Rubber Flooring Cleaning and Maintenance
Our rubber flooring's innovative surface treatment enhances its hardness and wear resistance. This coating ensures an easier initial cleaning, as well as daily and ordinary maintenance, because it does not require the traditional coat of polish.
Always use a door mat near external doors. (Do not use rubber, or rubber-backed matts as these can adversely affect the PU layer). When washing try not to use excessive amounts of water. Do not allow standing water or any other liquid to sit on it for any length of time. After the laying is completed, lay protective sheets on the floor covering to avoid unnecessary damage by heavy equipment, furniture, or any other work that will be completed after the floor installation.Always fit protective soft feet to furniture, tables and chair legs to prevent scratching. Protective feet must have a suitable size in order to spread the load on a larger surface. Special care should be taken with folding chairs to ensure their footprint is large enough to avoid lateral pressure causing permanent indentation.
Initial cleaning
• Remove all loose debris and dust and any residual sand with broom or vacuum.
• Clean the floor covering with a PH neutral detergent using a mop or a combined wash/vacuum machine in larger areas.
• In case of heavy dirt, clean the flooring using a low speed monobrush equipped with light abrasive disc (red disc in the 3M scale) and PH neutral detergent. Wet vacuum, rinse several times and leave to dry.
Daily maintenance
• Remove dust, dirt and stains from the floor.
• Clean with a broom and damp cloth or mop, a micro-fibre mop or vacuum may also be used. If detergent is required always use a PH neutral product. A combined machine with PH neutral detergents is suggested in larger areas. NB We do not recommend the use of Ecover cleaning products or washing-up liquid with our rubber flooring.
Periodic maintenance
• When standard maintenance operations are not sufficient to remove dirt, a deeper cleaning is recommended in order to restore the initial appearance of the flooring.
• In case of heavy dirt, clean the flooring using a low speed monobrush equipped with light abrasive disc (red disc in the 3M scale) and a suitable PH neutral detergent. Wet vacuum, rinse several times and leave to dry.
• If necessary, restore the desired level of gloss using a spray-buffing system. The speed of the machine and the type of detergent/floor maintainer is to be selected depending on the level of dirt and on the desired level of gloss. Contact us for more details.
• If subjected to strong sunlight, eg in rooms with bifold doors, glass-roofed side-returns, south facing windows and conservatories, the protective top coating (PU layer) of your rubber flooring may deteriorate over time and you should be prepared to remove and reapply it as part of a maintenance programme. This will not affect the longevity of the rubber itself. Please note the PU layer is not covered by our warranty. For details of replacing a PU layer, please email us
Important notes
• In most instances, the above maintenance regime will be sufficient to ensure your floor retains the best appearance. However where very heavy traffic is expected, a metallised emulsion should be applied: on a perfectly clean and dry floor, apply a film of polish (with the desired grade of gloss) using an applicator. Apply a first coat of pure polish thinly and evenly across the floor and let it dry for about 30/40 minutes; when first coat is dry, a second coat should be applied at right angles to the direction of the first. After the layer is completely dry (usually 2 hours), the floor is ready to be used.
• As with many types of flooring, our rubber floors are coated with a protective PU layer for hard wear and ease of cleaning. In certain conditions, eg with the use of the wrong cleaning products, surface exposure to grit, coffee grounds, hot oil, standing liquid or persistent strong sunlight (as detailed above), the PU layer can deteriorate over time, affecting the aesthetic appearance of the flooring surface. This will not affect the longevity of the rubber flooring itself. The solution is to remove the PU layer entirely and reapply. For details of replacing a PU layer, please email us
• To help protect the PU layer from deterioration as a result of sunlight, it is important to keep blinds closed and direct sunlight off the floor on sunny days. All floorcoverings are affected by direct sunlight which can also cause colour fading. When possible move area rugs and furnishings to allow for even colour change. Our rubber floor should not be exposed to temperatures of 45ºC. Again, use curtains or blinds to protect against this.
• All products for cleaning and maintenance must be used in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Wipe any spillage as quickly as possible from the flooring. Do not allow standing water or any other liquid to sit on it for any length of time
• Never use chemicals, high alkaline (high PH value) products or concentrated degreasers/strippers on our rubber flooring. Use only PH neutral detergent for daily maintenance.
• Ensure any mats, rugs, bins or other objects placed on the flooring are colourfast, non-reactive and suitable for use with rubber flooring (if unsure, test first with an offcut or in an unobstrusive area). It is not recommended to place rubber matting on your flooring. When applying decorator's tape to the floor surface, test on a small area first to ensure it is suitable.
• For stubborn stains, we recommend the use of undiluted Dr Shutz R1000 floor cleaner or Dr Shutz Elatex Universal Spot Remover
• All cleaning processes should not be carried out under direct sunlight in order to avoid dirty liquid drying before being removed, thus causing spots and stains on the flooring.
• Avoid using very abrasive discs with the monobrush (blue, green, brown, black). The blue/green disc can be used only to remove old layers of polish if this was applied.
• Chair and/or furniture castor wheels must be soft, type W according to the EN 12529.
•Like all floors, scratching can occur when dirt or sharp or heavy objects are pulled across the surface, so common-sense steps should be taken to avoid this possibility. The appearance of some scratches may be improved by using a Scratchfix PU Repair Set by Dr Schutz. Please email us us for availability.
• In the kitchen avoid damage from appliances by placing a sheet of hardboard between the appliance and the floor. When moving the appliance simply slide from one hardboard sheet to another. Take care with dragging heavy domestic appliances or furniture across the floor as, without protection, it could also damage the floor.
• Take care with cigarettes, kitchen utensils, hot or heavy objects which if dropped can damage the floor covering.
• Pets' claws can sometimes cause surface scratching.