Vinyl sheet flooring a dirt magnet

[cmac2012]

Not saying that all vinyl sheet flooring is a dirt magnet, I somehow managed to choose perhaps the worst product available.

I'vr done a lot of phases of construction over the years, but mostly as a carpenter/remodeler and either put in marble floor or just used the existing floor.

I bought this from Home Despot, I didn't research it well, I'm thinking vinyl flooring has been around for a while, what could go wrong?

I noticed the stuff gets dirty quickly and you really have to scrub to get it out. Using a mob doesn't do it, I need to use the scotch brite side of a dish pad to get at it and I'm worried that after numerous sessions of that will begin to leave visible changes.

I'm noticing this has a rough surface, not quite like sandpaper but heading in that direction I'm thinking maybe this is for non-slip action. But I'm not happy, I don't think my clients are going be happy and the last thing I need is to buy more flooring and do it again. I've read recommendations for a homemade cleaner with vinegar. I'm going to get busy experimenting with that.

Does anybody know if some kind of waxing would do the trick? Seems like that would be pretty high maintenance even if it did I might have to yank this crap out. Damn.

[cmac2012]

BTW, I posted this on a remodeling forum and got lectured about how stupid I was to use sheet vinyl. Yes, I get it, it's not top-of-the-line. I would rather have gone with tile. But the lady's budget is not huge, and the unit, while in an extremely good location, is a challenged piece of work. The story is way too long to get into. I will say the existing floor was vinyl square tiles. The subfloor not as beefy as it should be, and the pressure of walking on them for years, depressed them in the center made the edges stand up. Large gaps in a few spots. Absolutely atrocious. Sheet vinyl was going to be a big upgrade. The kitchen is on two levels (it's a hilly lot), two steps up to the kitchen, two more steps up to a sort of nook area behind it. I put three-quarter ply on the kitchen part to stiffen it, the upper part was better, took up the square vinyl tiles, the residual adhesive was so strong it would pull your shoes off. I put 1/4 underlayment on all of that.

But if I can get past some of the rough spots, it would be an attractive apartment. It is so quiet up here and I don't think in the 40+ years she's been here she's ever been burglarized.

[INSIDIOUS]

Originally Posted by cmac2012

BTW, I posted this on a remodeling forum and got lectured about how stupid I was to use sheet vinyl. Yes, I get it, it's not top-of-the-line. I would rather have gone with tile. But the lady's budget is not huge, and the unit, while in an extremely good location, is a challenged piece of work. The story is way too long to get into. I will say the existing floor was vinyl square tiles. The subfloor not as beefy as it should be, and the pressure of walking on them for years, depressed them in the center made the edges stand up. Large gaps in a few spots. Absolutely atrocious. Sheet vinyl was going to be a big upgrade. The kitchen is on two levels (it's a hilly lot), two steps up to the kitchen, two more steps up to a sort of nook area behind it. I put three-quarter ply on the kitchen part to stiffen it, the upper part was better, took up the square vinyl tiles, the residual adhesive was so strong it would pull your shoes off. I put 1/4 underlayment on all of that.

But if I can get past some of the rough spots, it would be an attractive apartment. It is so quiet up here and I don't think in the 40+ years she's been here she's ever been burglarized.

'...ever been burglarized.' now there is a metric!

[cornemuse]

'...ever been burglarized.' now there is a metric!

burgled??

[cmac2012]

Petty theft is unfortunately common in the bay area. I lived for some years in my shop down in Silicon Valley, unfortunately in the looming shadow of the Facebook juggernaut. It got to where I had to unload all tools from my vehicles every evening and leave them unlocked. A couple of persistent peabrains in the vicinity were relentless. It's probably all they knew, was a career path. Major PITA. Oh well, shoulda stayed in school.

[cmac2012]

Originally Posted by INSIDIOUS

'...ever been burglarized.' now there is a metric!

By the way, thanks for your help on the topic!

[INSIDIOUS]

Originally Posted by cmac2012

By the way, thanks for your help on the topic!

Vinyl is a wear product. Ceramic tile is forever, as is Terrazzo.

[savas]

Don’t know a lot about the installing aspect but I have worked in healthcare most of my career. Vinyl is the the flooring of choice from the lobby to the OR because it’s easy to disinfect and keep clean. So it may be something specific to this flooring or maybe just not the right cleaner.

[Skid Row Joe]

You've identified what may be the culprit. It's surface isn't smooth as glass. Thereby hanging on to the dirt/grime.

'Course, it may be insufficient rinsing of the floor after applying cleaning detergents/soap. Residues still tacky in the grit surfaced tile.

[cmac2012]

I found this recommendation for a homemade cleaning solution that is working a lot better than what I had been using, which was either dishwashing soap or Dr. Bronner's castile - both items I had nearby.

With those I had to use the ScotchBrite side of a kitchen sponge to get the dirt out. Way too much elbow grease. Nobody wants to put that kind of effort into cleaning the floor, if a sponge mop won't do it, that's too much work. This stuff would clean with moderate pressure from the spongy side:

[cmac2012]

Originally Posted by savas

Don’t know a lot about the installing aspect but I have worked in healthcare most of my career. Vinyl is the the flooring of choice from the lobby to the OR because it’s easy to disinfect and keep clean. So it may be something specific to this flooring or maybe just not the right cleaner.

I think a big, plush and sheet vinyl if you only have seams every 12 feet. Maybe bigger for large commercial applications, not sure. Everything else will eventually have a lot more avenues for junk getting in crevices, or seeping below the surface.

Like I said in the OP, I never would've had a thought to examine the surface to determine if it looked too rough to be a dirt magnet. I went back to the source, even with the same brand, trafficMASTER, at Home Depot the other models seem more promising in that department than this one.

it doesn't help that this is a white color mostly, really shows dirt. It's what the lady wanted, I recommended a slate looking offering. Here's what we have: