Preventative Maintenance

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Stanley Gilbert
6 years ago
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2 Congratulations! You have just installed TrafficMaster allure GripStrip from The Home Depot. Your new resilient floor was produced under the highest quality standards and will provide you with a lifetime of enjoyment. Although allure is one of the easiest floors to maintain, please follow the recommendations in this guide to retain its fresh look and protect the factory finish. Preventative Maintenance 1. Use NON-RUBBER protective mats in front of any doors leading to the outside. This helps keep the floor from yellowing and getting damaged. It keeps the sand and grit from getting on to your floors. Gritty sand is any floor covering's worst enemy. 2. Install proper floor protectors (nylon or felt...felt preferred) on all furniture legs used on resilient flooring. Protectors will allow chairs to move easily over the floor without scuffing or scratching (felt protectors can still pick up small grit and cause slight abrasions). Clean protectors on a regular basis to remove any grit that may have become embedded on the bottom of the furniture leg. For any swiveled type office chairs and other rolling furniture, please install 2 wide non-staining flat casters. DO NOT use rubber casters. 3. To keep your floor looking its best, dust mop or vacuum (using hard surface vacuum attachment) your floor at least twice a week. Do it more often on floors with heavy traffic. DO NOT use a household dust cleaner of any kind. This may cause the floor to become slick or damage the finish. Simply sweep the floor as often as needed. 4. DO NOT use a steam cleaner on allure flooring as it may result in permanent damage to your floor and will void the warranty. If using a Swiffer, use only the sweeper. Using any kind of wet Swiffer can leave a residue on allure. 5. DO NOT allow pets with unclipped nails to damage your allure floor. It may result in severe scratching to the surface. The same is true for high heeled shoes without proper tips on the heels. 6. Pet urine can be harmful to allure. Clean as quickly as possible. Failure to clean quickly may result in damaging the floor. 7. Do not drag or slide heavy furniture or objects across allure as this could damage your floor permanently. 8. Avoid exposure to direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time. During peak sunlight hours, use drapes or blinds to minimize the direct sunlight on the allure floor. Most types of flooring will be affected by continuous strong sunlight. To avoid an uneven appearance, please consider relocating

3 area rugs from time to time. In addition, excessive temperatures are not good for resilient floors. Some natural ventilation or intermittent air conditioning in vacant homes should be considered. Long term continuous inside temperatures over 85º F (29º C) combined with strong direct sunlight will damage your allure floor and cause the installation to fail. HELPFUL HINT: Always sweep or vacuum your allure floor before cleaning so that all loose dirt and particles are removed. Regular Maintenance 1. Food spills should be cleaned up as rapidly as possible with a quality liquid vinyl cleaner. Make sure the cleaner you choose is an all-purpose liquid cleaner that is NON-ABRASIVE. We do NOT RECOMMEND powdered cleaners, oil soaps, dishwashing detergents, or other dusting products. Use a biodegradable cleaner that leaves no residue or haze and requires no rinsing after application. 2. Shoe marks, scuffs and fine scratches (pet nails) can be easily cleaned using a spot application of allure Single Step Soft Satin Finish and scrubbing very gently with a green Scotch Brite pad. *If allure Single Step is not readily available, please ask your Home Depot representative for an equivalent product. Or you may obtain it directly from Halstead. See instructions for how to purchase this cleaner, and other helpful products from Halstead on page DO NOT WAX YOUR allure FLOOR! The surface of your allure floor is very dense and nonporous; this prevents wax from penetrating and thus will build up a bed for yellowing and dirt collection. Use only allure Single Step for heavy wear when you have experienced some loss of the original appearance over time. Your allure floor has been designed to be very easy to maintain, but you may prefer to add an occasional coat of the allure Single Step to renew and protect your floor. Single Step is a once a month cleaning product and not meant for everyday usage. *If you cannot locate the allure Single Step, then please ask your Home Depot representative for an equivalent product. Additionally, the allure Single Step is available directly from Halstead. See page 8 on how to order. *OTHER PROBLEMS? Read the next page for more First Aid information for your allure floor. Or contact your Home Depot representative or Halstead s Consumer Hot Line at

4 First Aid For Your allure Floor 1. You may remove chewing gum, adhesive, crayon, candle wax, and similar type substances by applying ice until it becomes brittle enough to crumble off. The residue may be removed with mineral spirits. 2. Extra deep heel marks, caster marks etc.: rub with green Scotch Brite pad dampened with allure Single Step. 3. For moderate to heavy stains caused by long standing water or other non-dye liquids: Rub with allure Single Step. 4. For dark spots caused by ink or other chemicals, clean spot as per #2 above. If not successful, then the affected plank should be replaced. See page 5 for instructions. 5. Animal and diaper stains should be treated same as #3 above. *If you have any questions or concerns about caring for your TrafficMASTER allure floor please contact your local Home Depot or Halstead at , or check out our web site at mydiygenius.com. You can also us directly at: TrafficMaster@halsteadintl.com Repair Techniques Troubleshooting - Edges/seams not sticking: If any individual allure plank seams or edges should release from one another, it usually can be corrected. Option #1- Reheat: The allure adhesive can be reactivated as long as the grip strip is not contaminated with dirt and dust. You can reheat the adhesive on the grip strip with a heat gun (medium heat) or good hair dryer to soften the adhesive and reactivate it. Simply hold about 6 inches away from the seam and heat the adhesive strip for approx. 60 seconds. Then reattach the planks and roll with hand roller. HELPFUL HINT #2: Pay attention to your room temperature when installing allure. Please make sure your thermostat is set above 65º F and below 85º F when installing allure. Room temperature is important! Option #2 - Apply adhesive: The other option is to apply our allure liquid repair adhesive (cyanoacrylate adhesive a.k.a. Krazy Glue ). This method is for spot repairs and minor seam separation or corners lifting apart. Instructions are below. *Note - Special care should be taken when using the repair adhesive. WARNING: Avoid skin and eye contact and use with proper ventilation. Please follow instructions on the bottle for First Aid and Storage. Adhesive comes in 1 oz. bottles with an applicator tip and screw off cap.

5 Allure Adhesive Repair Instructions: Step 1: Use Blue Painter Tape to mask the plank seams surrounding the repair area carefully to avoid access adhesive from getting on top of the finished plank. Step 2: Then, gently lift two planks apart using a flat head screwdriver or a putty knife and apply a small bead of the repair adhesive down the middle of the grip strip from one end of the separation to the other and then firmly press into place and hold for 10 to 15 seconds. Wipe off any access adhesive that may have come up through the seam with a damp paper towel off the painters tape. Step 3: Remove the painters tape and roll seam with Hand Roller for best results. The more pressure placed onto the seam, the better. Using something to weigh down the seams overnight is also a good method to ensure a good bond. *Allure Repair Tape: We can also provide Allure double faced repair tape. This is good for small repairs when applied to the grip strip. Again this is for minor repairs only (75 lineal feet per roll). To order, call our customer hotline at between 8am EST to 8 pm EST. or us at TrafficMaster@halsteadintl.com. Plank Replacement Tools required for repair: Heat gun (hair dryer) - to heat and reactivate adhesive Hand roller - to apply pressure on the seam Utility knife - to cut out the bad plank 4' Straight edge - for cutting the plank out completely Flat head screw driver or putty knife - to pry apart planks Double sided tape - used if grip strip has been removed or damaged *Do you have color matched material? Do you have any leftover planks from your original installation? It is always best to have color matched material for plank replacement. Different run #s can have a shade or color variation. In the event a plank does need to be replaced because it is beyond repair, use the methods below. MAKE SURE THE REPLACEMENT PLANK IS ACCLIMATED AT THE PROPER TEMPERATURE (65 F to 85 F) FOR A MINIMUM OF 48 HOURS.

Plank Replacement Method #1 - The Heat Method 1. Start by identifying the over lip of the grip strip on the plank to be replaced.

Installations always start from the left side and go to the right making the over lip the seam farthest from the wall on the long side and on the right end of the plank. 2.

This will soften the adhesive enough for you to then make an incision with your utility knife along the inside of the plank cutting through the whole plank. Do not cut away the over lip grip strip.

6 Plank Replacement Method #1 - The Heat Method 1. Start by identifying the over lip of the grip strip on the plank to be replaced. You can determine this by identifying the starting wall of the installation. Installations always start from the left side and go to the right making the over lip the seam farthest from the wall on the long side and on the right end of the plank. 2. Hold the heat gun at least 6 away and be careful not to burn the surface of any plank. 3. This will soften the adhesive enough for you to then make an incision with your utility knife along the inside of the plank cutting through the whole plank. Do not cut away the over lip grip strip. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A VERY SHARP BLADE IN YOUR UTILTY KNIFE! (Figure 6) 4. Cut a slot or opening 2 in from the corner of the Plank (short and long side). Then using a flat head screw driver or putty knife, pry up the damaged plank. Slowly and carefully pull the plank away from the under lip" grip strip from the adjoining plank (Figure 7 and 8). Apply heat with the heat gun as necessary as you pull the plank up carefully. 5. On the over lip grip strip on the adjoining plank, use the heat gun again to soften the adhesive and peel back the original under lip on the long side and butt end of the plank. (Figure 9) *Important note: If the remaining grip strips are damaged, you will need to see the next section on page 7 - "Plank Replacement Method #2". 6. You now have a rectangular opening (with grip strips intact) to install the replacement plank back into. *HELPFUL HINT: Use one of the slip sheets of paper that comes in the box in between each allure plank to help. Folding it over the replacement plank under lip makes it easier to slide the replacement plank under the grip strip.

Once you have that seam lined up, remove the slip sheet by carefully sliding it out. Then press all four sides (2 short and 2 long) making sure the seams are tight.

If the grip strips have been damaged beyond usage, then you will need to cut out the damaged plank completely including the remaining grip strips. 2.

7 Once you have that seam lined up, remove the slip sheet by carefully sliding it out. Then press all four sides (2 short and 2 long) making sure the seams are tight. Use a hand roller an all four seams. Replacement is done! Plank Replacement Method #2 - Replace A Plank By Cutting It Out 1. Remove the plank as described in the previous section. If the grip strips have been damaged beyond usage, then you will need to cut out the damaged plank completely including the remaining grip strips. 2. Mark the plank for cutting: Measure 1 from the end of the short side and mark with marker Repeat 1 from the edge on the long side with marker Repeat step on all four corners. Draw a dot with marker at the edge of each corner Take a straight edge or a whole plank to draw a straight line that connects the 1 marks made previously Draw a 45 degree angle connecting dot on each corner to the 1 marks. You now have a smaller rectangle than a full plank to cut out. 3. Using a very sharp blade in your utility knife, and a straight edge, cut along the markings of the smaller rectangle. You could also use a cordless circular saw. Adjust it to the proper depth (3.8mm) to avoid damaging the subfloor. Once you have cut out the rectangle, use the utility knife to finish cutting away the rest of the plank. Clean up the edges so that a perfect rectangle remains. See (Figure 10). *WARNING - Be sure to wear safety goggles and vacuum or sweep up all dust and debris from using the circular saw.

4. When installing the replacement plank, first cut off the under lip of the grip strip and attach to the bottom of the over lip on the long and short end of the replacement plank.

Take 2 double faced tape and cut 4 pieces to fit all around the plank opening and LEAVE THE BOTTOM COVER ON THE TAPE. 6.

8 4. When installing the replacement plank, first cut off the under lip of the grip strip and attach to the bottom of the over lip on the long and short end of the replacement plank. This leaves just a 6 x 36 plank with no grip strips visible from the top of the plank. 5. Take 2 double faced tape and cut 4 pieces to fit all around the plank opening and LEAVE THE BOTTOM COVER ON THE TAPE. 6. Lift the adjoining planks and slide the tape under the planks leaving 1 of tape exposed all around the plank (Figure 11). 7. Peel back the paper on the double faced tape exposing the adhesive and position the replacement plank on top. Press into place. By not adhering or gluing the tape to the floor you will keep the installation a floating floor. Ordering Additional Products If you are unable to find a quality no-wax vinyl cleaner, or the TrafficMaster Matte Finish at your local Home Depot or at HomeDepot.com, you may obtain suitable products from Halstead N.E. Corp. by either sending a written request or calling: Halstead N.E. Corp., 15 Oakwood Avenue Norwalk, CT PHONE: Available products include: allure Single Step Soft Satin (covers 500 sq.ft. CALL FOR PRICE) allure Single Step Rich Gloss (covers 500 sq.ft. CALL FOR PRICE) Additional items: allure Repair Tape (75 per roll. CALL FOR PRICE)

9 REMINDERS! 1. Retain your Home Depot sales receipt. 2. Keep records of the style and run number of your allure planks, this appears on the outside of the carton alongside the barcode. 3. Keep record of the dates that you refreshed your floor with the Matte Floor Finish. DO NOT apply more than 4 coats total. If you need to apply more than 4 coats use a vinyl stripper to remove the previously applied floor finish. We hope you enjoy your beautiful new allure floor. If you have any questions please contact your local Home Depot representative or you can give us a call at: Also, don't forget to visit our "Support Center" at

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