Vinyl plank, laminate, linoleum and cork floors: what each takes and what it does not
Find out what the floor actually is and who made it, read its wear layer or wear rating, learn what "waterproof" covers on its warranty, and match mats, furniture feet and cleaners to the maker's sheet.
- Start here: the essentials
- What the floor is: six types and how they are built
- Wear layers, wear ratings and labels
- Dents, mats, sun and heat
- Water and "waterproof"
- Cleaning by the maker's sheet
- See it: Maya's plank and the Brennans' candidate
- Practice: name it, file the sheet, match the mat
- Your home
- Check your work
- Knowledge check and scenario
Start here Essentials
For a first pass, this chapter asks you to find out what the floor is and who made it, keep the maker's care sheet, and make the mats, furniture feet and cleaner match that sheet. It works the same for a rented floor and for one you own.
- Find the product's type and maker. Look at a box end, the receipt, a spare piece, or ask the landlord or installer in writing (how to find out).
- Save the maker's care sheet and read its "do not use" list. Note where you saved it on the installed register (cleaning by the maker's sheet).
- Replace rubber-backed mats with ones the maker allows, and put wide felt pads under furniture. Lift the old mat and look underneath (dents and mats).
- Clean with what the sheet says and nothing it forbids. Where the maker is unknown, use the gentle default (cleaning).
Minimum time: an evening, plus the wait for a landlord's or seller's reply. Done when: the installed register names the product and maker, and the mats and cleaner match the sheet.
What the floor is: six types and how they are built Understand
Vinyl, laminate, linoleum and cork can look alike once installed, and many of them are printed to look like wood or stone. They are built differently, and they take different care. Two trade associations publish the definitions: the Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) for vinyl, linoleum, cork and rubber (RFCI, Flooring Types), and the North American Laminate Flooring Association (NALFA) for laminate (NALFA, What is Laminate?). Resilient flooring is RFCI's family name for vinyl in its forms, linoleum, cork and rubber. Laminate is not in that family; it has a wood-fiber core.
| Type | How it is built | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Sheet vinyl | Vinyl in rolls, typically 6 ft or 12 ft wide (RFCI) | Few seams. Old sheet vinyl and its backing are an older-home question (below) |
| LVT and LVP (luxury vinyl tile and plank) | Flexible vinyl tiles or planks with a printed film and embossed surface (RFCI) | Read the wear layer in mils |
| Rigid core (sold as SPC or WPC) | Modular flooring with a rigid polymer core, a decorative top and sometimes a pad attached underneath (RFCI) | SPC and WPC are sellers' names for rigid-core constructions; RFCI's definitions do not use them |
| Laminate | A protective wear layer over a printed decorative layer, on a wood-fiber core pressed under heat, with a backing layer (NALFA) | Not sanded or refinished, per NALFA; in many click systems a damaged plank can be replaced |
| Linoleum | A specific product made with linseed oil (RFCI; Forbo) | "Linoleum" is not a general word for vinyl. Cleaners must fall in a pH band |
| Cork | Cork flooring, a resilient type (RFCI) | Few care sources; one maker's sheet is the main one we found |
LVT stands for luxury vinyl tile and LVP for luxury vinyl plank; RFCI groups them. A rigid core floor is a vinyl plank or tile built on a stiff polymer core, which is what makes it rigid. Laminate is a printed decorative layer under a clear wear layer on a wood-fiber core, so it is not vinyl and not real wood on top. Linoleum is made with linseed oil, which Forbo, a linoleum maker, says keeps oxidizing and hardening for the floor's whole life (Forbo, Caring for Marmoleum at Home).
How to find out what you have
Look for the product name, not only the type. Care rules differ between makers, and sometimes between product lines from one maker, so "vinyl plank" is not enough to clean by. In order of how often they answer the question:
- The box end or a spare piece. A box end usually names the maker and product, and may carry a lot number; a spare plank may carry a stamp on its back.
- The receipt or the installer's invoice.
- The landlord, the seller or the previous owner, in writing. A renter asks the landlord by email: "Which flooring product is in the living room, and who made it?" A written answer can be filed with the care sheet.
- The home's sale or listing papers.
Write what you find on the installed register: maker, line and color, lot, date installed, where the care sheet is saved, and how many spare boxes there are and where. If you cannot find out, write "unknown" and who might know. Until the maker is known, the floor gets the gentle default in the cleaning section.
Old sheet vinyl and floor tiles: leave them alone first
Some homes have older resilient flooring: sheet vinyl, 9 in. or 12 in. vinyl or asphalt tiles, or black adhesive underneath, sometimes under a newer floor. RFCI's work practices say vinyl asbestos tile and asphalt tile contained asbestos, as did some asphaltic "cutback" adhesives and the backings of many sheet vinyl floors, and that unless you are positively certain a product is asbestos-free, you must presume it contains asbestos (RFCI, Recommended Work Practices). EPA says you generally cannot tell by looking, and that material in good condition that will not be disturbed should be left alone (EPA, Protect Your Family from Exposures to Asbestos). No source we found gives a year after which flooring is free of it.
Do not sand, scrape, power-strip, drill or remove old floor tiles, sheet vinyl, backing or adhesive until an accredited inspector has checked them. RFCI and EPA both warn against sanding or mechanically breaking up suspect flooring, and EPA says taking samples yourself is not recommended. Before any change to an old floor, including laying a new one over it, go to Stains, damage and older homes. Ask the authority
Wear layers, wear ratings and labels
The top of a vinyl or laminate floor is a clear layer that takes the traffic. How it is rated depends on the type.
Vinyl: the wear layer in mils
On vinyl, the wear layer is the clear top film over the printed design, and its thickness is given in mils, thousandths of an inch. One commercial luxury vinyl tile's specification sheet lists a wear layer of 0.020 in. (20 mil, 0.5 mm) measured by ASTM F410, and states ASTM F1700's requirement as 0.020 in. minimum for commercial use (Armstrong Flooring, Natural Creations specification). The same sheet gives the product's indentation results and states it is FloorScore certified. Product-specific
We did not find a free copy of the standard itself, or a residential minimum from a standards body. Residential products state their own wear layer on their own spec sheets. So the useful habit is to read the spec sheet of the exact product, write its wear layer on the comparison sheet, and compare like with like: two products' mils, from their own sheets. A thicker wear layer is more vinyl to wear through; it says nothing about scratches in the surface coating, dents, or how the core handles water.
Laminate: wear cycles and AC classes
Laminate is tested to NALFA's standard, ANSI/NALFA LF 01-2026, which replaced the 2018 edition. The standard sets four usage levels, Residential, Light Commercial, General Commercial and Heavy Commercial, and a minimum for each in its tests (ANSI/NALFA LF 01-2026). The ones a household reads:
- Wear (abrasion) resistance: a machine abrades the surface and counts the wear cycles until the first wear shows. The 2026 table pairs cycle counts with AC classes, an abrasion classification that NALFA's 2022 white paper says comes from the European standard EN 13329. The product's label or spec sheet states its class; read that, and read the usage level it was certified for.
- Thickness swell: how much a sample swells after 24 hours submerged in water, with tighter limits at the commercial levels. It is a test of the core, not a promise about a flooded kitchen.
- Static load and castor chair: resistance to a heavy point load and to a rolling chair.
- Formaldehyde: a certificate that the core complies with California's rule and the federal TSCA Title VI limits (below).
NALFA's certification page lists separate, optional tests on top: a surface swell test with water on an assembled joint, and a macro-scratch test scored from 0 (no change) to 3 (severe) (NALFA, Product Certification Standards). A product certified to LF 01 has not necessarily passed those. NALFA's white paper adds that abrasion class is only one part of durability; impact and stain resistance matter too (NALFA white paper summary on FloorBiz). The labels and ratings decoder lists each test, and Samples, ratings, labels and warranties reads them for what they do not predict.
Labels on the box
FloorScore is RFCI's certification that a hard-surface floor or adhesive met California's emission test for listed volatile organic compounds, by the California Department of Public Health's Standard Method, with yearly retesting and plant audits (RFCI, FloorScore). RFCI says the certification does not include the installation process, and that people sensitive to odors should stay out of the area during installation. The test method models a classroom or an office, not a home, and does not test odor, phthalates, flame retardants or PFAS. Samples, ratings, labels and warranties explains what the label does and does not say; this manual does not read any label as a health claim.
Laminate's core is a composite wood product. Since June 1, 2018, federal limits on formaldehyde emissions under the Toxic Substances Control Act, Title VI, apply to composite wood panels and the finished goods made from them, and since March 22, 2019 such products must be labeled TSCA Title VI compliant (EPA, Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products). If an item is not labeled individually, the retailer must keep the label and make its information available to a customer who asks (40 CFR 770). Convention Vinyl and carpet are not composite wood and are not covered by that rule.
NALFA 2018 to 2026. The 2018 edition of LF-01 set minimum wear cycles for each of its four levels and printed no AC classes; NALFA's 2022 white paper said LF-01 did not use AC ratings, even though AC had become common in laminate marketing. The 2026 edition prints AC classes in its wear table beside cycle counts. Certification to the new edition takes effect six months after publication. So a box printed before the change may show cycles only, or an AC class from the European system rather than NALFA's table. Read which standard and edition the label names.
The 2015 to 2016 laminate episode, as history. In 2015 the Consumer Product Safety Commission tested certain laminate flooring made in China between 2012 and 2014 and sold by one national retail chain, and asked CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to evaluate it. ATSDR's report of February 2016 was withdrawn for a calculation error and revised in March 2016 (CDC, revised laminate flooring report, archived). The federal emission limits above began applying in June 2018, after that episode. We cite it as history; it is not a finding about laminate in general or about any product sold now.
Dents, mats, sun and heat
Dents from furniture and feet
A small contact area concentrates a load. RFCI's castor resource says wheels with a high crown or small contact area can leave indentation marks from heavy point loading, and that flatter, wider wheels spread the load; it advises runner boards when moving heavy objects, even ones on castors (RFCI, Castor resource). It is written for commercial floors; the principle is the same at home. Physical principle
The makers' sheets turn that into sizes:
| Maker's sheet | Furniture protectors | Mats |
|---|---|---|
| Mannington, resilient | At least 1 in. across, non-pigmented hard plastic or non-staining felt; castors at least 3/4 in. wide on a flat surface; replace narrow dome glides | No latex-backed or coco-fiber mats, which it says will stain or damage the surface |
| Mohawk, luxury vinyl (2020 sheet) | At least 1 in. in diameter; do not drag furniture; use hardboard runways | Non-rubberized backing, marked non-staining |
| Shaw, luxury vinyl | Felt protectors; the heavier the object, the wider the protector | Walk-off mats without latex or rubber backing, to reduce possible discoloration |
| COREtec, rigid core | Non-staining protectors under heavy furniture | Not covered on the pages we read |
| Wicanders, cork | Felt under furniture legs | No rubber or latex mats, which it says can stain the floor |
| Forbo, linoleum (home guide) | Not covered here | Woven rugs preferred; rubber or vinyl backing acceptable if non-staining |
Sources: Mannington, Resilient Care; Mohawk luxury vinyl care sheet, 2020; Shaw, Luxury Vinyl Care; COREtec, Installation and Maintenance; Wicanders, cork care; Forbo, Caring for Marmoleum at Home. Product-specific
Two habits follow from these sheets. First, protectors at least 1 in. across under furniture, as Mannington and Mohawk set, and wider for heavier pieces, as Shaw says. Second, no rubber- or latex-backed mats unless your maker's sheet allows a named kind: every vinyl and cork sheet above that addresses mats says so. Linoleum is the exception in our sources: Forbo allows non-staining rubber or vinyl backing on Marmoleum. Mohawk's sheet also warns that high heels can leave permanent dents. When you lift a mat that has sat on the floor for a while, look underneath; a mark there goes on the stain and damage log with a photo, and Stains, damage and older homes covers what to do next.
Sun and heat
Mannington says heat plus sunlight cause most home furnishings, resilient floors included, to fade or discolor; Shaw asks owners to avoid extended direct sunlight; Mohawk's sheet says sunlight can cause discoloration; Wicanders says cork may lighten in strong sun and suggests lowering blinds at peak hours. Blinds, curtains and rugs that are moved now and then even out the exposure. Product-specific
Heat limits are product-specific. Mohawk's 2020 sheet gives a room temperature range of 0 to 140 °F, with the extremes only for unoccupied spaces. One rigid-core warranty excludes floating installations heated above 140 °F or exposed below 32 °F unless glued down (Shaw SmartCore warranty, 2021 printout). A sunroom, an unheated cabin or a floor over radiant heat is a question for the maker's sheet; we found no published radiant heat limit for vinyl, laminate or cork from a source other than the maker. Ask the authority
Why a narrow foot dents and a wide one does not. Pressure is load divided by area. A 100 lb chair on four 1/4 in. square glides puts 100 lb on a quarter of a square inch in total, or 400 pounds per square inch; the same chair on four 1 in. square pads spreads 100 lb over 4 square inches, or 25 pounds per square inch, one sixteenth as much. That arithmetic is why every maker's protector rule is a minimum size. The Armstrong specification above reports its product's static load result under ASTM F970 as less than 0.005 in. of residual indentation at 3,000 psi, a lab figure for one product; NALFA's standard sets static load minimums for laminate of more than 6 MPa (870 psi) at the residential level. Neither tells you how a specific piece of furniture will mark a specific floor. Physical principle
Water and "waterproof"
"Waterproof" on a box is a marketing word. A flooring inspector writing in Floor Focus in 2019 said there was no established industry standard that classifies flooring as waterproof, and that a waterproof plank does not make a waterproof installation (Floor Focus, What is waterproof really worth?). NALFA has since added optional water-resistance certifications for laminate. The warranties quoted by a Cleanfax writer, and the rigid-core warranty we read, cover topical spills on the surface, as long as water does not flow over the edges; they do not cover water from below, flooding, the subfloor or the adhesive (Cleanfax, Waterproof Flooring; Shaw SmartCore warranty). The same warranty notes that mold can still grow where moisture collects. NALFA's FAQ says laminate is not suited to areas with excessive moisture, such as bathrooms, unless the maker specifies it as waterproof (NALFA, Laminate Flooring FAQs).
So the practical reading is short: wipe spills up promptly, keep a mat the maker allows at sinks, tubs and washers, and read your own warranty's water clause before you trust the word. Samples, ratings, labels and warranties has the full reading of "waterproof" and of what "lifetime" means on a floor warranty.
"Waterproof" on a label is not a promise about water under the floor, at the edges or from a leak, and this chapter does not interpret your warranty for a claim; read the full document, and the maker's process decides. Water under a floor, a musty smell or a soft, lifting or swelling floor is a moisture problem for an inspector or water restoration professional. This manual does not teach installation, and whether a floor can go over an older one is the installer's call after the older floor has been checked. Ask the authority
Cleaning by the maker's sheet
The makers of these floors disagree with each other on cleaners, and some disagree with themselves. That is why this chapter's rule is the maker's sheet first: the sheet for your product line is the one its warranty reads. Where the maker is unknown, use the manual's gentle default:
- Dry soil off first. Sweep, dust-mop, or vacuum with the hard-floor setting; several makers say not to use a beater bar.
- Use a pH-neutral floor cleaner, diluted as its label says.
- Damp, not wet. A wrung-out mop or cloth; do not flood the floor or let water stand at seams.
- Dry after, especially at seams and edges.
- Test anything new on a hidden spot first.
That default is ours, built from the makers' sheets, and it is stricter than some of them. This manual's convention It leaves out the things one or more makers forbid: ammonia, vinegar, bleach, steam, wax, polish, oil soap, abrasive pads and powders. When you find your sheet, it replaces the default. Cleaning by surface carries the same rule for every surface.
Never mix bleach with ammonia or with acids such as vinegar; the New Jersey Department of Health warns that the mixtures release harmful gases (NJDOH hazard alert). Read every cleaner's label for both, and use one product at a time. Learn First Home Basics' Cleaning products and how to use them safely covers cleaner safety in general.
Linoleum: a pH band
Forbo's guides for Marmoleum set routine cleaning solutions between pH 6.0 and 8.0, diluted in unheated tap water, and say not to flood the floor (Forbo home guide; Forbo, Caring for Marmoleum with Topshield pro). pH is the scale of how acidic or alkaline a liquid is: 7 is neutral, lower is acidic, higher is alkaline. The commercial guide adds a wait of at least five days after installation before wet cleaning, so the adhesive cures. Forbo's home guide also describes ambering: a yellow cast from the linseed oil that fades with light, in a few hours of bright sunlight or longer under lamps, can come back under rugs or furniture, and is not a material defect. A yellow patch on new linoleum is not necessarily damage. Product-specific
Cork
Wicanders says to vacuum or sweep, then mop without using too much water, and to avoid strong abrasives and ammonia-based products (Wicanders, cork care). That page gives no pH range, no humidity range and no refinishing interval, and we found no other cork maker's sheet; for those questions, ask your cork floor's maker. Ask the authority
Laminate
NALFA says laminate does not need wax or varnish, and that it is not sanded or refinished. Laminate makers differ more than any other group on cleaning, so the maker's sheet matters most here; the Go deeper table shows how far apart two of them are. One laminate maker calls its product the closest thing to a "maintenance-free" floor on the same page that lists its cleaning rules and the products to avoid. Every sheet we read has a care list.
How long these floors last
NAHB's 2007 survey gives laminate 15 to 25 years, linoleum 25 and vinyl 50, as a general guideline only (NAHB, 2007); InterNACHI's chart gives vinyl 25 (InterNACHI). Neither separates sheet vinyl from LVP or rigid core, and no source we found gives a figure for rigid-core vinyl or cork. How to compare finishes says how to enter your own figure with its source.
Maker by maker: ammonia, vinegar, steam and bleach
These are the makers' own sheets, read on 2026-10-31. They show why no single cleaning rule fits every product. Each applies to the lines the sheet names. Product-specific
| Maker and sheet | Ammonia | Vinegar | Steam | Bleach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaw, luxury vinyl | Avoid ammonia-based products | Avoid vinegar-based products | Not addressed on this page | Avoid harsh chemicals |
| COREtec, rigid core | Not named | Avoid | Stay away from steam mops unless approved for your specific product | Not named |
| Mohawk, luxury vinyl (2020) | Do not use | Not named | Not named | Do not use; yet the same sheet suggests a 10 to 1 water-to-bleach dilution for spot stains |
| Mannington, resilient | Mop with a clear, non-sudsy ammonia-based cleaner in warm water | Not named | Not named | Allowed on its stain chart for up to one hour |
| Shaw, laminate | Avoid strong ammoniated cleaners; no liquid cleaning products other than a laminate cleaner | No liquid cleaners other than a laminate cleaner | Not named; no wet mopping | Avoid strong chlorinated cleaners |
| Mannington, laminate | A cloth or mop slightly moistened with clear, non-sudsy ammonia-based cleaner | Not named | Approved for residential steam cleaners on its Restoration Collection only | Not named |
| Forbo, Marmoleum (home) | Not named | Offers half vinegar, half water as a household cleaner, though its own pH band is 6.0 to 8.0 | Not named | Not named |
| Wicanders, cork | Avoid ammonia-based products | Not named | Not named | Not named |
Sources: Shaw vinyl; COREtec FAQs; Mohawk 2020 sheet; Mannington resilient; Shaw laminate; Mannington laminate; Forbo home guide; Wicanders.
Three readings follow. Ammonia is recommended by one maker and forbidden by others, so a rule about ammonia is a rule about one product line. Steam is allowed only where a maker names the line, so without that name the default leaves it out. Two sheets contradict themselves: Mohawk on bleach and Forbo's home guide on vinegar against its own pH band. Where a sheet contradicts itself, we follow the stricter reading until the maker answers a written question. This manual's convention Laminate makers also give humidity ranges for the room: Shaw's laminate page says 35 to 65 percent year-round.
See it: Maya's plank and the Brennans' candidate See it
Maya Ortiz is a fictional person; every fact about her here is invented for this manual. She is 29 and uses she/her. She rents a one-bedroom apartment in a building finished in 2004. The living room and kitchen have a gray plank floor the landlord installed in 2023. A rubber-backed mat sits at the door. Her cat, Biscuit, lives with her. She works a weekly cleaning routine and has no spare boxes of the flooring.
Settled here: what the floor is. She did not know the brand, so she emailed the landlord: "Which flooring product is in the living room and kitchen, and who made it?" The landlord's reply names a rigid-core SPC plank and its maker. Maya downloads the maker's care sheet, saves the email and the sheet together, and fills in the installed register: rigid-core plank, the maker and line from the email, installed 2023 by the landlord, care sheet saved, spare boxes none.
Known from the sheet: it forbids ammonia, vinegar and rubber-backed mats. She reads her cleaners' labels against that list and keeps anything with ammonia or vinegar off the floor, replaces the rubber-backed mat with one the sheet allows, and puts 1 in. felt pads under the sofa's feet.
Open: whether the rubber-backed mat already marked the floor. When she lifts it she finds a faint yellow patch. She photographs it, logs it on the stain and damage log, and does not try to scrub it out. What happens next, including telling the landlord in writing, is settled in Stains, damage and older homes; the landlord and the lease decide whether it counts as damage. Also open: the floor's wear layer and its warranty terms. The landlord bought the floor, so under the assumption that its warranty is like the one we read, which is limited to the original purchaser, it is the landlord's warranty, not hers. The landlord settles both if they ever matter.
Tom Brennan (he/him), 44, and Alicia Brennan (she/her), 42, are fictional, as is everything about their house. They own a 1962 ranch house with their children, Nora (she/her), 8, and Eli (he/him), 5, and Juniper, a 70 lb shepherd mix. They are choosing a kitchen floor; one candidate is a rigid-core vinyl plank. The kitchen floor now is 9 in. square tiles under a later sheet vinyl.
Known: the kitchen measures 12 ft by 14 ft less a 3 ft by 6 ft island, so 168 sq ft less 18 is 150 sq ft. With the manual's 10 percent default overage that is 165 sq ft; at 23.4 sq ft a box, the quantity calculator gives 8 boxes, and they add 1 spare: 9 boxes, from one lot.
Assumed: that the new floor can go in over what is there. That is their assumption, not a fact, and it rests on the old tiles. Open: the candidate's wear layer and what its warranty says about water at the edges and scratches from a dog (they settle both from its spec sheet and warranty before buying, and write them on the comparison sheet); whether the 9 in. tiles, their adhesive and the sheet vinyl's backing contain asbestos (presumed until an accredited inspector's lab result says otherwise; Stains, damage and older homes follows the tiles to that result); and whether the plank can go over the old layers, and on what underlayment (the installer decides, after the inspection). Nothing is scraped or lifted in the meantime.
- RFCI, Flooring Types: the industry's definitions of sheet vinyl, LVT, rigid core, linoleum and cork.
- NALFA, What is Laminate?: the layers of a laminate floor, with a diagram.
- Shaw, Luxury Vinyl Care: what one maker's care sheet looks like, mats and protectors included.
- Cleanfax, Waterproof Flooring and the Rest of the Story: real warranty language on what "waterproof" covers.
Practice: name it, file the sheet, match the mat Practice
Minimum: the product and maker on the installed register (or "unknown" and who you asked), the care sheet saved, rubber-backed mats lifted and replaced or set aside, pads under the furniture that moves, and one cleaner that fits the sheet. Time: about an hour, plus the wait for a reply. Materials: any box ends, receipts or spare pieces, your current mats and cleaners, felt protector pads at least 1 in. across, a phone for photos, and the installed register and care schedule (or paper).
- Find the product. Check box ends, receipts and spare pieces. If you rent, email the landlord the one-line question in the how to find out section and keep the reply.
- Save the care sheet. Download it from the maker, note on the installed register where it is, and copy its "do not use" list into the care schedule's maker-says column.
- Read your cleaner labels. Any product with an ingredient the sheet forbids goes elsewhere. If the maker is unknown, use the gentle default.
- Lift every mat and look under it. Photograph and log any mark. Replace rubber- or latex-backed mats with what the sheet allows.
- Pad the furniture. Pads at least 1 in. across, wider for heavy pieces; note a "check pads" item on the care schedule.
If you are choosing a floor. For each candidate, copy the wear layer (vinyl) or the AC class and usage level (laminate) from its spec sheet onto the comparison sheet, and the warranty's water clause and main exclusion beside it. Ask the seller in writing: "What does the warranty say about water at the edges, and is steam allowed on this line?" Put a sample on the sample tests sheet, including the rubber-mat contact test the maker's sheet allows. If the home is older, write down what lies under the current floor before any quote, and route it through Stains, damage and older homes.
Your home Your home
Check your work Check your work
Criteria
- Does the installed register name the product's type, maker and line, or say "unknown" and who you asked?
- Is the maker's care sheet saved, and is its "do not use" list on the care schedule?
- Does every cleaner you use on the floor fit the sheet, or the gentle default if the maker is unknown?
- Are rubber- and latex-backed mats gone (unless the sheet allows them), and is anything you found under them photographed and logged?
- Are pads at least 1 in. across under the furniture that moves?
- If the home has older flooring underneath, is it written down as "presumed, not tested" with the route to an inspector?
Worked example
Maya's register names a rigid-core SPC plank, its maker and line from the landlord's email, and where the sheet is saved. The ammonia spray is off the floor, the rubber-backed mat is replaced, pads are under the sofa, and the yellow patch is photographed and logged. It passes. It does not say what caused the patch beyond the mat's position, and it does not decide who pays; the landlord and the lease do. The Brennans' comparison sheet has the candidate's wear layer and its water exclusion, and the old tiles are written as presumed, with the inspection still to come. That passes too: nothing on it assumes the tiles are clear.
Common mistakes
- Cleaning by type instead of by product. Two vinyl plank makers can disagree on ammonia; the line's own sheet decides.
- Trusting "waterproof". The warranties we read cover spills on top, not water over the edges or underneath.
- Leaving the old mat down "until it wears out". Several makers say rubber or latex backing can stain these floors.
- Scrubbing a mark you have not logged. Photograph and log it first, especially in a rental.
- Treating an old floor underneath as somebody else's problem. Before any new floor goes over it, it goes to an inspector, not a scraper.
What is still unresolved
What a mark under a mat is, and whether a rental floor's mark counts as damage, is settled in Stains, damage and older homes, with the landlord and the lease deciding. A move-in condition record helps that conversation; Learn First Home Basics' Before you move in: the lease, the walk-through and the condition record covers making one. Whether old tiles contain asbestos is settled by an accredited inspector's lab. What your warranty pays for is settled by the maker's own process. The cleaning rules for every other surface are in Cleaning by surface, and real wood is in Wood floors.