Easy Steps to Clean & Protect LVT Floors

You bought luxury vinyl plank flooring and love how it looks like real wood. Now you have questions about 

…the best way to clean and protect your LVT floors OR 

…your LVT flooring is scratched, how do you fix it OR 

…you want your plank style floor to have more shine. 

At 1877floorguy.com we frequently address these questions regarding LVT care and maintenance, so let us share some of that information with you now.

The best way to maintain your LVT floor is with routine sweeping, regular floor cleaning and by taking steps to minimize to opportunity for scratches on the floor. The best prevention against floor scratches is, 

1. Protect the floor at the point of entry with doormats. Placing doormats sounds easy but can be tricky. The key is entry-area mats that have ‘non-staining’ backers, such as vinyl. Rubber backed door mats can stain the floor under the rug. Not all doormats have labels identifying the backing material so do your homework and buy from a reputable source. Maintain your doormats with routine vacuuming and by lifting them off the floor to dry after very wet days of use.  
2. Fit chairs, tables and other moveable furniture & equipment with felt floor protectors. Furniture floor protectors come in many shapes and sizes. Look for heavy-duty felt pads that are a good fit on your chair legs, as these are most often the culprits of localized scuffing on LVT floors. Not all felt pads are created equal. Thinner pads may not provide enough protection against floor scuffing so look for thick, heavy-duty, commercial quality chair leg protectors that fit your furniture at home or in your business facility. Periodically vacuum the felt pads to remove debris that may get stuck in them during routine use. Replace pads when they show signs of wear.

Floor scratches may happen despite your best efforts. There are solutions to fixing floor scratches. Sometimes it is necessary to replace LVT planks so if you have the option of keeping an extra box (or two), of planks, in storage when you buy your floor, do it. For a single scratch or localized scuff marks, Dr Schutz ScratchFix Kit does an excellent job to eliminate or reduce the visibility of the scratch. For scratch marks that span a large area or whole room, apply a low-gloss or matte acrylic floor finish. This will fill in superficial scratches thereby reducing visibility of scratched areas and improving the overall appearance of the floor. Acrylic floor polishes are easy to apply and remove.

Application of flooring finish has another benefit, in addition to reducing scratch marks, it will protect the floor from getting worse. The finish will take the brunt of wear and tear, and the polish can be reapplied periodically to keep the floor looking good. LVT doesn’t typically require floor polish but some floor owners like it for the added floor protection or because they can apply polish to alter the gloss level of their floor.

Sweeping or vacuuming (on hard floor setting) to lift loose dirt and dust then mopping your luxury vinyl floors does an excellent job of reducing the chance for scuff marks. Routine cleaning may be daily, weekly or less often depending upon the environment. Use a neutral pH floor cleaner. If your brand of LVT calls for a certain brand of floor cleaning solution, using it is your best option because it’s been tested on your specific floor. If the flooring manufacturer does not specify a floor-cleaning brand, use a quality neutral floor cleaner such as the highly concentrated Hilway Direct Neutral Cleaner or ready to use Bona LVT Cleaner and be sure to use a clean mop head or mop pad every time you clean.