So now let’s discuss how to clean your vinyl flooring. Well, now that your floor is sealed, maintenance and cleaning luxury vinyl flooring will be a much easier care process. The necessary factor in choosing which tips to follow or which cleaners to use is to focus on not damaging the sealer’s integrity. That could lead to damaging that beautiful print on the vinyl floors altogether. Your granite-style tile or hardwood-style planks could turn to an unattractive blur if that print layer gets damaged!
Don’t use any harsh chemicals to clean vinyl plank and tile flooring. Instead, use a neutral cleaner, like our GlossClean or our signature Emerald Floor Maintainer, which is an enzyme-based floor cleaner that is perfect for maintaining both the sealer and the flooring.
Our Emerald Floor Maintainer is a concentrated cleaner that gets diluted with only one or two ounces in a single gallon of water. This mixture is then applied with a low pressure pump up sprayer or a mop. Dab off any remaining cleaner and then let it air dry. So it is very easy to use to clean and maintain.
The most convenient way to keep luxury vinyl tile and luxury vinyl plank cleaner is to use things like doormats to keep the dirt and dust from coming into the home/building/facility. That will definitely help extend the life of your floors and minimize the wear and tear on the flooring sealer.
You can also dust mop regularly to pick up the everyday dirt and grit to minimize scratching and damage to the floor sealer.
LVT has such a high-end printed pattern on it in order to give the whole floor that beautiful and realistic look. So you want to be very careful that you don’t damage it in your cleaning process. Make sure that whatever chemical ingredients and/or stripping pads you’re using don’t damage that protective layer. You don’t want to use anything too aggressive, so it is better to use a soft mop to clean luxury vinyl.
So when making your own cleaners at home, watch the concentration of your ingredients. If you’re using citric acids, they must be mild and diluted down. If you’re using high alkaline (or high pH) products, like baking soda or any kind of poultice, be careful about the abrasiveness. LVT floors only need gentle, neutral cleaners.
If you’re finding that you have to use harsher or more concentrated cleaners on your LVT, we’d again recommend using a sealer that will make that floor easier to clean – something like our Vinyl Guard or, for a higher-traffic area, our Vinyl Diamond.
The truth is any sealer can get scratched, so it is better to use a lower sheen in order to minimize the appearance of scratches and marks. That will extend the time before you need to go back and address those blemishes. And better yet, with our Vinyl Guard and Vinyl Diamond, you don’t need to strip off the surface in order to address those scratches.
You can just lightly scrub or sand the surface of the sealer now and then reapply another coat of the same sealer, as opposed to completely stripping off your sealer and risking damage to the pattern itself.
For the safest, most effective cleaning, we recommend microbial cleaners. Our Emerald Floor Maintainer is the more economical choice, perfect for everyday use to clean in average foot-traffic areas. On the other hand we have our heavier-duty CoverClean FG, which is food-grade approved for use on vinyl flooring, like food prep areas with food based oils, fats, and grease. The beauty of microbial cleaners is that they don’t leave any residue!
Remember: cleaning up residue from baking soda and vinegar, after you’ve already cleaned your floor, is just double the work.
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If you’ve been procrastinating cleaning your LVP or LVT floors… come sit by me! I’ve got great news! Whether you live in an apartment or own your own home, today I’m going to show you how to deep clean vinyl plank flooring the easy way!
Let me be honest with you.
If you’ve been around My Wee Abode for any amount of time, you know I LOVE DIY projects… however, this is one DIY project I HATE dislike immensely.
Since moving into new(er) My Wee Abode over 1.5 years ago, I’ve struggled with cleaning my LVP flooring.
Why?
For one thing… there is about 700 sf of luxury vinyl plank in my apartment that needs mopping. That’s a lot of scrubbing and cleaning, don’t you think?
This is only the kitchen! I have a WHOLE apartment of LVP to clean!Also, there is a lot of furniture to work the mop around, especially in the living room. So, it requires a bit of pulling-and-tugging, over-here-and-over-there. And then back again. Whew!
And finally, every time I have cleaned my vinyl floors (and I WON’T be honest with you how many times that has been. Procrastinators unite… tomorrow!), I will spill something and then go to wipe it up and it’s black… like seriously black.
Keeping it real here!Wait… what?! What happened to all that back-breaking work I did two days ago?
That black hand print right there is enough to make me throw my hands up in defeat, even before I start mopping… again.
Until now!
Have I got a solution for you (and me) AND our vinyl flooring!
Cleaning your luxury vinyl tile or plank has never been easier, or more affordable! And you probably already have everything you need under your sink or in your utility closet!
First, let’s just talk about what NOT to use to deep clean luxury vinyl plank or luxury vinyl tile.
Seriously, besides hot water, you will actually only need 3-4 items to deep clean your LVP or LVT floors:
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That’s it! Can you believe it? And the combination of hot water, white vinegar, and a couple drops of Dawn dishwashing soap is like liquid gold, but only costs a few pennies!
Notice that this deep cleaning formula contains no harsh or harmful products. However, if you want to omit the 1-2 drops of Dawn and go “au naturale”, try adding 1-2 drops of citrus essential oil to the mix!
Just a couple notes.
The Rejuvenate Microfiber Mop is my pick because it’s lightweight, easy to use, and the mop pads work well. Also, the pads are attached with velcro, stay in place, but are still easy to remove and reattach.
Hoover is also my go-to-brand for vacuums. They have never let me down. I’ve been using the brand since I was a girl, and my mom used Hoover since she was a girl, as well. I originally used the Hoover Stick Vacuum, but it’s no longer available. If I needed to by another one, I would def go with the Hoover ONEPWR Cordless Vacuum.
Let’s start with a quick tip, first.
If you are cleaning your bathroom floors, I’ve found mixing the solution in a basin in the tub/shower works best. That way, there’s no need for a towel underneath the basin to catch the splashing or sloshing that might will happen. You can rinse your mop pad in the bathroom sink or tub.
If you have a double sink in your kitchen, fill one side with the solution, and you can rinse your mop on the other side.
Now… here are the quick and easy steps!
Have stubborn scuffs or adhesive that needs to be cleaned on your vinyl flooring?
Remove those stains using a bit of Goo-gone or even olive oil
and a micro-fiber cloth.
Baking soda can be used, as well, for a gentle and natural abrasive.
Wipe away the residue with your ‘magic deep cleaning solution’!
That’s it! Easy-peasy, right?
Here’s the REAL test. Wiping with a disinfectant cloth! No more handprint!
And, I’ll let you on a secret that’s really not-so-secret.
Even though you can’t SEE the difference on my greige floors,One way to stay on top of keeping your (and my) home clean… After deep cleaning vinyl plank floors, you can keep them sparkling with the same solution once-a-week, or even every-other-week. One “round” of washing should be sufficient, and this type of maintenance will keep the need for deep cleanings fewer and farther between.
Heck, deep cleaning your LVP flooring might even be a thing of the past!