The linoleum is swollen, what should I do?

Linoleum is the most common budget option for flooring, which is often used when renovating any type of premises. It fits well with different styles and colors, has many advantages over other floor coverings, but requires proper installation. Otherwise, already during operation, a situation may arise when the material is swollen, and the person does not know what to do about it.

Linoleum is swollen, what to do about it

Many people are attracted to flooring due to its low cost, texture and various color schemes. It is easy to install and further maintain. But this does not guarantee that there will be no problems with it. If the floor covering is not used correctly or there were violations during installation, linoleum can form unpleasant bubbles that are difficult to eliminate.

A similar situation may arise under force majeure circumstances if the coating was poorly secured initially. The main thing is when choosing linoleum as a room finishing material, study its features and find out in advance information on how to cope with such problems.

Causes

There are several main reasons why bubbles can form on the surface:

• force majeure (floods, earthquakes, flooding by neighbors or other similar problems lead to damage to the floor covering);
• negligence during installation (violation of clearly regulated installation technology often leads to similar problems);
• lack of proper preparation (if the surface of the subfloor was not sufficiently leveled and subsequently rolled material was laid on it, the linoleum will repeat all the existing unevenness).

In addition, the quality of the finishing coating may be affected by the quality of the material itself, insufficient or excessive use of the adhesive composition, the wrong choice of adhesive for a particular type of linoleum, and sudden temperature changes. All this will undoubtedly affect the evenness of the linoleum laid in the room.

Important! Before laying linoleum, you should carefully study the basic installation rules, as well as choose high-quality materials. Including glue for coating.

Ways to eliminate bloating

If the linoleum is not glued to the floor, but is simply laid on the rough surface, care should be taken to heat the swollen piece. To do this, you can use a rubber heating pad, into which hot water is first poured. It is placed on the site of the swelling and the area is allowed to warm up a little before they begin to level the sheets of material.

Instead of a heating pad, if you don’t have one at hand, you can use a heated iron. But you can’t use it directly; you can line the swelling area with paper or foil, through which the electrical appliance will be exposed.

Heating

Heating can also be used in the case of glued linoleum sheets, using similar devices.However, this is a very labor-intensive and time-consuming process that will require a fair amount of patience.

It is necessary to pierce the resulting swelling and heat the surface of the linoleum to such a state that the resulting bubble can subsequently be stretched without spoiling the coating in other places. After heating, the bubble will become pliable and quickly squeeze out from under the floor covering.

Important! For better fixation, an adhesive composition is injected into the puncture and a weight is placed at the site where the material is discharged, which is kept for two days.

Piercing, glue

For small swellings, a puncture can be used. To do this, you need to have a sharp awl and adhesive on hand, which will be used to glue the lagging linoleum. After puncturing the bubble, air is removed from it, and then glue is injected using a syringe. After this, all that remains is to lay the plywood in place of the swelling and install the load. A weight or sandbag is suitable as a heavy object.

Incisions

If the swelling is of an impressive diameter, the incision method is used. Using a sharp knife, make one or two (crosswise) cuts in the linoleum and release all excess air from under the covering. A small amount of glue is distributed along the edges of the cut and a sinker is placed on it to ensure complete adhesion to the subfloor.

Other improvised means

For small bubbles, you can use heated table salt as a heating element. It is heated in a frying pan, and then placed in a thick canvas bag and placed in the place of the swelling. It is also recommended to install the weight and wait for the surface to be leveled.

If the number of blisters is too large and it is not possible to eliminate them using conventional methods, you will have to completely dismantle the linoleum, remove all glue and mastics, let the material rest and begin a new installation.

Which swellings cannot be removed, why?

It will not be possible to correct some flaws, even with the use of such tricks, if the initial installation and preparation were carried out incorrectly:

• if the subfloor is not leveled sufficiently (if the surface of the subfloor is uneven, bubbles will form again and again, requiring constant repairs);
• if moisture gets on the substrate (in this case, before repairing the canvas, you need to thoroughly dry not only the laid linoleum, but also the substrate; this may require a professional tool);
• if the material is of poor quality (purchasing defective or low-quality linoleum can result in similar problems, in this case it is better to contact the supplier and exchange the product).

Repairing linoleum that has swollen after installation is quite simple, but it is recommended to do this very carefully so as not to damage the surface. Still, it is better to initially follow the installation technology so as not to experience similar problems in the future.