. ammonia) because they can damage the floor and create a slip hazard. Avoid using mats or feet with rubber backing, as they can cause staining, don’t use steam cleaners as the heat can affect the tile adhesive and/ or damage the tile, and try to avoid sunlight as this can damage the flooring.
Some other measures include regular cleaning with a pH neutral cleaner (not soap), sweeping with a soft brush or non-abrasive cloth to remove any loose dirt, dust and grit, then mop before allowing to dry completely. On textured tiles make sure to sweep with the grain to remove the most dirt and dust.
As an alternative to sweeping, you can vacuum this type of flooring but make sure not to use the beater brush as this can cause damage. For minor cuts or scratches, use a steam sealer, but for particularly bad scratches you can use
twitter.com/TomoCleaning
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
