How to wash linoleum to shine at home

Linoleum is the most inexpensive, easy to clean and care, not picky and durable, and therefore the best choice in flooring. But even with such a completely unproblematic, at first glance, floor covering, a lot of nuances can arise, and one of them is washing. In this article, we will consider how to wash linoleum to shine, at home. And are there any folk remedies for cleaning floors, so as not to damage the linoleum.

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Misconceptions that arise when buying and caring for linoleum

Often, experienced housewives choose linoleum because of the price-quality ratio. But quite often on the forums there are negative reviews in his direction. They write that over time it ceased to shine, scratches appeared and generally the previous appearance was lost. What caused this deterioration and why does some linoleum last 15 years, and some 3 years? Many say that everything directly depends on the quality of linoleum itself, and in order for it to remain unharmed longer, it is worth choosing models more expensively, but is that so?

Naturally, the choice of linoleum itself is a very important process and the biggest misconception is that the housewives completely forget about caring for it, and in case of damage they sin only on the producers. The surest decision will undoubtedly be from the very first day after laying linoleum to begin to treat it with care. Our goal at the moment is to learn how to update linoleum at home.

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Wet linoleum cleaning

What is the best way to restore the shine of linoleum in the kitchen or just refresh it? As you already understood, just washing the floor with a damp cloth without streaks will not be enough, and on specially contaminated floors a whole procedure is carried out to clean them.

Pre-cleaning

Initially, it is necessary to carry out dry cleaning in order to remove all dust, dirt and sand. It must be carried out with a vacuum cleaner, a brush with soft fibers or a broom. If you skip this stage, then stains will appear on linoleum.

Important! You can skip this procedure if you wash the floor daily or every other day.

the washing up

The next step will be wet cleaning. You can simply wipe the linoleum with a damp cloth several times - you should not use a cloth with metal fibers, since you can scratch the floor, the top layer of which is very sensitive to scratches. But there are many chemical means that will help bring the floor in its former guise:

• A lot of tools designed specifically for washing and cleaning linoleum, which can be found on store shelves with household chemicals.
• Ordinary laundry soap, pieces of which must be diluted in warm (not hot!) Water.
• Washing powder, which also needs to be diluted with warm water.

Important! It is absolutely forbidden to wash linoleum with hot water - it reduces its shelf life, and warm - on the contrary, is welcome.

Capital cleaning

If the floor is too damaged and is in an extremely neglected state, then you should pay attention to the following method. It is also suitable for those who are categorically opposed to chemistry:

1. Dilute in a liter of warm water a little laundry soap.
2. Add 200 g of pure vodka to this mixture, and then a teaspoon of any detergent.
3. Mix everything well and rub the place of contamination.
4. Wipe the floor with a slightly damp cloth, which will finally get rid of the detergent.
5. Wipe the surface with a dry cloth.

Important! It is strictly forbidden to mix funds purchased in the store, stains from such a “hellish” chemical mixture are not washed off.

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We give linoleum shine

Unfortunately, not everyone can afford to change the floors every 4-5 years, but any good housewife can make it so that even after 10 years of use, linoleum will shine like new. How to wash linoleum so that it shines at home - it is enough to apply the remedies below.

There are many ways that are mainly cooked at home.

• In order to give the linoleum shine, you can mix potato broth and starch in water. Wash the floor with this solution.
• Another "grandfather" method says that it is worth mixing cow's milk and water in equal quantities. After washing the floor with this mixture, wipe it with a dry cloth. The effect is visible after the second use.

Important! Also, to renew linoleum and wash it to shine, at home, you can use store polishes that rub linoleum. But this method should be used only when the above do not save.

Useful Tips

1. It is necessary to process the floor at least 2 times a month.
2. After treatment, allow linoleum to rest and, if possible, do not enter the room at all for about 15 minutes.
3. It is important to remember that in a situation with linoleum regularity is important: regularity in cleaning, regularity in leaving.
4. It is advisable to use special protective equipment that will help serve your floor and remain in a chic look for more than one year.

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We remove stains from linoleum

Probably almost every person who has linoleum bedding at home has encountered the problem of spots, especially for families with small children. Often, many, instead of introducing these spots, change the entire floor, which naturally entails certain considerable costs. Is it worth spending that much money or still try to solve the problem yourself? Is it possible to update the old linoleum with your own hands? Let's try to figure it out.

Important! Any stain needs to be removed as soon as it appears. If you wait and postpone this matter “for later”, then the stain will begin to be absorbed into the structure of the material and it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to wash it.

One of the most effective means to help you remove stains from linoleum is gasoline.

Important! What is needed is not a regular refueling machine, but a refined one - which is sold in hardware stores. It is inexpensive, but we need a very small tube.

Gasoline is quite easy to use, they just need to rub the dirt and then wash it off with a soapy solution. It will help get rid of such spots:

• Coffee;
• Iodine;
• Zelenka;
• Felt-tip pen;
• Wax (but it must first be removed with a knife, the main thing is not to damage them with linoleum);
• Shoe polish;
• Machine oil.

From other spots, no less simple substances in use will help you:

1. Special attention should be paid to ink stains. They need to be carefully combed with pumice or sandpaper, slightly moistened with flax oil.
2. Mold or rust stains can be removed with a special solution of water and bleach in a ratio of 10: 1. If the spots still do not appear, then add lemon juice to the mixture.
3. If stains of fat appear on linoleum, they should first be wiped with a dry paper towel, and then washed with soapy water. The effect is guaranteed.

Important! Regardless of what particular means you treated the floor and what stains were removed, be sure to rinse the floor with warm water and wipe it with a dry cloth after cleaning the coating - this will save linoleum from stains.

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Restoring the floor after repair

Repair is of course a good thing, but will it harm linoleum? Here it all depends not on you, but on the conscience of the repairmen, who can simply ignore your requests to cover the floor. Even if they covered, very noticeable traces and dirt from repairs will remain on linoleum. What to do in this situation?

Cleaning after repair should be done in stages:

1. Walk on the surface of linoleum with a brush, and then with a vacuum cleaner. This will help you remove large chunks of dirt and base dust.
2. Wipe off areas where whitewash is present several times with a damp cloth.
3. Scrape off the paint and mounting foam with a knife.
4. Clean the floor according to the instructions given above.

The most difficult thing is how to update linoleum with your own hands after repair, you can call it cleaning from the primer, because it adheres strongly to the floor. In order to withdraw it:

• it is worth preparing a solution of acetone and water - it will definitely help you;
• then you need to rub linoleum with the hard side of the sponge (the only thing that washing can damage the floor and cause minor scratches).

Important! Instead of pure acetone, you can use nail polish remover.

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Stock footage

If you want to preserve the beauty and brilliance of your floor for many years, then do not forget about regular care and respect for it. And how to wash linoleum to shine, at home, you already know.