Many janitors mistakenly believe that linoleum and vinyl tile floors are maintained in the same way. However, these two floor coverings are not at all identically constructed, and the maintenance requirements are different. In this article, we'll explore the differences between these two floor coverings and the appropriate maintenance for each.
How to recognize these floor coverings
First, there is a big difference visually, see for yourself:
| Linoleum or marmoleum | Vinyl tile |
 |  |
| Has a continuous appearance and often features patterns | Has a square appearance of 12 inches by 12 inches in general |
| Soft texture | Hard texture |
| 1.5 mm to 4 mm | 4 mm and more. |
| Its texture is made from linseed oil, pine resin and cork flour | Made from plastic |
| Very easy maintenance. Mop and wash only! | Much more difficult maintenance. Mopping, washing, polishing, scrubbing, and stripping, as well as applying floor finishes, are required. |
| Lifespan: 7 to 15 years, depending on the quality of the coating and its use. | Its lifespan is 30 to 40 years. |
| Forbo and Tarkett are major manufacturers. | Mona Serra is a vinyl flooring manufacturer |
| Non-slip, anti-allergenic, eco-friendly, flame retardant, anti-static and antimicrobial. | Not recyclable and really not ecological |
What are the most important things to remember about regular housekeeping?
These two types of flooring are not maintained in the same way at all. Linoleum or marmoleum only requires mopping and washing the floor. Vinyl, on the other hand, must undergo all the maintenance steps throughout the year. This makes it very expensive to maintain. Stripping the floor and applying floor finish is actually the most expensive task in housekeeping. And these tasks always have to be repeated year after year! Many of our buildings in Quebec are made from these two flooring materials. We must therefore learn how to maintain and maintain them.
Key points for all floor types
- Always mop all floors to avoid damaging the floor with what we drag with our shoes: sand, rocks, dirt.
- Choosing the right washing equipment. Depending on the space available, we recommend the auto-scrubber, the mini auto-scrubber, the flat mop system, or regular mop cleaning. This article on the good choice of equipment for floor washing will help you make your choice.
- For vinyl tile floors, I strongly suggest you take a training course on this subject. It can be very costly not to know how to properly maintain them. To this end, we offer training in small blocks: Floor maintenance training.
- There are several consultants in the housekeeping field who can help you when a problem arises. Your laundry supplier is one of them. Also, companies like CF Health can help you build a year-round maintenance program to enable you to be self-sufficient in the future and thus prevent errors.
In closing, I remind you that winter makes our life as concierge more complicated. On the other hand, we have good tools to help us. Here is a good article on this subject. Enjoy!
