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Invalid table id.vinyl floors are considered to be resistant and robust, but they are not indestructible.
Heavy furniture, excessive strain or small household accidents can leave their mark. In this article you will learn how best to repair damage to your vinyl floor.
How can damage be caused to the vinyl floor?
The typical damages of vinyl floors can basically be divided into three categories:
- damage to the surface, such as scratches, grinding marks, cuts or holes
- dents or bubbles and
- Detachments at corners and edges.
While damage to the surface is often caused by carelessness or excessive stress, the causes of the other two types of damage are sometimes insufficient processing quality or moisture penetration.
How does the repair of vinyl floors work?
A major advantage of vinyl floors is that most damages can be repaired relatively easily – even without expert support.
The actual amount of repair work required depends on the type and severity of the damage.
In the case of minor damage, vinyl flooring can be repaired by treating only the affected area, while in the case of larger or more serious damage, the damaged flooring must be replaced.
Remove scratches and grinding marks
Whether by moving a heavy piece of furniture or a small stone in the sole of a shoe – punctual excessive stress can cause scratches, sanding marks or small cuts on the vinyl floor.
A suitable vinyl floor repair set helps with superficial damage: The repair fluid applied with a sponge or cloth fills and seals minor scratches or cuts in the vinyl floor.
The repair kit thus prevents the damage from spreading to deeper layers of the soil.
Sanding marks on the surface can also be retouched with special PU cleaners or care products – these act like a polish, making unsightly scratches paler.
In addition, the vinyl floor receives the necessary care.
It is important that the damaged area is thoroughly cleaned before repair so that the effect of the sealing or polishing is not impaired by dirt or dust.
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fill in the hole
A hole in the vinyl floor not only impairs its appearance, but also carries the risk of mould growth due to moisture entering the floor. This is a problem especially with vinyl floors in the bath.
It is therefore essential that it be repaired quickly. To do this, the damaged area is best cut out of the floor and replaced with a precisely fitted counterpart made of leftover vinyl flooring.
It is essential to use a metal bar and a very sharp knife to ensure clean, smooth cuts.
It is even easier to use a punch, which simply punches out the damaged area.
Then the edges of the inserted repair piece are covered with adhesive tape and the resulting cracks are filled with cold welding agent. When this is dry, the seams are hardly visible.
TIPP: If there are no more remnants of the vinyl floor, the hole can also be sealed with repair wax (actually intended for wooden floors) or silicone in the appropriate colour.
Another alternative are special repair sticks available in specialist shops, which are welded to the floor.
Remove bubbles
If the vinyl floor throws bubbles, there can basically be two reasons for this: air pockets during installation or water damage.
In order to be able to repair the vinyl floor, the underlying cause should therefore first be determined.
To do this, the bladder is cut open with a sharp knife and lifted.
If the substrate of the vinyl floor is dry, the repair can be started immediately; if, on the other hand, it is damp, the area must be completely dry before taking any further steps.
To remove the bulged area, clean the subfloor and the raised vinyl floor plank, spread new vinyl floor adhesive evenly over it with a spatula and replace the plank.
After removing excess glue from the edges with a clean cloth, the repaired area is smoothed with a rolling pin so that it is fully bonded.
Until the adhesive is completely dry, the area is fixed with a heavy object (e.g. a stack of books).
Re-glue corners and edges
Loose corners and edges are basically repaired in a similar way to bubbles.
In this case, the vinyl floor is not cut open, but is instead opened up to the point where it is still completely stable.
However, care must be taken not to cause kinks. With the help of a hair dryer, old adhesive residue can be easily warmed and removed before applying new adhesive and pressing the vinyl floor firmly back on.
How can severely damaged vinyl floors be repaired?
In the event of extensive or more serious damage, it is recommended to replace the vinyl floor completely at this point.
With floating laid vinyl floors, individual planks can be removed very easily, as there is no fixed connection with the subfloor.
But even glued vinyl flooring can be replaced without any problems: To do this, the damaged vinyl plank is cut out evenly with a sharp knife and removed.
Lines in the decor or existing joint lines serve as orientation aids and facilitate the exact adjustment of the replacement part later.
For floor elements that are difficult to remove, the heating of the adhesive with a hair dryer is an effective remedy.
Unless an entire vinyl floor plank is replaced, the removed floor piece serves as a template for cutting the new element to size and shape, as well as for the decor and the colour.
This is particularly important for vinyl floors that have arched patterns.
In the next step (for floating floors) the longitudinal and transverse springs on the replacement plank are removed and the adhesive is applied evenly (see video above).
While the glue is drying, the repaired area should be weighted down so that the floor does not bend.
To protect the floor from scratches in future, you should also use a office chair underlay for chairs with castors .
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Helpful household remedies for small damages
Even if the repair of vinyl floors is basically not an unsolvable task – it is even better if it can be avoided completely.
For example, through simple tricks or proven household remedies like these:
- With cooking oil fine scratches in the surface can be polished out without much effort.
- For dark vinyl floors, such as walnut, scratches can also be treated with dark shoe polish or special repair sticks.
- Wax drops are best removed with a plastic spatula. Stubborn residues are being attacked by hairdryers and blotting paper or paper towels.
- The hair dryer also serves its purpose in the case of dents or bumps: simply warm the affected area in the vinyl floor until the floor becomes soft, remove the bruise with a rolling pin or wallpaper roller or weigh down the heated area with a suitable object.
- Rubber abrasion – for example from dark shoe soles – is best removed with PU cleaner.