There is a certain irony to how rubbing alcohol and vinyl floors interact with one another. On the one hand, a small amount of rubbing alcohol or denatured alcohol may be used to clean up small stains on vinyl floors. On the other hand, a large amount of this substance may create a whole new stain on its own. Thus, it is important to know how much to use, where to use it on your flooring, and what you can do to avoid sustaining damage on your vinyl floors.
Is Rubbing Alcohol Safe For Vinyl Floors?
It is technically safe to use a small amount of rubbing alcohol on vinyl or linoleum flooring if you are attempting to clean up a small spill or stain.
Importantly, this substance is different from acetone, even though they have a similar smell. Make sure you do NOT attempt to use acetone on your vinyl or linoleum flooring as that will certainly cause problems for those floors.
That said, you should know that using rubbing alcohol in small quantities for floor cleaning is not the end of the world.
Most people prefer to use cleaning products that are better designed to handle tough floor stains. Rubbing alcohol is not specifically created with floor cleaning in mind, so it doesn’t do as good of a job of this as some other substances surely would.
Thus, you will want to think carefully before deciding to use rubbing alcohol on your floors. It may be an easy to avoid mistake that you ultimately regret.
Does Rubbing Alcohol Stain Vinyl?
Vinyl can be stained by rubbing alcohol, particularly if it is used in large quantities. You do not want to overindulge on rubbing alcohol when there are so many other products on the shelves that are wiser to use to clean vinyl floors. You are taking a risk that is larger than it needs to be when it comes to cleaning up your vinyl floors. You may stain them in a permanent way that takes away from their natural beauty.
There are various concentrated cleaning products available from brands that you had heard of before that are available to clean your vinyl floors. A great example of this is Meyer’s Clean Day multi-surface cleaning product. It is made from all-natural plant products, and is, therefore, more environmentally friendly than most.
When you use something like this that is specifically designed for vinyl flooring, you don’t have to worry about your floors getting stained. You are actually taking the threat of damage to your vinyl floors away because you are using something that will clean up the mess that could have brought major damage to your floors if you had allowed them to sit for too long.
Why All-Purpose Cleaners Are Generally Okay For Vinyl Flooring
People sometimes get themselves worked up into a tizzy thinking that their vinyl floors can only take certain chemicals coming in contact with them. That is just not the case though.
The reality is that vinyl floors can often be touched up with all-purpose cleaners and come out just fine. You just want to make sure the cleaners don’t have harsh elements such as bleach contained within them. As long as you get something that is free from things like that, you should be in great shape to have a floor clean from dust, dirt, and grime.
Just make sure you don’t spray more than absolutely necessary, and don’t let it sit on the floor without being wiped up. You do not want to allow the chemicals from any kind of cleaning material to build up on your floors at any time. It is a risk to any type of floor at any time.
Cleaning vinyl floors is easier than people tend to think, and there is something very satisfying about the fact that you can get it all done in a short period of time. You just need to take a moment to get to a store and purchase a few cleaning products that can work on virtually any surface. You will want to wipe down your floors entirely and completely after you have sprayed them because you don’t want to leave anything to chance as far as residue from cleaning products getting everywhere.
You shouldn’t worry too much if you drop a little rubbing alcohol on your vinyl floors here or there. It is not the end of the world if something like this happens, but you need to get concerned if you accidentally have more than a few drops fall onto the floor.
That is when the danger of stains on your vinyl floors can become more serious, and you do not want to put yourself in that position. You could end up with floors that are beyond repair in terms of getting the stain up. Always take a threat like that seriously.
