December 16, 2009 on 6:25 pm

If you’ve recently installed a new residential Congoleum Vinyl Floor, there’s no doubt that you hope to keep it looking new for years to come. The bright and shiny “newness” can be maintained with proper care and maintenance. Let’s take a look at ways you can keep your vinyl floor looking sharp.

Following installation of your new vinyl floor it’s important not to disturb the seams. The amount of time you need to stay off the floor or limit traffic varies for the different Congoleum products and can range from 16 hours for Congoleum Resilient Sheet Vinyl to 48 hours for DuraCeramic, DuraStone and Resilient Tile Floors. Furniture and appliances should not be placed on the new floor for 24 – 48 hours. Detailed Care & Maintance for Congoleum Residential Vinyl on 1877Floorguy.com gives the cure time for all of the products in this line. This cure time allows the adhesive that seals the seams to harden and hold. Adhesive may not be completely dry before this time and moving furniture on the floor can cause the vinyl and adhesive to become compressed which could leave permanent compression marks. When you do move furniture, don’t push or pull items across the floor. Use plywood or furniture slides under heavy items to avoid scratching or tearing your new floor and carry lightweight pieces. Finally, wait a full 48 hours following installation before washing your new floor. When you do wash it, use Congoleum Bright ‘N Easy No-Rinse Cleaner as recommended by the Manufacturer.

Ongoing maintenance is critical to maintaining that “new floor” look. Your Vinyl floors should be swept and mopped regularly. How often you sweep & mop depends on how much you use the vinyl floor. The idea is the keep it free from loose dirt and debris which can scratch the surface under foot traffic, dulling the finish. Sweeping will be more frequent than mopping. When you do mop your floor, Congoleum advises you to use Congoleum Bright ‘N Easy No-Rinse Cleaner which has been specially formulated for use on Congoleum Vinyl. Following Manufacturer instructions for how to clean your floor and what to clean it with will keep it in excellent condition and will uphold your Warranty if you should have a claim. Avoid one-step “mop and polish” products, dishwashing liquids and oil-based cleaners that may leave a residue which can attract dirt and dull your floor’s finish. Avoid cleaners that contain abrasives or solvents which may permanently damage your floor.

Preventive Care will extend the life of your floor. More information can be found on 1877Floorguy.com under Congoleum Residential Floor Care & Maintenance. Here are some guidelines:

Keep furniture & appliance feet and bases covered with non-staining felt floor protectors or smooth, flat glides. Check glides periodically for grit and wear and replaced when necessary.

Place mats at outside entrances to prevent dirt, grit and soil from being tracked onto your floor. Use 100% latex- backed mats, because some rubber-backed mats or carpets may permanently stain your floor.

To help prevent staining from asphalt tracking (a frequent problem), use of a latex-based driveway sealer and remove shoes for a few weeks following the driveway sealing.

Draw drapes and blinds during peak periods of strong sunlight. Resilient floors, like other home furnishing products, may discolor or fade when overexposed to the sun.

Avoid wearing stiletto or spiked heels on your floor. These types of heels can indent or damage many types of floors.

Stains & spills should be wiped up right away. If a damp clean cloth is not enough to thoroughly cleanse the area, most stains can be removed by scrubbing the area with a small amount of concentrated Congoleum Bright ‘N Easy No-Rinse Cleaner then rinse thoroughly (because it’s undiluted). More tips are available on 1877Floorguy.com.

Vinyl floors are very durable and last a long time when they are maintained with some degree of care however time and normal use will reduce the shine on even the most well maintained floor. When you notice your floor looking dull, even if it’s only in a high traffic area, you can restore shine with the use of a Vinyl Polish. Congoleum has two polishes for you to choose from depending on the finish you desire. Before applying Polish, you’ll need to remove any ground-in dirt and excess polish buildup with Congoleum Bright ‘N Easy Polish Remover. Rinse thoroughly. Then apply Congoleum Bright ‘N Easy Floor Polish to obtain a high-gloss finish or Congoleum Bright ‘N Easy Satin-Gloss Floor Polish to obtain a satin-gloss or natural-gloss finish. If you choose high-gloss, keep in mind that, like any glossy surface, this will show all smudges and imperfections. Satin-gloss is the more popular of the two. Some Congoleum Flooring Materials require Polish immediately following installation. Check Congoleum Residential Floor Care & Maintenance on 1877Floorguy.com before applying to see when Polish is required on your vinyl floor.

Finally, keep an eye out for any compromised spots on the vinyl floor and treat them immediately. For tears or split seams cover the area immediately then contact the retail store where you purchased the floor or call a reputable flooring installer who specializes in hard-surface floors.

Place an order on 1877Floorguy.com for any Congoleum Cleaning or Maintenance Product and receive a 10% discount by entering coupon code FGBLOG.

December 15, 2009 on 3:31 pm

Residential Flooring Manufacturers devote many dollars to developing floor care and maintenance products specific to the floor(s) they produce. These products are carefully formulated, for each type of flooring the manufacturer produces to leave the floor residue-free, maintain the integrity of the floor’s surface finish without compromising slip resistance or shine and it needs to be the safest possible for people, pets and the environment. Important? You bet!

Using the Manufacturer Recommended floor care & maintenance products on your new floor, in accordance with Manufacturer guidelines, will keep the floor you purchased looking great and it will uphold the Warranty on your floor if you should have a claim. The big question has long been, “Where can I buy the product recommended by the Manufacturer?”

The flooring industry has a missing link when it comes to selling floor care & maintenance products. The flooring industry’s distribution chain, that has been in place for as long as I can remember, is from Manufacturer to Distributor to Retailer. This works like a well-oiled machine for flooring materials. Distributors buy in bulk from Manufacturers and the Retailers order from their Distributor to manage the amount of material they need to inventory. Since this works for flooring materials, it should also work for floor care & maintenance products, right? Wrong.

More often than not, Retailers don’t carry the care & maintenance products that Manufacturers require to uphold their flooring Warranties. The truth is that they likely did when they first brought on the line of flooring because the Manufacturer probably had a spiffy display that was offered for the Care & Maintenance Products as part of their kick-off package however, when that initial supply was depleted, they never replenished the stock. This happens for several reasons.

Flooring Retailers & Distributors have their focus on flooring materials, not care & maintenance products, because flooring material is their primary business and where most of their profits are generated. When they do try to track down the care & maintenance products they find that the Manufacturer is also more focused on the flooring products and they are not always able to obtain the care & maintenance products because their Distributor has trouble procuring them from the Manufacturer. You can see this doesn’t go very far in getting the products to the End Users.

You won’t find the Manufacturer Recommended Floor Care Products in Big box stores either because there is not enough in volume sales for them. Each flooring product in the marketplace has approximately 3 floor care product sku’s (each item has a unique sku) associated with it. Multiply this by the hundreds of flooring products out there and the total equals too many different products for a big box store that focuses on high volume and low cost.

The result- Customers, who buy new floors, become frustrated and may turn to easily available generic floor care products to maintain their new floor. This often backfires because the generic product may leave a cloudy film, etch the finish, create too much moisture, stain or dull the original shine. Depending on the product- cleaner, polish, stain remover, refresher, etc- the result of the generic product may or may not be reversible. Situations like this often wind up as Claims filed with the Manufacturer because the Customer believes the floor to be defective. They rarely see a Claim settle in their favor if they haven’t followed the Manufacturer’s care & maintenance guidelines. If only they could find the floor care products recommended by the Manufacturer to uphold their warranty…

This is where the specialty e-store fills the missing link. 1877Floorguy.com carries over 1000 sku’s, specializing in Manufacturer recommended Floor Care & Maintenance Products. This website has such a large selection of Manufacturers and Products, organized by type of floor and by Manufacturer, that you will likely find the exact item you are looking for along with helpful tips or advise on how to use it. If you don’t find the answer on the website, call 1-877-Floorguy and one of the staff members, each has been doing this for 8+ years, will answer your questions and guide you with expertise. If you don’t see the product you’re looking for, ask! because 1877Floorguy.com is adding new products all the time. Best of all, most products are in stock and ready to ship next business day. To help you get started with the right maintenance products for your floor, use coupon code ”FGBLOG” for a 10% discount.

Hopefully more Retailers will recognize that they can guide their Customers to 1877Floorguy.com to buy maintenance & care products for their new floor. This will make their Customers happy and they’ll go back to that Retailer again for new floors. We’ll never compete for the flooring materials business because our specialty is the products to keep floors clean and maintained.

It has taken some convincing, within the industry, but Manufacturers are beginning to see the importance of breaking the supply chain mold to better serve the end users.

December 4, 2009 on 5:42 pm

As a Yahoo! Store, 1877Floorguy.com participates in Customer Surveys that gauge the quality of service and products we provide to our Customers.

We are proud to say that 1877Floorguy.com rated Excellent and Good by 96% of our Customers that participated in the Survey. Of the 96% Excellent and Good Ratings, 80% were Excellent! Based on 2,000 Customers surveys we are pleased to see that our Customers find value in the service and products we provide. Here are a few comments from our Customers…

Jacqueline in NY wrote, “Floor Guy’s delivery was faster than lightning! Also, the customer service number is placed on each item, just in case of questions, problems, etc. What a great idea! I will not hesitate to buy from Floor Guy again.”

Patricia in MN wrote, “It was very easy to order and my purchase came quickly. I was kept informed of my order until it arrived. I would order from them again.”

Jay in CA wrote, “I purchase a supply of floor polish every few months. I keep on going back to the same place because everything goes smoothly. The price is right, and the service is excellent.”

1877Floorguy.com has been an internet retailer, selling floor care products, for more than 9 years. Our employees have, on average, 25 years of experience in the flooring business. With such a depth of experience behind each employee at 1877Floorguy.com we are able to serve our customers well because we know flooring products and how to care for them. Often we hear from Customers like Nicholas in PA who said,
“The gentleman who helped me on the phone was terrific. He knew what kind of floor I have by name and what I needed to care for it. He knew the website, directed me well and advised on quantity. Very quick and courteous. Far above most. I was impressed and recommended to others.”

At 1877Floorguy.com we continue to grow our floor care product lines because we know that most Flooring Retailers and Big Box Stores do not stock a wide range of products to care for the floors they sell. This makes it difficult for individuals to locally find and purchase manufacturer recommended floor care products that uphold their flooring warranty. June in FL had just this experience. When she ordered from 1877Floorguy.com she had this to say,
”I could not find the type of wax needed for my Bruce hardwood floors in my local area. I searched the web and found Floor Guys. They had exactly what I needed and got it out to me promptly and fairly priced.”

Currently, we stock more than 1,000 sku’s (each item has a unique sku), and continue to add products to our offering, making 1877Floorguy.com the largest retailer of manufacturer recommended floor care products in North America.

Our customers are valuable! With over 60,000 customers in North America, 1877Floorguy.com strives to keep each and every one happy so they’ll do business with us again and again. We send coupons to repeat customers for the products they buy, offer Free Shipping to all customers who order $200 or more of product, consistently ship orders next business day (When occasionally products are out of stock we keep in touch with our customer so they know the status of their order up to the time it ships.), we have knowledgeable Customer Service ready to help M-F, 9a-5p EST. Customer can call with questions about floor care or to place orders at 1-877-356-6748 (1-877-Floorguy).

Thank you to all of our Customers. A special thanks to those who have taken the time to respond to the Y!Store survey. Use coupon code ”FGBLOG” for a 10% discount on your next order from www.1877floorguy.com. Your input helps us improve!
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