Maintaining LVT Flooring

LVT flooring, also known as click vinyl flooring or luxury vinyl tiles, have exploded onto the UK and Ireland market in recent years. So much so that they are the fastest growing floor covering in Europe. It is easy to see why. Click vinyl flooring is extremely versatile and great in wet areas such as bathrooms. Best of all, maintaining LVT flooring is easy. In fact, we think that luxury vinyl tiles are one of the easiest floors types to clean and maintain.

Is it easy to take care of LVT flooring?

To ensure that your LVT floor lasts longer than expected while looking great,  it is important to follow a few very basic maintenance tips. Of course, correct installation is very important, so please read our guide on how to lay click vinyl flooring first. Thankfully LVT tiles can be easy to take care if you keep on top of it.

In most cases (i.e. if you're having a standard installation) you can take care of LVT flooring by regularly brushing or hoovering  when needed, and mopping it about once a week. Just make sure that you're giving the mop a good ring out first. Using too much water is never good on any floor, and you never want to leave pockets of water about.

And what about maintaining LVT flooring?

Every luxury vinyl tile is made up of a lot of layers all compressed to work wonders. And while it is easy to clean, you also need to make sure you're not making mistakes when trying to maintin the floor. 

From our experience, some of the top tips for better LVT maintenance are as follows:

  • Use felt pads. LVT floors are quite hard to scratch but moving heavy furniture, sharp objects or repeated abrasion can prematurely wear the surface. Using felt paddings under all furniture will protect our flooring from this.
  • Check shoes and pay extra attention to high heels. Look for any sharp or metal parts. This can really damage your click vinyl floor, so if you're installing in the hallway or near the back door, think about having a mat laid down for people coming in and out to avoid any damage
  • Clean regularly using an approved LVT cleaner - if you're struggling to find one, shop around in the big stores for cleaners with "netural ph" on the label. They can be diluted down
  • Heat should be maintained between 15-28degC to avoid excessive movement.
  • Use and Vinyl maintenance kit (such as the Woca Maintenance Kit for Vinyl Flooring). This will clean and toughen the surface, also helping to hide light scratches.

Are there any LVT cleaning faux pas to know of?

Yes there are. While LVT is easy to take care of, avoid these mistakes:

  • Using cleaners with ammonia in them, as they'll strip away the protecion of the top layer
  • Avoid using steam mops where you can. Some people tend to turn them on to full power. Do it enough times going over LVT and it can cause warping
  • When you have stains or marks, look for LVT cleaners and don't go grabbing a scourer or steel wool to lift marks 
  • Don't wax over LVT floors - applying it over the top layer makes the floor incredibly slippy

Are there any cleaners I can use when my house is mixed flooring?

When you have laminate in the hall, LVT in the kitchen and laquered floors in the living room, you don't want to be swapping cleaners around every single time.

We have a good range of floor cleaners in stock, with Woca Master Cleaner a stand out for mixed floor use.

We have lots more helpful information on all our flooring types including vinyl click flooring in our Wood Floor Blog & FAQ's.

View all blog posts