Cleaning vinyl tile floors can be difficult because you do not not want to damage the finish of the vinyl tiles while you are cleaning them. . . Using the proper vinyl tile cleaning products and procedures will ensure that your vinyl tiles will always look clean with an even looking finish.

 

 

Vinyl tiles are manufactured with a factory finish that will have some type of sheen. Some vinyl tiles will have a glossy finish while other vinyl tiles will have a less glossy matte or flat looking finish. It is important to not damage the finish of the vinyl tiles while you are cleaning them. Harsh cleaning products can damage the vinyl tiles finish and make the vinyl tiles loose their beautiful looking luster and shine. Harsh and improper vinyl cleaning products can also leave a haze on the surface of the vinyl tiles that can compromise the factory finish of the vinyl tiles and make them look dull and lifeless.

It is important to not use any type of aggressive scrub pads or scrub brushes on vinyl tiles that can scratch and dull the finish of the vinyl tiles. For daily cleaning it is important to only use a mop, soft sponge or soft scrub pads when cleaning vinyl tiles. Vinyl tiles are non porous tiles so dirt and spills will not be absorbed by the vinyl tiles. It is typically not necessary to use aggressive scrub pads when cleaning vinyl tiles on a regular basis.  A soft mop or soft scrub pad is all that is necessary when doing routine cleaning and maintenance of vinyl tile floors.

When cleaning vinyl tile floors it is best to use only cleaning products specifically designed for cleaning vinyl tiles.  Everyday cleaning products for vinyl tiles will have a pH neutral cleaning formula that will not dull or damage the finish of the vinyl tiles. Ph neutral cleaning products for vinyl tiles will be not leave a soapy film on the vinyl tiles that can dull and distract from the natural finish of the vinyl tiles. Ph neutral cleaning products are easy to use no rinse products that do not require you to excessively rinsing to remove the cleaning residue after you are done cleaning the vinyl tiles.

For normal everyday cleaning of vinyl tile floors you should mix the pH neutral vinyl tile floor cleaning solution with hot tape water per the manufactures instructions. Using a mop or soft sponge mop you should apply the cleaning solution to the vinyl tiles and allow the cleaning solution to loosen up and emulsify the dirt, grease and grime from the vinyl tiles. You should allow at least 10 minutes dwell time to completely emulsify all the dirt, grease and grime from the vinyl tiles. Then you can use the mop to rinse and extract the dirty cleaning solution from the vinyl tile floor. Ensure that you regularly rinse the mop out so that you are not redistributing dirt from on area of your vinyl tile floor to another area. It is also important to change out your mop water if it starts to becomes dirty.

If you see that after mopping your vinyl tile floors that there is still dirt and stains on them then a soft scrub pad can be used on these tough stains. You should only use the softest types of non scratch scrub pads when scrubbing vinyl tiles. You should gently scrub any hard to clean stains from the vinyl tiles with the soft scrub pad and the pH neutral vinyl tile floor cleaning solution. After the stains are removed then you can use a mop and hot mop water to rinse the excess cleaning solution from the vinyl tile floor.

No rinse vinyl tile floor cleaning products do not require excessive rinsing but it is still a good idea to rinse the vinyl tile floor to remove any excess dirt and cleaning residue. No matter how many times you rinse out your mop and change your mop water there may still be some left over dirt and cleaning product residue on your vinyl tiles. It never hurts to go back over the vinyl tiles with clean hot water to rinse away any left over cleaning residue from your vinyl tile floors.  Fill up you mop bucket with clean hot water tap water. Then simply go over your vinyl tile floor with the mop and hot water to thoroughly rinse and extract any excess dirt and cleaning product residue from the vinyl tile floor.

In some cases with extremely dirty vinyl tile floors you may see that the pH neutral cleaning solution is unable to effectively clean the vinyl tiles. In these cases more aggressive vinyl tile cleaning products and procedures may be required. You should still stick with only cleaning products specifically designed for cleaning vinyl tiles but in these cases a more aggressive alkaline cleaning and stripping product should be used. These types of alkaline cleaning and stripping products can be used either to aggressively cleaning dirty vinyl tiles or they can also be used to strip the finish off of the vinyl tiles.

You should first try to use a diluted solution of the alkaline vinyl tile cleaning and stripping product to see if it will clean up the stubborn dirt and stains on the vinyl tiles.  Mixing the cleaning solution with extremely hot tap water will also help to clean up and remove these stubborn stains.  In most cases these stubborn stains are trapped within the finish of the vinyl tiles and that is why they are not being removed with the more gentle pH neutral cleaning solution. 

The alkaline cleaning and stripping solution when properly diluted with hot tap water will loosen up the finish of the vinyl tiles so that the embedded dirt, grease and grime can be removed from the vinyl tiles.  You should allow a 10-20 minute dwell time of the cleaning solution on the vinyl tiles to loosen up the finish and emulsify the dirt from the vinyl tiles.  A soft scrub pad can also be used on the embedded stains to remove the dirt and grime without damaging the finish of the vinyl tiles.   After you are done cleaning and removing the stains from the vinyl tiles with the alkaline cleaning and stripping solution then you should use a clean mop and hot tap water to rinse away the dirt and excess cleaning solution from the vinyl tiles.   The finish of the vinyl tiles will harden again after the alkaline cleaning solution has been rinsed and removed from the vinyl tiles.

In many cases of wear and abuse the vinyl tiles may need to be stripped and refinished to bring back the original factory look and finish of the vinyl tiles.   In many cases the vinyl tile floors finish has been dulled and scratched from years of use.  Dirt and traffic patterns may be evident in the vinyl tile floor that will not go away with normal vinyl tile floor cleaning procedures.  In these cases the alkaline cleaning and stripping solution should be mixed with water in a strong ratio per the manufactures instructions to strip the finish off of the vinyl tiles.

Stripping the finish off of vinyl tiles requires allowing the alkaline cleaning and stripping solutions enough dwell time on the vinyl tiles to completely dissolve the finish off of the vinyl tiles.  The amount of time it takes the alkaline solution to dissolve the finish off of the vinyl tiles depends on the type of vinyl tiles installed.  An aggressive scrub pad or a professional floor machine can help to agitate the finish until it is completely removed from the vinyl tiles.   Then it is necessary to extract all of the floor finish and excess alkaline cleaning and stripping solution from the vinyl tiles.  A shop vac or similar type of vacuum as well as a mop and bucket can be used to extract the floor finish and excess alkaline cleaning and stripping product from the vinyl tile floor.   It is important to strip away, remove and extract all of the old dirty finish from the vinyl tile floors.  It is also important to rinse the vinyl tile floors so that there is no alkaline cleaning residue left on the vinyl tile floors.  After the vinyl tile floors finish has been stripped, removed and rinsed away then a vinyl tile floor finish can be reapplied to the vinyl tile floors. 

Applying a new finish to a vinyl tile floor requires following the instructions of the floor finish extremely closely.   You want to ensure that you apply an nice thin even coat of floor finish to the vinyl tiles.  If a more glossy look is desired then two or more coats of the floor finish can be applied.  It is never a good idea to apply thick layers of floor finish to the vinyl tiles.  Multiple thin even coats of floor finish are much better than applying one thick layer of floor finish to the vinyl tiles.  Following the manufactures instructions extremely closely is extremely important when applying a finish to vinyl tile floors. 

Cleaning, stripping and polishing vinyl tile floors can be a time consuming and difficult procedure especially if they need to be stripped and re sealed.  It may be best to hire a professional tile cleaning and restoration contractor to restore the finish of your vinyl tiles for you.

You can read some valuable information and tips on how to hire a tile cleaning and restoration contractor on our contractor information page here. . . Tile and Grout Cleaning Service.