I’ve come to the conclusion that the people we bought this house from were pigs. Among other things, the kitchen floor is blackened in the high traffic areas as if they never mopped.
I have mopped it and scrubbed it on my hands and knees numerous times with varying cleaners (Pinesol, Mr Clean) and nothing seems to make a dent. I’d like to replace the vinyl squares and not worry about it anymore but it’s not in the budget right now.
Is there some kind of magic cleaning potion that I can brew in my sink? Should I call a priest and get some holy water? I’m tired of my kitchen floor looking dirtier than my driveway!
I once rented a house with a textured vinyl tile kitchen floor that had old wax and dirt positively encrusted in it. As I recall, I used hefty quantities of wax stripper, followed by barely-diluted bleach that I let sit for a looong time, followed by a hands-and-knees scrub with a stiff brush, digging into the texture to get all the crud out.
And amazingly, it worked. Of course, then when I asked the landlord to do some pest control for roaches and he proceeded to spread some long-since-illegal virulent poison around the floor, in a house with pets and toddlers, I got to repeat the whole process, all except for the wax stripper. :smack:
Malathion. That’s what my asshole landlord spread all over the floor where my toddler son and cat could poison themselves so conveniently. Malathion.
Err…oh, right, wax stripper. It’s good stuff. Normally I’d suggest a solution of ammonia instead, but if you’re going to be using bleach, too, it’s probably not a good idea.
A lot of the retired flooring installers I worked with at Home Depot recommended it. I had many customers call back to tell me that it worked wonders. I never had anyone say it didn’t work.
Armstrong also has a really good line of vinyl cleaners.
If the tiles are the peel and stick variety - good luck. They are not meant to be stripped. I have had a few customers say that strippers worked but most had no results ( or bad results ).
If they are the VCT (Vinyl Composite Tile - or commercial tiles, think school, hospital and grocery store floors), then the Armstrong products and a floor buffer should take care of it no problem. The benefit to these tiles is that the pattern goes all the way through. So, even if you have a scratch or gouge, a thorough cleaning and a nice shine should have them looking great again.
If nothing seems to work for you, there are a few fairly inexpensive options for covering them. Depending on the size of your room, you can probably cover your existing floor and give your kitchen a whole new look, without totally breaking the bank.
You can cover them with peel and stick tiles. You can get them from .13/sf to over $1.00/sf. I got the .13/sf ones and they actually looked nice and lasted longer than I wanted them to. Armstrong rates them as Good, Better and Best. All of them are pretty decent tiles and very easy to install. Just peel the backing off and stick them down. Make sure your existing floor is clean (not spotless, just clean will do), flat and level. If you want the best adhesion possible, it’s best to rent a floor roller from a home improvement store and roll out the floor. These tiles may look like they have a thin coat of adhesive on the back but they actually have a crapload of tiny bubbles of adhesive. If you roll out the floor, you break the bubbles and get a better seal. If you want an even better hold, prep your floor first with Henry’s floor primer (BTW, Henry’s and Armstrong are the same company). The primer doesn’t make your floor sticky but it does make your floor more accepting of adhesive substances. These tiles are cheap, easy to install, fairly durable and if installed properly, can last a long time. A 100sf room can definitely be refloored for less than $150.
Trafficmaster has a new product called Allure. It’s a vinyl floor but better. It comes in planks, like a laminate floor. It is a floating floor, like a laminate floor. So, you don’t have to actually stick it to the existing tiles. Here is where it gets good though. Allure is completely waterproof. Laminate is not. Because of this, you can install it below grade, in bathrooms, or in any other high mositure area. You do not need to install a foam underlayment - as you would with a laminate floor. You do not need any heavy duty tools to install it. You just mark your cut with a Sharpie and a straight edge and cut it with a regular utility knife. The planks are thicker than any normal vinyl floor and much more durable. But, unlike laminate floors, the planks are very flexible making the floor much easier to install. In addition to that, you don’t have to have a perfectly flat and level surface for these planks. A laminate floor can warp or crack if installed on an uneven surface. The foam underlayment will not protect against this. A peel and stick vinyl floor may pop up if installed over an uneven surface. The planks can almost be folded in half without showing a wear mark. The edges of the planks stick to each other but not to the floor. If you screw up, you can just heat the seam with a hair dryer and reactivate the adhesive so you can take up the misplaced plank with no problem. This stuff is so easy to install, even easier than peel and stick tiles actually. The first time I installed it was about 1 month after our store started carrying it. I didn’t read the instructions. I did a 6x4 area and it took me about an hour (I got interrupted a lot to help customers - I was doing this at work). If you can kneel down and use a knife, you can install this. It is fool-proof. It’s even SDMB Fucking Moron Club member proof! I’m not positive but I think my store had the Allure for somewhere around $1.70/sf. Most laminate floors will run you about $1.50 and up (unless you go with a really crappy brand) and you’ll still need to get the extra install materials. There is one drawback to the Allure (you were waiting for this weren’t you?). It’s a fairly new product - been around less than 1 year, I think. Because of this, the style choices are pretty slim. Just like laminate floors used to only be available in wood look, the Allure hasn’t advanced enough to have tile or stone look options. When I left Home Depot, they still only had 2 options. One looked like your basic natural oak floor. It was a light color and good for just about any type of decor. The other two were Cherry (fairly dark red) and a rustic look (dark and knotty).
Laminate is an option. But, it can get fairly pricey. If you want a good warranty, Pergo or Dupont are your best choices. If you are just looking for a quick and inexpensive fix, you can use a generic brand. But, it will still cost you more than the Allure. In addition to the cost of the flooring, you will need the underlayment (around $25 for 100sf of the regular 2 in 1 or about $35 for 50sf for the 3 in 1 which has sound absorption). You will also need a saw. You can use just about any saw as long as it has a laminate capable blade. You will also need spacers, a pull bar and a tapping block. It takes longer to install and longer to prep the floor because the floor needs to be very flat and level. If you have moisture in your floor, you’ll want to get it fixed before installing laminate (or ceramic and vinyl tiles for that matter).
Ceramic - not really an inexpensive fix. You can certainly find inexpensive tiles. But, ceramic or any other kind of tile can be very labor intensive and most people I’ve worked with would rather pay more for someone to do it for them. If you’re not daunted by the labor, then this could be a good option for you. If you have a Home Depot near you (and you’re not Home Depot phobic like a lot of people), see if they have a Host Bought section. This section is usually away from the regular tile aisle. A Host Buy is a product which they don’t normally carry, but which their buyer got for a really good price. They usually have a few ceramic tiles, some marble, granite, and travertine. Occasionally, they’ll even have hardwood or laminate. We had a host bought oak floor for only $2.99/sf. That was a huge seller and a great hardwood floor. We frequently had ceramic for .26/sf. It’s very possible that Lowes has a similar section but I’m Lowes phobic so I couldn’t tell you for sure.
If you have any questions about cleaning or installation, feel free to send me an e-mail (in my profile of course). I don’t work there anymore but I’m still friends with everyone from my old store. If I don’t know the answer, I know at least 5 former installers and one former Armstrong sales rep who’d love to help.
I’m not positive but I think my store had the Allure for somewhere around $1.70/sf. Most laminate floors will run you about $1.50 and up (unless you go with a really crappy brand) and you’ll still need to get the extra install materials. There is one drawback to the Allure (you were waiting for this weren’t you?). It’s a fairly new product - been around less than 1 year, I think. Because of this, the style choices are pretty slim. Just like laminate floors used to only be available in wood look, the Allure hasn’t advanced enough to have tile or stone look options. When I left Home Depot, they still only had 2 options. One looked like your basic natural oak floor. It was a light color and good for just about any type of decor. The other two were Cherry (fairly dark red) and a rustic look (dark and knotty).
I miss working in Flooring so it’s nice to get a chance to use the training they gave me.