My vinyl floor (new house) has a thin layer of grit in the heavily trafficed areas making parts of the floor look darker than the rest. I can scrape it off with a scraper, but it doesn't seem to come off with just soap/water/scrubbing and I'm worried that I'm damaging the floors. Also, I have a lot of little paint spots all over the floor. What is the best way to clean everything at once? I've heard recommendations for ammonia cleaners ... will this get the grit and paint off?
Almost sounds like the floor is already damaged? Personally, I have vinyl floors to deal with: kitchen and four bathrooms. Vacuum with various floor attachments to pick up loose dirt (I'd do this the number of times per person per week to maintain debris-pickup), and sponge mop weekly using a bucket of warm water (can add a half cup of clear vinegar).
I don't know.
I've heard recommendations
Maybe, ammonia will strip a floor. Try kerosene or Goof Off on the paint spots.
Is your floor vinyl "yard goods" or "vinyl" tile? If vinyl tile, just strip it , with a floor machine [buffer] and recoat it.
Contacting the flooring manufacturer can't hurt.
Vinyl yard goods are usually no wax, but come with a semi-flexible sort of clear coat that needs serious pampering. Using the wrong techniques or chemicals could void any warranty the flooring has. So, take care.
In the examples I've seen, with various levels of sheen, you would not be able scrape this clear coat off, without doing permanent damage to the flooring--the bond is that tight. So, it sounds like there is something on top of the clear coat that doesn't belong, besides the paint spots. Knowing what that stuff is would help.
It is possible, with great care, to scrape some substances off the clear coat.
For the paint spots, first shoot the painter. :-) The paint is probably a water based latex. You can disrupt it by keeping it wet for a while (perhaps with a soaked towel), then agitate it with a plastic putty knife or maybe a Teflon coated cooking spatula.
Especially id this flooring is light in color, you might want to consider a nice "walk off" mat leading into the area.
I hope you will, please, let us know how you solve these problems.
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