Resilient Maintenance for Gym Floors

Proper care will help protect and maintain the appearance and performance of your resilient floor. A care program consists of key areas:

• Preventative Maintenance
• Routine Maintenance
• Spot and Spill Removal

Preventative Maintenance

• Protect floors when moving heavy objects to prevent permanent scratches and tears. The use of plywood and heavy cardboard are examples of protective barriers.
• Use appropriate wide floor protectors under tables, chairs, stadium seating and any other heavy furnishing to avoid permanent damage.
• Keep clean walk-off mats that absorb soil and moisture at all entrances. If not properly maintained these can become a source of soil and moisture.
• Avoid direct sunlight on LVT flooring as it can cause fading and expansion of vinyl planks. Use window protection
• Surface temperature should not exceed 100F (38C) from sunlight, bed bug treatment, steam mop, etc, and temperatures should not fall below 55F (13C). Exposing product to temperatures outside the recommended range could cause expansion of vinyl planks.
• ​Adhering tape to the surface of your resilient flooring could damage the surface. Do not use tape to secure floor protection directly to the floor during construction or renovation. Instead, adhere tape to the material used to protect the floor and secure it to the base molding along the wall.  A material such as ram board can also be used to protect your flooring.
• ​Avoid using mop and shine products on resilient flooring.
• ​Some disinfectants contain chemicals that can stain, discolor and cause general harm to your flooring product.  Quaternary Ammonium Salts are among those that have been found to be harmful to your flooring when used over time.  Take care to choose pH neutral products only. 
• Walk-off mats should be used at all entrances to absorb soil and moisture. If mats are placed directly on top of the resilient floors, use mats without latex or rubber backings to avoid possible discoloration.

Routine Maintenance

Shaw’s Vibrant Mop Kit is recommended for dry and wet mopping.

• Removal of dust and soil at each work station is important to maintain a clean work environment and to prevent particles from abrading the surface of resilient floors.
  • Do not use vacuums with rotating beater bars on hard surfaces.
• Daily wet cleaning is recommended to help maintain the floor’s appearance.
• Always dust mop with Shaw’s Vibrant Mop and green microfiber pad or gym mop before any type of wet cleaning.
• Shaw’s TOTALCARE® Hard Surfaces Environmental Flooring Cleaner is recommended for overall cleaning and general spot cleaning. Mix concentrate per instructions on label.
• Lightly spray mist the floor in a 4’ x 4’ area and wipe clean with the Vibrant Mop and darker blue microfiber pad attached to the mop head. Continue same technique for entire floor. Mist Only and Do Not Saturate.
• Replace pads when soiled. Several pads will be necessary to achieve the best cleaning performance. Soil from the floor will not transfer to the microfiber cloth pad if the pad is saturated with soil.
• To clean heat weld seams, spray Shaw’s TOTALCARE® along seam and using a roamer brush, gently agitate seam area to remove soil.

Spot and Spill Removal

Shaw’s flooring products are engineered to resist and minimize common staining.

• Absorb wet spills as quickly as possible by blotting with white paper or cloth towels. Rinse with water if necessary and blot dry.
• Dried spots should be removed by gentle agitation and rinsed with water. Blot dry. Use Shaw’s TOTALCARE® Hard Surface cleaning product for difficult spots.
• Use rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) with a clean white cloth for oil and grease type spots requiring a solvent type cleaner that water and the TOTALCARE® spot cleaner can not remove.
• Do not use cleaning products containing bleach.

Please note that some stain conditions may become permanent.

Contact  at  for assistance.

Safety Caution: The surfaces of resilient floors change during wet cleaning. Use appropriate safety measures. For ordering cleaning products, please call 877-209-7309.

Periodic Deep Cleaning

• Always dry mop before deep cleaning your Resilient Gym flooring.
• For deeply soiled flooring, Shaw recommends the use of an auto scrubber with white brushes. Never dry scrub the floor. Use a neutral pH cleaner in the mix tank or spray bottle. Spray mist the floor with the neutral cleaner and scrub the floor with the brushes. The scrubber should have an extractor that picks up the water and cleaner.
• If an auto scrubber is not available, Shaw would recommend using a low rpm (175 rpm) buffer with a red or white pad and neutral pH cleaner. Never dry buff the floor.
• Rinse the floor with water after deep cleaning.
• Use of air movers will dry the floor quickly.

Scratch Mitigation

Surface abrasions (i.e. scuffs, scratches, gouges, etc.) can cause damage to the wear layer on the Resilient Gym flooring. In the event the wear layer is compromised, there are options listed below to improve the appearance of the abraded surface.

• Scuffs - Use a broom handle with a tennis ball on the end of the handle. The tennis ball will remove shoe scuffs, black marks, etc. 
• Gouges/Tears - Due to Resilient Gym floor being a cushioned flooring, gouges usually result in tear. Below is an option that can improve the appearance of the damaged area:
  • Contact an installer to cut out the affected area and use attic stock from install to align the plank pattern. The “patch” should be heat welded into place.

To prevent permanent damage due to abrasions and scratches, the following recommendations should be followed:

• Utilize walk off matting at the entrance of the gym. This will help prevent debris from coming in contact with the flooring, therefore, preventing scuffs and scratches.
• Always protect flooring using appropriate protectors on furnishings that contact the flooring.
• Always relocate furnishings with the use of proper protection. Proper floor protectors will distribute weight and minimize or prevent scratches.
• Minimize the particle size of rock salt or ice melt. To eliminate the possibility of scratches due to rock salt, use liquid ice melt outside of the gym and maintain the walk off matting daily.