LONSEAL Resilient Vinyl Floor Care & Maintenance Troubleshooting
Lonseal Resilient Vinyl Flooring provides easy to follow maintenance programs for each type of flooring they manufacture along with troubleshooting guidelines for common problems. Outlined here are typical problems, causes and solutions. For the more serious issues, when it may be difficult to discern the cause, you may want to consult with the factory or your local sales agent before proceeding with a remedy.
Black scuff marks and scratches are typically caused by hard plastics or rubber on shoes, carts, rolling beds (in hospitals) or from painted items dragged across the floor. To remedy these marks, removed thick residue with a dull putty knife, carefully so as not to cut into the floor, then rub the marks with a white scouring pad moistened with diluted LONCARE.
Scuffs, scratches or gouges are caused by tracking of dirt and debris, by dragging (or dropping) heavy items, such as furniture, on the floor or by use of inappropriate pads or brushes. Apply floor protectors to the feet or bases of furniture (chairs, tables, etc) that sits on the floor, place walk-off mats at doorways, sweep or dust mop routinely (frequency will depend on use) to remove dirt particles that can scratch the floor, and check all equipment before machine cleaning or buffing- pads & brushes should be clean and in good condition. Always use a dolly, cart or furniture slides when moving heavy objects.
Low or uneven surface gloss level can be caused by several conditions. Check for correct dilution ratio of LONCARE to water, dirty mop water or dirty equipment such as mop head, buffing pads or brushes. Correct the issue and clean the floor again with correctly diluted LONCARE and clean water & equipment. Also check your pads or brushes to ensure they are the correct type. If these simple corrections are made and the problem remains, there may have been an error during initial floor preparation (refer to Initial Care Instructions) or there may be insufficient finish (LONFINISH or LONSATIN) on the floor. In this case thoroughly cleaning and recoating the floor is required. You may need to completely strip and recoat depending on the severity of the problem.
Cloudy, Sticky Finish can occur if phenolic-type disinfectants or high pH cleaners are used to routinely clean the floors. Clean the floors only with Neutral pH Cleaner such as LONCARE (except for instances where higher pH cleaner is recommended for removing specific types of stains or residues) and if disinfectant is required, use a quaternary-based disinfectant.
Powdery or Scaly Finish can be a result of several factors. First, check your pads and brushes to ensure they are suitable for the type of finish on your floor’s surface. Pads and brushes that are too aggressive will accelerate wear of the finish. Other causes may be layers of incompatible finish materials on the floor, not enough wait time between coats of finish during finish application, or prep work was not properly executed prior to finishing. Any of these issues will require strip and refinish according to Lonseal Instructions. Some types of floors need a more flexible finish, such as gym floors, and powdery or scaly appearance may be the result if the finish on the floor is too hard for the type of use it gets. In this situation, the finish will need to be stripped completely and a more suitable finish should be applied. This is a situation where I would recommend consulting with Lonseal or your local sales agent before proceeding.
Yellowing finish is a result of continuous use of dirty mop, buffing pads or tracked-on contaminants. To eliminate discoloration, strip and refinish the floor and ensure all maintenance equipment is kept clean and dirty water is changed frequently during cleaning. Floor mats at doorways will reduce the contaminants being tracked onto the floor. Routine or daily cleaning will pick up the contaminants before they become widespread.
Ink or Dye stains should be scrubbed immediately with a high pH cleaner, such as GP Forward or denatured alcohol. Don’t use solvents. Not all stains can be removed however cleaning a stain soon after it occurs will improve the result.
Slippery Floors can often be minimized by placing walk-off mats at exterior doorways or in strategic locations to capture tracked-in moisture, dirt or contaminants that may be causing the problem. Liquid spills, leaks or condensation will make a resilient floor slippery. Locate and eliminate the source of the liquid, blot or pick up liquid with wet-vac (depending on the severity) and rinse with clean water to remove any residue. If moisture is being tracked in from exterior doorways, walk-off mats will minimize the problem. If accumulation of dust and dirt is causing the floors to be slippery, sweep and dust mop frequently and use walk-off mats at doorways. Contaminants, such as soap residue, grease or furniture polish overspray, can also cause the floor to be slippery. These contaminants will likely leave a film that will clue you in to the source. Use a higher pH cleaner, such as GP Forward, to lift the contaminants off the floor then return to routine cleaning with LONCARE. If possible, eliminate the source of the contaminant or reduce its effect on the floor with strategically placed floor mats. If a contaminant is widespread and the higher pH cleaner does not resolve the problem, a complete strip and refinish may be required and controlling the source will be crucial.
Note: Mats should be non-staining, preferably not rubber-backed. If mats have rubber backing, use acrylic spacers to avoid rubber coming in direct contact with the floor since rubber-backed mats can cause brownish staining on the floor.
1877Floorguy.com sells Lonseal Care & Maintenance Products. Professional, Experienced Customer Service can answer your floor maintenance questions at 1-877-Floorguy (1-877-356-6758).
Information contained in this article was provided by Lonseal’s Technical Manual for Interior Flooring Products.