LVT Care Tips

Vinyl flooring is an excellent choice for almost any home because of its durability, long-lasting strength, and beautiful looks. While these features are beneficial for many, vinyl is also known for its easy maintenance. Properly caring for your vinyl floor can help extend its life and preserve its appearance, so it’s an excellent idea to get ahead of it. Whether you have a home full of pets or children, you’ll be able to keep your home looking its best with our tips and tricks for cleaning and maintaining luxury vinyl floors.

From the best tools to clean vinyl planks, everyday cleaning tips, how often to clean vinyl, and ideas on how to prevent damages and dirt, our guide is full of ways to ensure that your home is ready to handle any accident, spill, or pile of dirt that happens.

The best way to clean vinyl floors is to start by picking up loose dirt. While it may not seem like dirt can cause issues on your vinyl, small rocks or pieces of dirt that are stuck in your shoes can be sharp. Over time, they can scratch the surface, which is why picking up dirt is an excellent place to start. To remove dirt, you can sweep or vacuum. Be sure to turn your beater bar off on your vacuum to prevent damages. We recommend that you do this at least once a week. If you have a dirt driveway, pets, or kids, you may need to sweep or vacuum more often.

For the next step, it’s best to consult your flooring manufacturer for an approved vinyl floor cleaner.

When maintaining laminate floors, you should always start with a broom or vacuum to remove dirt. Beginning with this will ensure that you don’t push around dirt and rocks when you move on to the next steps. If you choose to vacuum, make sure the beater bar is turned off. Always sweep or vacuum in several directions to remove as much dirt as possible. Also, to get into the corners, you may need to use the attachment on your vacuum. After you have removed all loose dirt and debris, damp mop or mop with an approved laminate floor cleaner. Do not use a mop that is soaked in water. Laminate is made from wood and can become damaged with excess water, especially if it soaks into the flooring. Ideally, your laminate floors should dry within one to two minutes. If they are not drying quickly, you may be using too much laminate floor cleaner or water. Instead, only use the amount of cleaner that is necessary to coat the floor and spread around. It’s best to start at the back of a room and work your way toward the front. By starting in the back, you won’t have to walk through the room to get out!

1. Don’t leave spills on the floors to air dry. Always wipe up spills as soon as they occur to prevent any damage.
2. Don’t use a vacuum with the beater bar turned on. Always turn the beater bar off.
3. Don’t scrub vinyl floors with steel wool to remove stains.
   Don’t pull heavy furniture across your floors when moving. Use furniture pads to prevent scratches and dents, and always lift furniture rather than sliding, which can cause scuff marks or dents.
4. Don’t use an excessive amount of water to clean vinyl floors.Don’t use soaps or detergents as these will leave a dulling film on the surface of your vinyl floor.
5. Don’t use any cleaning methods that are not mentioned within the manufacturer label to maintain your manufacturer warranty.
6. Don’t steam clean your vinyl floors, even if they are waterproof.

1. There are a few things that you can do to prevent spills, mud, dirt, and accidents from damaging your vinyl floors. After all, keeping dirt and dust outside means less frequent cleaning inside! One of the easiest additions you can add to your home is an outdoor mat. Placed just outside the front or back door, you and your guests will have a space to wipe your feet before coming inside. The mat will reduce the amount of dirt and debris that is tracked inside. If you want to take it a step farther, you can also invest in an indoor mat for inside and leave shoes by the door.

   Investing in area rugs in high traffic areas is another great idea. Hallways and staircases are high traffic areas that see plenty of foot traffic. Use a runner for a hallway, or a custom stair runner on staircases to limit the amount of dirt on vinyl floors.

   You should also wipe or pick up spills as soon as they occur to prevent future damages to your floors. Standing liquid of any type can seep into the seams of the floors or planks and cause them to buckle.

   Whether you are investing in brand-new luxury vinyl floors or you’re moving into a home with vinyl, it’s easy to maintain and care for luxury vinyl flooring with our tips and tricks. Looking to see some luxury vinyl products? Find a local Carpet One Floor & Home store near you today to learn more!