Luxury vinyl flooring is a great addition to any busy home. It is known for its water resistance as well as its resistance to scratches.
Because of this durability, it is a good choice for people with children and animals. However, even the most cautious of families might end up with a scratch or two.
When this happens, you can rest easy knowing that it is usually fixable.
Key Takeaways:
Start by cleaning the floor, then rub it over with a tennis ball if needed. Apply a PU cleaner, then sand down the vinyl with medium grit. Finally, wax each vinyl plank to give it a perfect finish.
Repairing Scratches on Luxury Vinyl Flooring: Basic Idea
Depending on how deep the scratches on your flooring are, one of these steps should repair it.
Try each one in order if you are not sure how deep the scratches are. Keep moving onto the next one until the scratches are gone.
- Clean the floor
- Rub with a tennis ball
- Apply PU cleaner
- Sand down the vinyl
- Wax the vinyl planks
How Does Luxury Vinyl Flooring Get Scratched?
Luxury vinyl flooring is generally very resistant to scratches. However, there are always ways that your floors can get scuffed or gouged.
One of the most common ways vinyl flooring gets scratched is with furniture.
Furniture can have unexpectedly sharp edges on the feet, which, when combined with body weight, can produce scratches.
One of the best ways to mitigate this is to attach felt to the bottom of your furniture. You can also put down area rugs where furniture like kitchen chairs will be moved around a lot.
You can prevent this by instigating a “no shoes” policy in the house and keeping stones and dirt outside.
Clean the Floors
Before you do anything else, you will want to thoroughly sweep and mop the floors.
Sometimes, small scratches can be removed by a complete mopping. If they are just little scuffs, you usually won’t have to do any more than this.
If the scratches don’t come out with the first mopping, you can try again using a lint-free cloth.
Spot clean the area where the scratches are using an approved concentrated cleaner. This can sometimes smooth out the scratched up area.
If this doesn’t get the scratches out, you can move onto the next steps.
Rub the Floors With a Tennis Ball
If simply cleaning the floors doesn’t remove the scratches, you can try rubbing them with a tennis ball.
This method might seem unorthodox, but it can be very effective with light scratching.
Tennis balls have a slightly coarse texture without being tough enough to make gouges. This makes them a great tool for this kind of repair.
Scratches are mostly visible because of the material that has come above the surface.
Apply a PU Cleaner
PU cleaners can be very helpful with removing moderate scratches. They are meant to be used on surfaces that are finished with PU, which vinyl flooring is.
First, lightly sand the area with a fine-grit sandpaper. Then, clean the area with the lint-free cloth.
You can do up to three applications of the cleaner. If it hasn’t removed the scratches by then, move on to the next method.
If it has removed the scratches, be sure to let it dry for at least six hours before walking on it.
Sand the Floors Down
If worse comes to worst and your scratches are very deep, you can try to sand them out.
Using a medium-grit sandpaper, sand the affected area of the vinyl plank flooring.
After sanding, feel the surface and see if you can still feel scratches. If the surface is level, the scratches should be removed.
Wax the Floors
No matter which treatment you end up using, you should always wax the floor afterward.
Waxing is a great way to make your floors shine and can help fill in any small scratching. Make sure that you let the wax dry completely before walking on it.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How long do luxury vinyl floors last?
If you take care of them, luxury vinyl floors can last 25 years.
They are incredibly durable and don’t wear out like hardwood. They also don’t scratch easily and, as demonstrated above, can be fixed if they are scratched.
- Can you put a refrigerator on vinyl plank flooring?
Since a refrigerator will be resting on multiple planks, it can be put on vinyl plank flooring.
The only thing you want to avoid is putting something heavy on one plank. You should always spread out heavy loads onto multiple planks.
- Can water seep through vinyl planks?
Vinyl plank flooring is very water-resistant. However, if you have a persistent leak, it can seep under the planks.
Always repair any leaks to ensure that they don’t leak underneath the floor and cause mold.
Conclusion
Luxury vinyl plank flooring is a great addition to your home and can be incredibly durable.
Preventing scratches is the best method for protecting your vinyl flooring. However, if you do end up with some scratching, there are multiple ways to get it fixed.
