How to wash linoleum from stains after repair, from dirt, stains

Linoleum is a whole group of floor coverings with a different base and a protective film, which is made from different polymers. When choosing cleaners and detergents, you need to consider what your coating is made of. Before cleaning linoleum from stubborn dirt, read carefully the description of the product you are going to use. Along with dirt and stains, you can dissolve the protective film and pattern, even the base. So, we must not just wash the linoleum – we must not make it worse.

How to choose products for washing and cleaning linoleum

To choose chemicals for washing and cleaning, you need to remember what the protective film of linoleum is made of. Vinyl chloride, vinyl, PVC coating does not like acids, it reacts normally to alkaline agents. Natural linoleum, on the contrary, does not tolerate alkalis well, and can be in contact with acids for a long time. Keep this in mind when choosing cleaning products.

“Does not like” – this does not mean that you can not use some kind of tool. Almost everything can be applied to all types of coatings. It’s just that those that the coating “does not like” should not be left on the surface for a long time, and after removing it, wash off the residue with water, and then wipe it dry with a well-absorbing cloth or paper.

What to choose chemistry for cleaning linoleum? If you try, you can find products for this particular coating in stores. But there are not so many of them and there are no objective reviews about their use. Usually they try to remove stains or wash with what is at hand at home. And this means for the kitchen, toilet and laundry. In principle, you can carefully try everything that is in your home arsenal. Gently – this is in a small space and for a short time, then thoroughly cleaning and washing the treated area with plenty of water. If there is a result, but there are no changes in the state of linoleum (it has not become more rough or sticky), you can continue to clean it with the same product.

Still it is possible to advise to try autochemistry. That part of it, which is for cleaning the interior and / or plastic parts. These products were developed to remove difficult contaminants that are almost inevitable in a car. Often they give very good results: they help to wash linoleum where other products have failed.

How to wash linoleum after repair

Usually after repair, even cosmetic, the condition of the flooring becomes deplorable. Building mixtures, glue, whitewashing, paints. All this is eaten and very difficult to remove. Moreover, many substances work as abrasives, scratching the protective film of linoleum. This significantly reduces its service life and worsens its appearance. Damage to the protective film is the reason that indelible stains appear. Through damage, various coloring substances penetrate inside, and it is almost impossible to remove them from there – only together with the pattern. So it is possible to wash linoleum and remove stains from it only with an intact protective coating.

To avoid problems

It is best to lay linoleum before repair. Film, tarpaulin, covering material. No matter what. It is important to protect against scratches and stubborn stains. Spread the selected material and fix it on the baseboards with double-sided tape – this will save you from lengthy cleaning after repairs and save your linoleum.

If the advice is late and the stains are already there, we try to clean the linoleum from ingrained construction dirt. Spots after repair remain very different and it is necessary to select funds for each separately. So it takes a long time and, often, not cheap.

Removing paint stains

With spots of water emulsion and whitewash we fight the same way. First, we clean it in a dry form, what happens, then fill the stain with water and let it stand. The residue becomes softer, it can be rubbed with a kitchen sponge. We collect everything that is washed off with a rag or paper towel. We wipe with water, to which you can add a little dish detergent or liquid soap. To remove traces of whitewash from linoleum, you can add vinegar to the water (no more than 200 ml per bucket of water).

Enamel from linoleum can be wiped off with nail polish remover acetone free. There is one, just find an unpainted one. Apply the liquid to the swab, rub the stain. Change the swab as it becomes dirty, otherwise the stain may increase in size, although it will brighten.

Cleaning wood varnish from linoleum is easy if it has not yet dried. The varnish is removed with ordinary wet wipes. If the stains are dried, we try solvents: refined gasoline, white spirit, alcohol, vodka, acetone or nail polish remover can help.

Before using solvents to clean linoleum from stains, test in an inconspicuous place or on the remaining piece. An inconspicuous place – behind a closet, under a sofa or bed. Remove the product, wipe a couple of times with a wet cloth, wipe dry. Helped or not? Has the protective layer been corroded? Be careful, otherwise the mixture may turn out to be such that the linoleum will need to be replaced.

The only thing that is almost impossible to wash is the linoleum stain. Especially if it’s indelible. It penetrates even through the protective coating. So far, no methods have been found to deal with this.

How to get rid of traces of building mixtures

The primer is poorly washed, as it contains glue. It can be removed by rubbing for a long time with the hard side of a kitchen sponge. You can wash the primer from linoleum much faster with glass cleaner – it helps a lot. There is another option on how to remove a primer stain on linoleum – dilute acetone with water (1 part acetone, 2 parts water) and rub with a sponge, but be careful with acetone. It will quickly dissolve some polymers. Faster than a slick.

Is it possible to wash plaster and putty from linoleum? Can. Removing the plaster itself is usually easy. The problem is that the main part of the composition is removed, and a whitish mark remains on the linoleum. These traces are washed off over time, but you don’t always want to wait. Getting rid of them is easy – traces of gypsum and lime plaster and putty are well removed with water and vinegar.

Silicone, although not a mortar, but if it spills, you will have to try to get rid of it. It is distributed in the thinnest layer, making the floor very slippery. Solvents will not work to wash silicone grease from linoleum. But refined gasoline, turpentine or white spirit can help.

Remove adhesives: super glue, wallpaper paste, adhesive tape

Oddly enough, you can remove super-glue from linoleum with dimexide. This inexpensive medicine is sold in a pharmacy. It has a characteristic odor and leaves an oily residue on the skin. Dip a swab or piece of cloth and rub the spilled super glue. We also fight with Moment glue.

Washing wallpaper paste from linoleum is also not easy. There are sticky spots, reminiscent of traces of adhesive tape. Dirt also sticks to them, so they become sticky and black. In general, stains from wallpaper glue are washed with refined gasoline or kerosene. For some types of glue, vinegar and window cleaner will work.

After prolonged contact of the adhesive tape with the surface, only the tape is removed, and the sticky layer remains. It is not so difficult to tear off the tape itself from linoleum, it is difficult to remove sticky marks. Oddly enough, simple remedies help: window cleaner with ammonia, vinegar. If it doesn’t help, take a kitchen sponge and roll the glue with the hard side. You can soak it in some kind of detergent. It helps, although it takes a long time to rub.

Resin and polyurethane foam

Resin, of course, is not glue, but it is also sticky. If there are resin stains on the linoleum, they can be removed with alcohol or any alcohol-containing composition (cologne, vodka). White spirit or a solvent also helps, but you need to be careful with them – no matter how the linoleum dissolves before the stain.

Cleaning foam from linoleum is difficult, but possible. Remains must be removed immediately., not in a week, and, especially, not in a month. Everything that can be cut, remove. Pour the rest with Dimexide (sold in pharmacies). After some time, the foam softens and is removed without damaging the linoleum.

The second way to remove mounting foam from linoleum is to use oil. Any. If technical, then clean. The method is similar. There is another option – store tools for cleaning construction tools. For example, dried foam remover, foam gun flush and other similar professional products. They help for sure, but they are not available everywhere and are expensive. And how linoleum will react to them is unknown.

How to return to normal appearance after repair

It is not always easy to clean building dust from linoleum. It seems that there are no spots, but a whitish coating remains. It appears again and again as soon as the floor dries after washing. In this case, add acids to a bucket of water – vinegar or citric acid will do.

You can finally restore the shine with a linoleum polishing agent. It is applied to the washed dry floor and rubbed with a soft cloth.

Fans of home remedies can replace polishing with vegetable oil. Add about 50 ml of oil to a bucket of water and mop the floor. This also helps to wash off the whitish coating from the linoleum and restore its shine. It is not slippery and there are no greasy spots.

We fight with traces of rubber, rust

Often shoes with dark rubber soles leave black streaks on the linoleum. Sometimes they are obvious, and sometimes the coating just darkens in the “walking places”. It is not difficult to wash the black stripes on the linoleum that the shoes left. We take a brush and dishwashing liquid, actively three. Helps. But you need to change your shoes.

If a stain on linoleum is left from unvulcanized black rubber, it is not erased by anything – diffusion occurs with prolonged contact. To put it simply, the rubber particles have penetrated the coating. To remove such a stain is unrealistic. The only thing that can be advised is to make a rearrangement so that the spots are not visible.

It is difficult or impossible to remove traces of rust. For starters, you can try acid-containing products. From home remedies – vinegar, diluted acetic or citric acid. You can try acid toilet cleaners. For greater efficiency, we use a brush. If the protective film is thick, you can try rubbing it with hard sponges in a puddle of acid. If it did not help or the rust was only partially gone, diffusion also occurred. And this is not pollution, but damage. And to wash such a stain of rust from linoleum is unrealistic.

How to clean linoleum in the kitchen

The kitchen is a source of stains known to all housewives. Something will fall, then it will spill. And it is not always water or something that is easily washed off. For example, it is not always easy to clean grease from linoleum. Fresh grease stains are easiest to remove with dishwashing detergent. Apply to the stain, rub, remove with a napkin or paper towel, then rinse with water and wipe dry. In the same way, you can wash sunflower oil from linoleum.

It is not easy to remove the fat that has eaten into the relief. In this case, you need to dilute the dishwashing detergent with water, wet the floor well and rub it with a brush. If this does not help, carefully try fat dissolvers – these are household chemicals, there are many different names. Too aggressive (for grills) do not use, but you can try the usual ones. Spray or apply with a sponge, wait a couple of minutes and rub with a brush. Then you clean everything and wash it with water. Processing should be carried out in a small area at a time so that the agent does not come into contact with the coating for a long time.

Cleaners for ceramic hobs dissolve well and gently dissolve old grease and soot. A thick liquid (may be with solid particles, but these are not abrasives) are applied to a damp sponge, then to stains. With large areas of “damage”, it is easier to wet the floor, spray the product, then distribute it evenly. Fresh grease and soot dissolve easily. If something else has not been wiped off, you can leave the product for 10-20 minutes, then, for greater effectiveness, rub the back (hard side) of a kitchen sponge. After cleaning, we collect dirty water from the floor (conveniently with kitchen paper towels), rinse the linoleum a couple of times with clean water.

How to remove yellowness

Sometimes the light-colored linoleum in the kitchen turns yellow, usually this happens if natural gas is used. How to clean linoleum from stubborn yellowness? Try the same fat dissolvers. If this does not help, you can try chlorine-containing or acid products. Most often, these are liquids for cleaning toilet bowls. But again be careful. Try it on a small, inconspicuous area first.

Some spices can also leave stubborn traces, such as turmeric. It is a yellow-orange powder. Consists of finely ground spices. If turmeric or sauce with it gets on the linoleum, it is better to remove it immediately. Otherwise, you will get a yellow spot that is difficult to remove. Few things manage to wash turmeric from linoleum. You can try hydrogen peroxide, oxygen bleach, diluted with water to a slurry state. And as a last resort, try bleach.

How to wash urine and animal marks

Dog and cat urine is very difficult to clean. Not so much a trace as a scent. Urine is a multicomponent liquid. “Components” have a persistent smell, as this is a special means of communication in the animal world. Moreover, when combined with materials, the components of dog and cat urine form stable compounds, which often have their own special “aroma”. The situation is even worse with labels. Getting rid of this scent is even more difficult.

So what to do? Hoping that the urine has not soaked into the linoleum, otherwise the coating may need to be replaced. If possible, remove cat and dog urine from linoleum immediately. Alcohol, vinegar diluted with water will help in this. We remove the smell of vinegar with soda. Then we wipe the linoleum with clean water.

Well, if there are no traces anymore, and the smell is still strong, there is only a cardinal solution – replacing the coating. And you also need to check the base on which the linoleum lay. If urine leaked there, you will have to change the base. His smelling patches are so accurate.

Just in case, you can try to wash cat urine from linoleum with odor neutralizers. They are sold in pet stores. They do not have their own smell, but they must eliminate the existing one. There is no personal experience with the use of such funds, so we will not guarantee the result.

Trying to clean the linoleum in the nursery

The children’s room is another source of headache for housewives. The spots here are of a different origin. Usually these are traces of experiments or arts of its inhabitants. Most often, you need to wash the marker or felt-tip pen from linoleum. We select funds depending on the type of marker pens. Traces from alcohol felt-tip pens or markers are wiped off with alcohol – ordinary or salicylic. Wet a cotton swab, but not so that it drips. If there is a lot of alcohol, the stain will become lighter, but will “spread”. It is necessary to rub with a slightly damp swab and change it often. Then you can remove the color. Another option is to dip a tampon moistened with alcohol in washing powder and rub, changing the tampon as it gets dirty.

For other types, nail polish remover (no color) can help, although it does not always work. Try products with ammonia. There are they in household and auto chemical goods. Whitening toothpaste helps to gradually whiten the mark from a marker, gel pen or felt-tip pen on linoleum. But it will be necessary to carry out processing after processing. We apply the paste, wait 15-20 minutes and wash it. You can also rub it to make the color fade faster. By the way, gouache and ink from linoleum are washed with the same means.

There are also oil markers. They must be rubbed with vegetable oil. Then, however, it is necessary to remove the greasy stain. Worst of all with permanent markers. These marks can be erased with a hard pencil eraser. You have to grind long and hard.

How to clean household stains

There are not so few substances in the house that leave stubborn stains on linoleum – the leaders are brilliant green and iodine. Both solutions are alcoholic, so we also remove them with alcohol. It is easier to deal with iodine spilled on linoleum. Even if it was not possible to immediately wipe everything off, after a while the stain will become lighter, then it will disappear altogether.

There will be no particular problems with potassium permanganate, unless it burns the protective film. You can wash potassium permanganate from linoleum with acid products. If you can make the trail lighter, that’s good. And after a while, the rest will also disappear by itself. But to wash greenery from linoleum is a problem. She won’t disappear on her own.

As already mentioned, you can lighten the stain of brilliant green with alcohol. It will brighten, but not completely disappear. Removing the trace is not easy. You can try bleach powder diluted with water to a slurry state, hydrogen peroxide. Try stain removers and window cleaner with ammonia. The last resort is chlorine. But only if you are sure that it will not dissolve your coating.

It is no less difficult to wash fukortsin (Castellani paint) from linoleum. We try all the same means, starting with the most harmless. Acetone or any agent with acetone can also remove the stain from fucorcin.

You can also wash pollen from a lily or pollen from any plant with bleaching compounds.

How to wash embossed linoleum from stubborn dirt with home remedies

When choosing linoleum, few people think about how to wash it. We look at durability, price and appearance. Embossed linoleum looks attractive, but dirt gets clogged into the folds and pores over time. And how to wash rough linoleum from ingrained dirt? If you are a fan of home remedies, try soaking laundry soap and leave this solution for 20-30 minutes, then brush and wash.

To quickly soak laundry soap, cut it on a coarse grater and pour warm water over it. After 15-20 minutes, get a paste that you will use to wash linoleum.

You can also wash dirty linoleum if you take one spoonful of washing powder, ammonia, pemolux (it is permissible to replace it with soda). Dissolve all this in a glass of water. In this liquid, lower the brush and rub the floor.

If we consider “homemade” dishwashing detergents, we also use them in tandem with a brush, rag or sponge. You can also wash rough linoleum from stubborn dirt with soda.