How to clean floors well without ruining them

All SKEMA floor coverings are distinguished by their practicality, but each type of floor covering has its own cleaning rules, e.g. bleach or alcohol cannot be used for every type of surface, and there are other products on the market that are just as effective for disinfecting surfaces and are designed to clean and sanitise each material without ruining it.

SKEMA has created quick manuals for each line explaining how to clean the floor and the recommended products. 

Here you will find all the links to the Cleaning and Maintenance Manuals, divided by product type and a practical summary of what to do to best clean floors.

Cleaning with a broom or hoover

The first step of routine cleaning is similar for all SKEMA floors. A daily operation is to remove dust and residues with a broom, microfibre cloths or a hoover.
For wooden floors, such as Oximoro, Lumbertech or Star.Wood, avoid using chemically impregnated cloths for dust removal, because they can affect the protective layer of the floor and make the surface "dull" and matt, whereas dust-catching cloths without impregnants do not give any problems.

How to wash the floor

Among the SKEMA offerings we find floors with very different structural characteristics, which is why, for example, the cleaning of an oiled Oximoro wood floor is certainly different from an SPC Star.K.

How to Wash Living Laminate Floors

The procedure is simple: all you need is a well-wrung cloth and a neutral detergent, such as Marseille soap. Our recommended product for cleaning laminate floors is Multilayer Cleaner, a cleaner that does not need to be rinsed, leaves no marks, sanitises and smells pleasant.

How to use Multilayer Cleaner: wipe with a well wrung out cloth pouring 6 scoops of Multilayer Cleaner per litre of water. Do not throw water directly on the floor, do not use soaked cloths, do not let water stagnate.

Products NOT to be used for cleaning Living floors

Do NOT use ammonia-based products, bleach-based products, soap paste, vinegar or foaming detergents to clean laminate floors.

Extraordinary cleaning: how to remove stains from laminate flooring

It may happen that the floor becomes stained and the stains or marks are difficult to remove. In these cases there are different procedures to follow, depending on the type of stain.
Here are some practical examples:

GREASE-BASED STAINS
Rubber streaks, ink, tar, asphalt, streaks caused by heels, coloured pencils, wax crayons, lipstick, paint and chocolate: you can use mineral spirits or acetone (no ammonia) or to be sure of the result use Skema Multilayer Cleaner, leave it on for three minutes and then wipe it off with a non-abrasive sponge.
Grease, shoe polish, oil: clean with denatured alcohol, then soak a cloth in cold water, wring it out and rinse.
Chewing gum, candle wax, stearin: let the stain cool with ice in a plastic bag, then with a scraper, gently remove the solidified material.

WATER-BASED STAINS
Blood: soak a cloth in cold water, wring it out and clean.
Soft drinks, beer, wine, coffee, fruit, berries, ice cream, milk, cream, tea, whiskey and urine: soak a cloth in a solution of lukewarm water and mildly concentrated neutral detergent, wring out well and wipe repeatedly.

Download the Cleaning and Maintenance Manual for laminate floors Living.

How to wash Oximoro, Lumbertech and Star.Wood floors

Wooden floors cannot be treated aggressively with unsuitable products. However, it is possible to clean the surface more thoroughly from time to time by using the special product indicated by SKEMA for washing, doubling the quantity in hot water dilution. 

Clean with the cloth soaked in the dilution and well wrung out. In general we recommend avoiding industrial detergents containing aggressive chemical products such as acids, ammonia, caustic soda, various solvents, bleach.

Products suitable for oiled wooden floors 
Whether Oximoro or Lumbertech, to wash this type of floor we recommend always using a neutral detergent suitable for wooden floors, diluted in lukewarm water. The product recommended by SKEMA is Osmo Detergente Rapido 8016 (1 capful in 1 litre of water), which should be used with a well-wrung cloth over the entire surface and then rinsed with a damp cloth and clean water.

Products for varnished wooden floors
In this case the procedure for cleaning varnished Oximoro, varnished Lumbertech or the SPC-wood hybrid Star.Wood, is the same as described above but the product SKEMA recommends is Cleaner Star (2-3 caps in 1 litre of water). Always use a wrung-out cloth to wipe the entire surface and always rinse with a wrung-out cloth and clean water.

Download the Cleaning and Maintenance Manual for Wooden Floors Oximoro, Lumbertech or Star.Wood.

Washing Sintesy Synthetic Floors

SPC floors can be thoroughly cleaned and sanitised in just a few steps. After dry-cleaning, wash the floor with a microfibre cloth or floor mop and a neutral floor cleaner, which must not be aggressive and it is best to avoid using dust-eating detergents and waxes. 

Avoid using solvent-based products, industrial cleaners that contain acids, ammonia, caustic soda, various solvents. The SKEMA product for washing Sintesy floors is the Multilayer Cleaner that cleans without rinsing.

For difficult-to-remove stains, such as marker or paint stains, you can use turpentine-based solvents as long as they are not aggressive and a soft cloth. Never use pure acetone or trichloroethylene or similar substances. After removing stains, wash the surface with water. 

Download the complete Floor Cleaning and Maintenance Manual Sintesy for deep and safe cleaning.​ 

Cleaning WPC Outside Floors

SKEMA has also come up with a suitable cleaning product for the outdoor floors in the Outside line, WPC CLEANER (3 caps in 1 litre of water) diluted in warm water and mopped with a mocho or mop.

Download the Cleaning and Maintenance Manual of Outside.