How To Clean Linoleum Floors

Genuine linoleum is a material with the same maintenance characteristics as wood.

It is very tough and quite durable but has difficulty with moisture and alkalinity.

In order to maintain it’s appearance and also to protect it from dirt and moisture, linoleum floors should be cleaned and polished only with cleaning products specific for use on genuine linoleum.

Linoleum Floor Cleaning Tips

• Sweep and/or vacuum the floor thoroughly
• Mix your cleaning products as instructed
• Mop the floor with a slightly dampened mop. Go easy on the water
• Change your cleaning solution as it becomes dirty
• Air dry, or use a sh-mop to remove water spots

Regular Floor Cleaning

• Sweep and/or vacuum the floor thoroughly
• Mix your cleaning products as instructed
• Mop the floor with a slightly dampened mop. Go easy on the water
• Change your cleaning solution as it becomes dirty
• Air dry, or use a sh-mop to remove water spots

Heavy Duty Linoleum Floor Cleaning

We use this on all linoleum floors we clean, and we clean A LOT of floors!

To do a real heavy duty Linoleum floor cleaning (assuming the linoleum is not just old and discolored) try this:

Mop linoleum with a mild detergent and wait awhile to allow it to penetrate the ground-in dirt

• Use a canister vacuum, or broom and thoroughly vacuum up all dust and dirt.
• Get a good wax stripper and using a good scrub brush, follow manufactures instructions, and make sure any wax on the linoleum is completely removed.
• Mix white vinegar (food grade) and water 50/50 in a spray bottle fill up a mop bucket with warm/hot water.
• Use the spray bottle to spray the vinegar solution on the linoleum floor, and mop the floor with the warm water in the mop bucket.

The vinegar cleaner solution smells, but as it dries the smell will dissipate completely, it cuts grease and is a disinfectant and a mold and mildew remover. It leaves no residue or spots.

Dry the Floor after Mopping

To dry we use a thing called a sh-mop. (or shine-mop) to dry the floor and remove any water spots. It also has an added bonus of finding and removing residual dirt that is left after mopping.

The Sh-Mop is used for hard surface flooring. It is a white terry-towel fit over a rectangular mop head. This is a very low profile mop that swivels 360 degrees for easy floor cleaning. The Sh-mop can be used to wet mop marble, tile, wood, and vinyl flooring using dampened 100% cotton terry cloth covers.

It easily scrubs tile, vinyl, linoleum wood and marble with a nylon scrub pad or cotton cover. Its works really well for cleaning hard floors. It is highly absorbent, and reusable machine washable cotton. You just toss the dirty cotton covers in the washing machine after use.

Linoleum Floor Care

Proper care of your floor will prevent damage and extend its life significantly.

Take your shoes off at the door.

Install some floor mats. Sand and dirt are not just annoying or unsightly. These little pebbles grind away at the surface, dulling the shine with small pits and scratches. You’ll be doing your self a big favor in the long run too. You won’t have to clean the floors as often with less dirt and grime being tracked in.

Always vacuum or sweep your hard surface floors before mopping. Otherwise you are just adding water to the dirt and spreading wet grime around. Then the dirt settles in the cracks and pits dulling the shine. Not to mention the floor is just not clean.

Linoleum floors are susceptible to water. They will degrade over time if the floor is over damp. So use as little water as possible taking care not to slosh it around.

Most detergents leave a residue on the floor which will ultimately attract dirt. So rinse the floor well after mopping. You can also mop with cleaner that leaves no-residue as per the manufacturer recommendations. We use approx 1 cup vinegar to 1 gallon of warm water to clean linoleum floors. A vinegar solution leaves no residue, is a natural deodorizer (the vinegar smell dissipates as it dries) and it is better for you and the environment.

Dry the floor with a towel when it’s wet to pick up additional dirt and grime left after mopping.