When there is a question of choosing a floor covering, more and more people are choosing linoleum: it is cheaper than parquet, the laminate is more undemanding, and the number of colors and textures has long been unlimited by a couple of options. But is it so easy to care for linoleum, as we used to think? What impact does it have on teeth, and what will inevitably damage the coating?
Preventive measures
If your linoleum looks old, then 90% is a consequence not of how you washed it, but of the fact that you hardly took steps to prevent its wear and tear. Of course, the mud spoils the appearance of the floor, but even more it spoils the faded areas, scratches and non-irradiated spots. How to prevent their occurrence? It is enough to know just a few rules.
- Linoleum is very prone to fading, so a constant long-term interaction with the sun's rays will not do it good, especially if the coating will fade unevenly.
- To protect the cover, use the lining under the legs of the furniture and do not move furniture around the room by dragging: linoleum with deep mechanical damage is almost impossible to update.
- The more often you carry out a dry cleaning, the more carefully your coating will be. Dust contains a large number of fine abrasive particles that are harmful to linoleum.
- If you splashed with oil in the kitchen or dripped with nail polish, clean the contamination immediately. The faster you do it, the less trouble there will be in the future.
board You may have noticed the condition of the linoleum under the office chairs with wheels, at the entrance to the store or in the kitchen near the cooking area. To protect the cover, with the mind choose furniture: a bedside table on wheels will be an excellent choice, while such a mobile chair will spoil the floor. Also, do not forget about the processing of linoleum in the kitchen and in the corridor with protective means, since there is the greatest number of steps.
Cleansing and updating
Do you think linoleum is easy to wash? Well, in fact it is so: from the dust and dirt you will save ordinary water and a mop, while the addition of cleaning agents is not necessary. Then where are the pitfalls that we mentioned, saying that caring for linoleum can require some knowledge?
- Remember, we told you about the negative effect of abrasive particles on the state of linoleum? So: never start a wet cleaning, do not thoroughly vacuum the floor. If you decide to wash the floor without any preparation, sand particles under the pressure of the mop scratches the coating, and no cleaning agent will fix it.
- Do not attempt to clean the coating of grease and dirt with alcohol or vodka: they will provoke the appearance of yellowish spots that need to be tinted.
- Often, thinking how to wash linoleum from heavy dirt, the housewives resort to the use of hot water, but its use on this coating is forbidden: the structure of the material will be broken and the coating is likely to lose its attractive appearance.
- In order not to puzzle over the issue of how to clean linoleum after repair, take time to protect it from paint, glue and foam. Cover the floor with a dense cellophane to save time for rubbing the stains.
- If the paint, glue or foam is still on the cover, wash the linoleum after repair can be abrasive. Just do not have to rub very hard, otherwise you risk ruining completely new floors.
- Refreshing the coating is best helped with linseed oil or linseed oil, which is recommended to wipe the dry clean floor to enhance the gloss.
- Clear linoleum from old stains will not be so easy. If these are soiled, not absorbed in the structure, then try to soak the stains in the cleaner for a while, trying not to go beyond the area of contamination: linoleum does not like aggressive cleaning products in 100% concentration. By soaking it is best to take care of linoleum in the kitchen, where the floor is often covered with fat.
- You can try to remove stubborn stains with kerosene or gasoline. However, these substances can spoil the coating, so apply them in small amounts and only on the contamination zone.
- It is possible to update the old floor a bit by wiping it with a solution of water and milk( 1: 1).
- Want to know how to wash linoleum to shine? And nothing. If your coating initially has a pronounced gloss, then preventive measures and usual wet cleaning will help to keep the shine. If the shine is lost or missing initially, then the only way to restore it at home will be the use of polishing. Of course, polishing serves not only as a decorative, but also a functional tool, protecting the floor from mechanical and chemical influences. That's why it is recommended to use polishes regularly: every 1-2 months.
Advice
Can I make polishing mastic with my own hands? Try to mix rosin and turpentine in a ratio of 1: 4 and rub it with a clean dry floor. If the linoleum is worn, then in the mastic can add a coloring cream in the color of the coating.
As you can see, caring for linoleum is not very difficult, especially if you are armed with useful tips, which we today tried to share with you!
