VCT, or vinyl composite tile, is a flooring type commonly found in commercial buildings – hospitals, offices, grocery stores, commercial passenger ferries and many other places people visit daily. VCT is frequently found in restrooms, kitchens, hallways and exam rooms. It is sanitary and easy to clean when properly maintained.

Ludington Floor Care is your “go to” company to service your VCT. Regular maintenance is required for your VCT to stay in tip-top shape. Check out the tips below on how to get the most wear out of your VCT and maintaining a beautiful floor for many, many years.

Factory finish isn’t for use.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking factory finish is meant for use after installation. The finish the factory puts on VCT before it is installed is meant just to protect the VCT for shipping and installing; it is not intended to be the only protection your VCT has for daily use. Once you have the flooring installed it requires a stripping and at least two coats of wax for it to be ready to use. This is best done before moving furniture into the room as it takes 24 hours of cure time before it can be walked on.

One size does not fit all for maintenance scheduling!

How often your VCT has to be maintained will vary not only from other businesses with the same flooring, but also from office to office within the same business. Traffic patterns and the type of shoes worn on the flooring will wear it all differently. Chairs without protective floor mats will wear VCT down quickly and high traffic patterns and hard soled shoes will also wear down the wax faster requiring more frequent stripping and waxing. Depending on the wear patterns your VCT may need stripping and waxing every 6 months or more if the wear is high.

Leave the maintenance to the professionals.

VCT maintenance isn’t for the novice, it requires a professional who has expertise in VCT upkeep. It isn’t an easy job, it takes hard work and quite a bit of time to maintain it properly. Keep track of the ways your floor is stripped and what products are used on it so you can remind the professional floor care experts. Testing the flooring before stripping it is recommended if you aren’t sure of what has been used on the flooring before. Ludington Floor Care will test your floors to ensure the proper treatment is given to them to get the very best result possible. Trust the professionals, it isn’t worth the damage that can be done by not using experts.

If in doubt, wait!

Wax dry time varies a lot. Factors that go into dry time include humidity, temperature, air circulation, wax thickness as well as the type of wax used. Generally each layer takes about an hour or so to dry to the touch, but that may not hold true for the entire floor as circulation and temperature can vary even through a single room. Ludington Floor Care suggests a full 24 hour cure time to ensure the wax is cured and fully dry before placing furniture back on it. Remember never to drag or push furniture across your freshly waxed VCT, always lift and place furniture back. Don’t risk permanently ruining not only your fresh wax, but possibly even the tile under it.

Some damage can’t be undone.

Always protect your investment in VCT by taking care of your flooring. Stripping and waxing regularly will keep your floors in good shape; it can remove stains and increase shine but it can’t always be brought back to 100% if it goes too long between maintenance. If VCT becomes exposed it can stain and become ground in with dirt and grime and never come back to what it once was. Exposed VCT is porous and will soak up stains and dirt if all the wax is allowed to be worn off. Make sure you get your maintenance in before permanent damage is done, check high traffic areas for exposed VCT, especially under unprotected chairs, or call Ludington Floor Care to come take a look and schedule your VCT maintenance. Don’t risk your investment, better safe than permanently damaged flooring!