How to clean luxury vinyl plank flooring?

March 19, 2018 3:34 PM

I would like to clean my new floors. However, the internet is full of people saying that anything you clean luxury vinyl plank (hot water, cleaning products) with will ruin them forever, and I have experienced difficulty in cleaning them the way I have traditionally cleaned floors in the past. Please help.

- Mopping doesn't seem to work, or when I mop it seems like it leaves streaks behind. This only looks good when it is streakless and you can pretend it is actual wood.

- how the hell do you effectively clean cat pee on this surface

- What is a solution that gets grease, sugar water, or various other substances off from this surface, without stripping or ruining the floor?

- Is there a magic technique I am missing? Explain this to me like I am five.

posted by corb to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

This might depend on manufacturer/specific line of vinyl plank, but the instructions for mine suggest ice and mineral spirits to remove sticky stuff, apparently. Also they suggest their very own special cleaner. Not sure if I'm going to bother with that, but maybe it'll be worth buying one bottle of the stuff and checking ingredients. The instructions also have specific info about how to clean things like caster marks, animal stains, ink, etc. (Though mostly it's "use our cleaner!", it also suggests green Scotch Brite pads.)

I only just finished installing the stuff in one room a week ago, though, and haven't finished putting in baseboards or furniture or anything, so I haven't bothered to try mopping it yet since everything's still a dusty mess.

In conclusion, check the manufacturer instructions first so you don't screw up any warranties.
posted by asperity at 3:48 PM on March 19, 2018 [2 favorites]

they told me to only use Bona. You spray that stuff on and you use the blue pad on the stick, like a swiffer, to "mop."
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:50 PM on March 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I just drove across town yesterday to Lowes to get a Bona mop for my new vinyl flooring. It worked like magic and doesn't have much of a smell. The pad on the bottom is like a washable Swiffer. And it comes with some liquid cleaner that I press a button to spray onto the floor.
posted by ilovewinter at 4:06 PM on March 19, 2018

It's technically a big no-no , but I steam mop my luxury vinyl plank flooring. I've been doing it for 2-3 years, no ill effect. I use Nature's Miracle on it too, and it's just fine.
posted by Fig at 4:56 PM on March 19, 2018

My mom uses Bona on hers and is very happy.
posted by gatorae at 7:00 PM on March 19, 2018

I am under the impression that LVP is practically indestructible. I have Armstrong mid-range LVP throughout my house and it's been doused in dog and cat pee, had glass broken on it, had all kinds of chemical cleaning products including bleach sprayed on it, and it still looks like new. I went to a showroom to get a quote on LVP for a new room and the sales guy basically confirmed my impression. Use whatever you like.
posted by joan_holloway at 8:19 PM on March 19, 2018

I was also under the impression the LVP is nigh invulnerable. I've used Simple Green to spot clean cat pee and puke at different times. For other cleaning, I've used dilute Vim in the same fashion that I'd previously used on linoleum or tile floors. As I think Vim is only Canadian, I'll note it's standard floor washing liquid.

Granted, the floor is less than a year old, but honestly, I'm more afraid of the (~60 lb) dog's nails eventually leaving marks as he goes insane around feeding time lots of running/skidding around and leaping like an idiot.
posted by nobeagle at 8:42 PM on March 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I have gotten the Bona mop and it is like the best thing that I have ever used on this floor - doesn't leave residue, and the washable nature of the mop head makes me feel a lot better. Like an idiot, I left the cleaning solution thing in and used up most of it in the first day, but now that I figured out how not to do it this is going to be my go-to floor mop. Thanks everyone!
posted by corb at 11:07 AM on April 2, 2018 [1 favorite]