The most versatile and affordable flooring is linoleum. For any room, you can always choose a suitable color, density and price copy. It is not surprising that it is used not only for the home, but also for office premises.
But sometimes, after cosmetic repairs, various types of pollution remain on it, which cannot be washed from the first or second time. Do not despair, ordinary inexpensive means will come to the rescue, with which you can wash even the most difficult types of pollution.
General recommendations
There are many recommendations, following which you can avoid all sorts of problems associated with cleaning linoleum.
If a change of linoleum is not included in your plans, and minor repairs are inevitable, then the simplest action is to close the floor. It is not necessary to specifically buy film to cover the surface of the floor, you can use old wallpaper, newspapers, boxes, wrapping film from under the wallpaper. Since all of these materials are smaller than the surface area, then you can fix them using construction tape.
But if it so happened that the remains of building materials still fell on linoleum, then sharp objects should not be used for cleaning. Drops of paint, the remains of adhered wallpaper do not need to be scrubbed with a construction knife or spatula, since there is a high probability of damaging the surface of linoleum.
Extreme care must be taken if aggressive agents are used as auxiliary substances for cleaning the surface.
To test their action, you must first test on a small area, and better on an unnecessary piece of linoleum.
It is strictly forbidden to use all kinds of alkaline solutions and soda. Means, in which alkali is included in different percentages, penetrate deeply into the linoleum structure, leading to the destruction of the material. The appearance of any linoleum will be irretrievably lost, and then you will have to change the entire coating.
When working with any means, you must use special protective gloves. They can be purchased at any hardware store, they are not expensive, and the skin of the hands will be protected from the effects of the funds used.
Funds
In order to wipe off various contaminants from the surface of linoleum and, if possible, restore its original appearance, you can use both chemical and folk remedies. Both those and others deserve special attention, because thanks to them, you can refuse to buy a new cover, thereby saving significant cash.
Folk
There are many folk remedies available to everyone without exception. Their high efficiency has been repeatedly proven and tested by time. Each product is typically used for a particular type of contamination and consists of one or two components.
In order to return to the linoleum, which has lain more than one year on the floor, the original shine, it is worth using milk and water. To do this, mix equal parts of both components and treat the floor surface with this solution. Allow the floor to dry for a while and then rub the surface with a small piece of cloth containing woolen fibers. You can get the best effect if you use 100% wool.
Very often bands form on the surface of linoleum. Most often, their occurrence is associated with traces of the soles of shoes. Most of these bands form in the corridor. To remove them, you can use an ordinary school eraser. Just rub a little and the stripes disappear. Then you can wash the floor as usual.
Traces of a regular ballpoint pen are easily rubbed off with regular sulfur. It is easy to find sulfur; it is present at matches. First you need to wet the head of the match, and then rub it with a place where there are traces of the handle. The resulting paste is removed with a piece of lint-free cloth.
Potato starch saves from iodine stains. A stained composition of starch and water is applied to the spot with a stain. You need to keep the composition until the stain completely disappears from the surface of linoleum. You can get rid of stubborn greasy stains with the help of elderberry.
It copes with most of all pollution sauerkraut juice. The acid contained in the juice penetrates deeply into the structure of the coating and, without harm to linoleum, dissolves impurities, leaving the surface clean and smooth.
Chemical
In addition to the folk remedies used to clean linoleum, a variety of chemical compositions are also used. Before using them, you must carefully read the information on the labels and only then, taking into account all the recommendations, use this product against specific contaminants.
An inexpensive and fairly effective tool is "White Spirit". It quite easily copes with almost any kind of pollution. In order to avoid poisoning with volatile compounds during its use, it is necessary to ensure a fresh air flow. And also do not forget to wear protective gloves so as not to damage the delicate skin of the hands.
Solvent "646" No less effective and easy to use. It shows its best activity against stains from paints and varnishes. When working with this tool, it is worth remembering that it refers to toxic and flammable compounds.
Less toxic agents are available that are specifically designed to clean the floor.As a rule, they are used not only to remove contaminants from linoleum, but also from other coatings. These multifunctional products include foam TaffStuss cleaner. It can be used for dry cleaning. A small piece of fabric and a foam-like agent will do just fine with most stains.
Floor cleaning products do an excellent job with less complex contaminants. To date, there are a huge number of them, and therefore picking up the right instance will not be difficult.
How to wash?
After repair, the original appearance of linoleum can be returned by a variety of means. The use of a particular substance, as well as methods of application to the surface, depends on the type of spots left. Thanks to the painstaking work of specialists, based on the interaction of chemical components, it is possible to clean and wash the surface of linoleum quickly and without damage to the structure of the coating.
Lime and cement
The most common types of pollution are lime and cement. They can settle even if the floor has previously been covered with polyethylene. A small amount is enough to make the surface of linoleum dull and untidy, even repeated cleaning of the floor with the usual cleaning products will not help.
But there is a solution, thanks to very simple means. Washing linoleum will help salt and soap. It is necessary to prepare a solution of these two components. First you need to grate the soap, on a bucket of water it is enough to take 3-4 tablespoons and lower the finished shavings into the bucket. Add 3-4 tablespoons of ordinary salt there and mix everything thoroughly. The water temperature should be in the range of 30-40? C. Do not use hotter water, as the pattern located on the surface may fade.
With the resulting solution, wash the floor, and then carefully wipe it dry.
Primer
Very often, the walls and ceiling are treated before painting or wallpapering with a special primer. It has a liquid consistency, but it is very sticky, and therefore even a covered floor is likely to hit the surface.
A fresh stain of the primer can be wiped off using a normal soft cloth. But with dried spots, the primer will have to tinker a bit. Need to cook a solution of water and acetone. If we take as a basis 100 ml of a ready-made solution, then 33.5 ml is acetone (1/3 part), and 66.5 ml is water (2/3 parts). Apply the finished solution to a hard piece of cloth and wipe the stain, and then the floor is washed as usual.
In the absence of acetone, you can use nail polish remover, which, of course, any lady has. You can use this tool only in case of slight pollution, otherwise you will have to spend too much time and effort on rubbing the stain.
To treat the place of contamination, you need to moisten a cotton swab or a small piece of cloth and use it to treat the stain on the floor.
Whitewashing
Whitewashing is often used to clean the ceiling. Its consistency is liquid, and therefore its contact with the floor surface is inevitable.
Stains left from whitewashing can be removed using a simple but very effective tool, which is kerosene. Thanks to its effect, there will be no trace of stains, and the surface of linoleum will remain completely intact. On a bucket of water you need to add a small amount of kerosene, mix well and mop the floor. During floor surface treatment it is necessary to open the window for free access of fresh air. After processing, you need to wipe the linoleum with plain water with a small addition of vinegar until the smell disappears completely.
Building dust
Even after minor repairs on all items and, of course, a layer of building dust forms on the floor.
Linoleum can be washed with ordinary warm water and added to the tank several potassium permanganate crystals. After the addition, it is necessary to thoroughly mix the water so that the crystals are completely dissolved, and the floor is washed with the resulting solution.
Paint
When decorating the ceiling and walls, paint is often used. Even if you carry out the paintwork very carefully, there is still the possibility of small drops falling onto the floor surface. The best solution in this case is to wipe them off immediately until they have dried to the surface of linoleum.
An effective tool in this case will be sunflower oil, used not only for cooking, but also as a stain remover. Sunflower oil, due to its properties, can soften a stain of paint. To do this, apply oil to a cotton pad and treat it with a stain. After waiting a few minutes, you need to take a household brush with hard bristles to proceed to wiping the stain.
There is another way to remove stains from paint. In this case, it is used as a means a solvent or any other alcohol-containing agent.
The composition is also applied first to the disk, which is then tightly pressed to the stain for a while. Then you can begin to remove the stain.
Glue
Another problem that arises during repairs is stains of glue on the surface of linoleum. Fresh formations can be removed with soapy water with sodium chloride, but if time is already lost, then you will have to use another remedy. To wipe away dried glue residues, more radical means are used - this refined gasoline or white spirit. Wet a small piece of cloth with the selected liquid and wipe the stain, and then thoroughly wash the surface of linoleum with conventional means intended for mopping.
Polyurethane foam
When changing windows, mounting foam is always used, which attaches well to any surface, and linoleum is no exception.
Fresh foam can be removed with a special spatula. To do this, you need to carefully scrape it off, starting to act from the edge of the formation, gradually moving towards its center. After removing the foam from the surface, you need to treat this place with any special tool designed to treat linoleum.
With dried foam, you need to do something different. For this, the protruding part is cut as close as possible to the surface of linoleum, and the remaining part is processed by a trained professional tool.
Professional solvents include special solvents that, thanks to a special chemical formula, act on the mounting foam. These include: “Barton SOL OFF”, “Orbafoam Eliminador”, “Cosmofen”, “Fenosol S” and many other products that are freely sold in any hardware store.
It is completely unacceptable to use a conventional solvent in the fight against this problem. Its effect can lead to the fact that the remaining foam penetrates into the pores of linoleum, from where it will be very difficult to remove, and most likely impossible at all.
Care Rules
Any coating, and linoleum is no exception to the rule, requires not only a careful attitude, but also careful and thoughtful care.
There are certain rules, the observance of which will help to keep linoleum not only clean, but also in excellent condition, regardless of the time of flooring.
Before wet cleaning, you must first remove the garbage with a broom, brush or vacuum cleaner. The more thoroughly the dry cleaning is carried out, the faster and better the wet cleaning will go.
After removing stains, you need to wash the entire surface of linoleum with soapy water or floor cleaning products. After the surface dries, you can apply linseed oil with a thin layer and polish linoleum with a woolen cloth.
The surface of even the old coating will shine, and linoleum will look like new.
You can learn more tips for cleaning linoleum from the video below.