Do you want your luxury vinyl tile, or LVT, flooring to look its best all the time? Of course, you do!
What you need to do is develop a comprehensive floorcare program with daily, periodic, and restorative cleaning procedures.
Daily and periodic cleaning should be used to keep up the appearance of your flooring, while restorative maintenance is required when your LVT is visibly stained or damaged.
In this article, we’ll only be covering daily cleaning procedures. For periodic cleaning protocols, head over to our other article where we review the best steps to bring your LVT back to life. If you’re looking for information on how to remove scratches or intense stains from LVT flooring, check out our article on restorative cleaning.
Daily cleaning is more about keeping up the appearance of your floors, which includes removing dirt buildup, light soils, and minor scratches.
Let’s start with the daily cleaning procedure.
5 Daily Cleaning Steps to Maintain LVT
Following a daily cleaning procedure will help keep your LVT flooring looking good throughout the day. Beyond just looks, though, daily cleanings also prevent dirt, soil, and other dry debris from building up.
These are what make the floor look dirty.
To follow along with the daily cleaning routine, custodians will need:
- Equipment
- Dust Mop
- Mopping System or Auto Scrubber
- Water Bucket
- Materials
- Supplies
- Victoria Bay Damp Mop Floor Cleaner
- Cool Water
Once you’ve gathered everything, follow these steps:
- Step 1: Put on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Position Wet Floor Sign(s)
- Step 2: Remove Loose Dirt and Soil with a Dust Mop
- Step 3: Properly Dilute the Floor Cleaner
- Step 4: Apply the Solution to Your LVT Flooring with a Mopping System or Auto Scrubber
- Step 5: Allow the Solution to Dry
Step 1: Put on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Position Wet Floor Sign(s)
It’s important to make sure you’re wearing the proper protective equipment while performing a floorcare procedure that uses cleaning chemicals.
Check the manufacturer’s recommendations for what PPE they recommend use with their cleaning product if you’re not sure of what to wear.
We always recommend wearing a pair of protective gloves and appropriate eye protection to prevent any contact with the chemicals you’re handling. Additionally, it’s always a good precaution to set up one or more wet floor signs around the area you’re cleaning.
Step 2: Remove Loose Dirt and Soil with a Dust Mop
Using a dust mop, remove all dirt and loose soil from the floor. Dirt buildup can cause permanent scratches on LVT flooring.
To prevent scratches, this step should be performed two or three times throughout the day. In the long run, this will end up increasing the LVT flooring’s lifespan.
Step 3: Properly Dilute the Floor Cleaner
Next, it is time to wash the floors. Begin by preparing your floor cleaner. To prepare your cleaning solution, combine the floor cleaner in a bucket with cool water.
We recommend Victoria Bay Damp Mop Floor Cleaner. For the Victoria Bay Damp Mop Floor Cleaner it is recommended to use 2oz of product per gallon of warm water.
The recommended dilution ratio will vary from product to product, so always make sure to check the manufacturer’s instructions.
Step 4: Apply the Solution to Your LVT Flooring with a Mop or Auto Scrubber
Using a mop or auto scrubber, damp mop or scrub the floor with the solution. Be sure to evenly apply the solution.
Step 5: Allow the Solution to Dry
Allow the floor to dry before removing wet floor signs and reopening the area to traffic.
Once the floor is dry, it’s ready for use. Damp mopping or single-pass auto scrubbing is typically all that is required on a routine base, so it should only take a few minutes for it to air dry.
Final Thoughts
Clean floors may not make your facility stand out, but dirty floors certainly will.
By creating and sticking to a full floorcare program, the LVT flooring in your facility will continue to look great for years to come. It’s particularly important to stick to the daily and periodic cleaning procedures.
Daily cleaning will keep your floor free of visible dirt and soil, while periodic cleanings will take care of any noticeable stains and scratches.
If you still have any questions about how to clean LVT or any questions that regard LVT flooring, don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our floorcare experts.
At Imperial Dade, we have the experience and expertise to take your floorcare program to the next level. Reach out to an Imperial Dade facility near you to get in touch with one of our experts, and they’ll help to set up a free evaluation of your floorcare program!
We’ll help identify areas for immediate or long-term improvement, set manageable goals to get you on track, and help you to develop the floorcare program of your dreams.