How to clean linoleum from stubborn dirt

Of the existing modern floor coverings, linoleum is the most popular material for finishing apartments and building houses. But to extend its service life, you need to know a few simple rules for care.

Features of linoleum

This type of flooring is in great demand. It is used for finishing apartment buildings, offices, educational institutions, and retail establishments. Since its main advantages are:

• budget cost;
• variety of colors;
• functionality;
• environmental friendliness;
• durability;
• waterproof;
• ease of care.

IMPORTANT! It must be remembered that linoleum does not withstand the effects of cleaning agents that polish the surface. They damage the top layer, lead to defects and discolor the surface.

How to wash linoleum from stubborn stains of various origins

The purpose of daily cleaning is to clean the floor from dust. You can clean the surface with a vacuum cleaner or brush. Then you should wash the linoleum with a solution containing laundry soap. In this case, the water should be warm and the mop cloth should have a soft base so as not to scratch the surface. It is recommended not to leave traces of soap, but to wipe the relin dry.

But it happens that marks remain from fat, plasticine, ballpoint pen, felt-tip pen, rust, or black stripes from shoes. The usual remedy will not help here. Traditional methods should be used.

The following will help with old and ingrained dirt:

1. Alcohol composition. In the kitchen, the coating most often suffers from grease. To remove stains, you need to make a solution by mixing one liter of warm water, a tablespoon of vodka and grated laundry soap. Soak a rag with this product and wipe the problem area. Afterwards, do wet cleaning with running water.
2. Kerosene or gasoline. Effectively cleans stains from spilled coffee, berries, juice, gouache, felt-tip pen. It must be taken into account that frequent use of these products harms the integrity of the linoleum coating.
3. Drying oil. It is advisable to clean a heavily contaminated area with drying oil, which is applied in a small amount to a dry cloth. After treatment, wipe with flannel. This method eliminates scratches and cracks and polishes the floor to a shine. For prevention, use drying oil once every few months.
4. School rubber band. Footprints and bicycle marks should not be ignored. It is better to try to remove them immediately using a school eraser. After which you need to wash the floor with soapy water and wipe with a dry cloth.
5. Laundry soap solution. Sticky chewing gum or ingrained plasticine can also be easily removed using a solution of water and laundry soap. But before that, you need to carefully clean off the dirt with a knife.
6. Hydrogen peroxide and alcohol. There is an opinion that spilled green paint cannot be wiped off. But hydrogen peroxide, ammonia and camphor alcohol will cope with the problem stain. Drops of iodine can be removed with a napkin moistened with a large amount of soda or raw potato juice.
7. Flaxseed oil or shoe polish.If the floor is painted by children with multi-colored pens, then it is first sanded with pumice, and then the scratches are filled with linseed oil or colorless shoe polish. After the mass hardens, the residues are removed with a sharp object.
8. Lemon juice. Lemon juice works great on old stains. Squeeze half a citrus fruit onto the problem area and leave for a short time. Then rub with a terry towel and wash the floor with soapy water.

How to remove marks from furniture

Most often, rearranging furniture leaves imprints in the form of dents on the covering. The owners prefer to cut out the damaged piece of linoleum and lay a new one in its place. But there are several ways to help restore the integrity of the floor:

1. Using a hot iron. Place a cloth soaked in cold water over the dent. Within half an hour, the problem area is smoothed out. Attention! The iron must be turned on in steam mode.
2. Using a hairdryer. The second method will take you longer than the first. Take a hair dryer, direct hot air at the dent and heat it until it disappears.
3. Using a needle. This method is safer. It is necessary to pierce the problem area with a needle exactly in the center. After a short period of time, air will penetrate under the linoleum and the dent will straighten out. Then you should press it down with a flat surface (board, book), and place a heavy object on top.

How to clean dirt from linoleum after repair

If you did not have time to prepare the linoleum protection before repair work and there are still contaminants on the coating, then solve the problem as follows:

• Carefully cut off stains that have hardened from putty with a spatula or other sharp object;
• use a vacuum cleaner to remove remaining pieces of construction debris and dust;
• Wash the white deposits with running water, changing the rag each time;
• wipe off any remaining stains with a swab dipped in vinegar;
• Treat stains that have become embedded in the linoleum with white spirit, following the instructions for use.

Paint stains are more difficult to deal with. Therefore, you need to pay attention to them first. The water-based solution is immediately removed with a damp, unnecessary rag. The oil composition is blotted with dry rags, after which the area of ​​contamination is treated with sunflower oil. Next, the floor is washed with water and laundry soap.

IMPORTANT! Do not use solvent to remove paint. Linoleum loses its shine and color.

The frozen polyurethane foam is removed in two stages. Initially, cut off the top layer with a knife. Place a wet rag on the remaining mass. After the foam swells, it is easily removed with a spatula. If this method does not work, then use a chemical solvent to remove the foam (you can buy it at a building materials store).

Residues of whitewashing work are disposed of using water with the addition of a solution of manganese or a few drops of vinegar essence.

ATTENTION! Before starting construction work, cover the floor with several layers of polyethylene or cardboard.

Restoring the shine of linoleum

It is recommended to rub only the bed covering with light mastic to give greater gloss. To remove scratches and cracks, dark mastic is used. This helps eliminate floor defects and protect against the negative effects of sunlight. Wet cleaning with water and added milk will help remove roughness.

By following the rules described above, you can extend the life of the floor covering.