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Vinyl Floor Cleaning, Sealing & Maintenance
XO2's professional vinyl floor cleaning, sealing and maintenance products lead the industry. Vinyl flooring is a synthetic surface type that is manufactured in tiles and continuous sheets. It is waterproof, highly resistant to oils, fats and most cleaning chemicals and is easy to maintain. Vinyl is available in different thicknesses and sizes, domestic or commercial grade and an enormous choice of patterns and colours.
Please note that vinyl is a different surface to the old style lino (linoleum) floors. The following information is not suitable for linoleum floors.
Clean Vinyl With C-A-T
CAT stands for Chemical, Agitation and Temperature. Choose the chemical that's suitable for your surface and soil. Select the right agitation method (eg. floor pad, brush) and temperature you will clean with.
Recommended Products For The 4 Types Of Vinyl Floor Maintenance
*Always test products first before use.
- Initial - Cleaning newly laid floors... use Bobby Dazzler (pH neutral).
- Regular Maintenance - Use Bobby Dazzler (pH neutral). This is for everyday cleaning. To give your floor a lift use Clean, Grip & Shine once or twice a week in between using Bobby Dazzler. You can also use Clean, Grip & Shine as a spray buff solution with your high or ultra high speed polishing machine if you use one.
- Periodic Cleaning - Use Bobby Dazzler and/or Clean, Grip & Shine. Periodic cleaning may occur monthly, quarterly or yearly. You can also cut back the floor with Bobby Dazzler or Bonza if it's looking a bit tired and apply some more coats of sealer.
- Restorative / Salvage - Use Bobby Dazzler or Bonza. This is when things have gotten a little out of hand and the surface needs a reset! For a full reseal use Naughty & Nice floor stripper to completely remove the existing sealer. Once the sealer has been removed neutralise the surface with Bobby Dazzler. Then seal with Blockbuster or Tough Shield.
Precautions
Avoid excessive use of water as water penetrating between the vinyl tiles or joins can affect the adhesives underneath and eventually lead to warping and cracking of the vinyl. Avoid harsh chemicals and abrasive cleaners where possible. When using heavy chemicals neutralise with Bobby Dazzler afterwards to avoid fast re-soiling or further damage. Protect against indentations from heavy loads or sharp objects as these can cause permanent damage.
Sealing Vinyl Floors
Some manufacturers do not recommend sealing their vinyl flooring. Please check before proceeding unless your floor has been sealed before and you are happy to continue. Unsealed vinyl floors can be a challenge to maintain. Because repairing vinyl can be expensive, a sacrificial coating over the vinyl is a good idea to reduce repair costs and make maintenance easier. The sacrificial coat is easy and cheap to repair as the sealer just needs to be mopped on and it blends in with the existing sealer.
For a low sheen, coat with Tough Shield and for a high gloss finish choose Blockbuster. 2 to 6 initial coats are recommended depending on the protection you want. Test first to ensure the suitability of the sealer on your vinyl floor.