Should I apply TopSheild and TopShield 2 to My New Marmoleum Dual Tile Floor?
So many people seem stuck once they have Marmoleum installed as to how to take care of the floor. Your best bet is to always follow Forbo recommendations for cleaning and for using TopShield and Top Shield 2, but lets come up with a really simple way to think about it.
1. Do No Harm – Just like the oath the doctors take, you need to be careful about using things that we THINK might work but are not approved. You can permanently damage a floor. If you are insistent and need to experiment, even after the company that has been making it for 150 years says otherwise… go right ahead.
2. Use the Right Cleaners – Floor cleaner that is “PH balanced” is the right thing to use. Forbo makes their own and it is not terribly expensive so maybe you can find it online and wait a few days to have the right stuff delivered. You just use a capful to a gallon so it will last a long time.
3. Spot Clean – Using Forbo cleaner or a mild ph balanced alternative you can spot clean any sticky or messy spots. Over doing the cleaning by mopping constantly can simply make a place for bacteria and biological stuff to live when it is warm and damp. Going to harsher chemicals to kill every germ in existence is like trying to kill the earth’s last mosquito and the ones left behind are more resistant and harder to kill. Can you use a wet steamer gadget? Yes, but don’t over do it.
4. Sweep & HEPA VAC Next – Many folks are insistent that a clean floor is one that has just been mopped. This is not always true. Thing about it like this. If you have dust on your floor, sweeping it with a fine broom or using a hepa vac would work much better than wetting the floor. Also, the cleaning agents we are washing down our sinks are doing serious harm to our rivers, lakes and oceans and their populations.
5. Stains & Gouges – When trying to fix a stain, it is important to know if the TopShield coating or the Marmoleum below is what is stained. Sometimes a scrubby pad or very fine sandpaper can remove a stain, but the floor is going to need a top coat of finish when you are done. Gouges can be fixed with some fine colored scrapings mixed with carpenters glue and pressed into place. Again, some finish will have to be put on the floor after this type of repair.
6. Abrasive cleaning – Many hospitals and universities go completely overboard with those giant scrubbing machines with the large abrasive wheels on them. They effectively sand the finish off the floor along with the color of the Marmoleum and in turn they shorten the life of the floor and increase costs by having to reapply finish constantly. Which brings us to finishing.
7. Applying TopShield and Top Shield 2 is quite simple. After doing a thorough cleaning with some undiluted, full strength PH balanced Forbo cleaner you can rinse and dry the floor. Using a pad to take off scrapes and stains will leave a matte area on the floor where it has been used. Applying TopShield over that well prepared floor with a sponge mop or pusher bar will do a nice job of applying a satin finish to your floor and should last you many more years. Following the instructions on the containers is critical and downloading the directions for floor maintenance will help a lot.
Sweeping with a fine broom or using a swiffy pad or steam jet is fine. Its a little overkill though. Unless you have a special case, even kids with asthma and allergy need exposure to some irritants to provoke their immune system to work properly.
