Vinyl Flooring
 I just bought a new roll of vinyl flooring for my exhibit. How do I care for it to ensure it lasts as long as possible - and looks good throughout its lifetime?
 Vinyl flooring is very durable, versatile, and easy to maintain. However, you still have to clean it, store it, and take a few precautions to ensure it looks as good as it can for as long as it can. Here are some of the most important care instructions for rollable vinyl flooring.
Before you purchase your flooring,
figure out how you're going to store it. While exhibit-house storage facilities don't offer a ton of options, the best way to store rollable vinyl is to hang it from the ceiling, preferably from "S" hooks connected to the ceiling and chains attached to the hooks to suspend the flooring. This storage option ensures that nothing ever
gets stacked on top of the vinyl -
a practice that can often crush the internal cardboard or PVC core - which can ultimately damage the vinyl and often render it completely unusable. If you can't suspend it from the ceiling, store it in a location where it's unlikely that other items will be stacked on top of it.
Along these same lines, ensure you actually have a cardboard or PVC core. Always roll the vinyl around one of these hard, circular
surfaces (as opposed to simply creating a coil from the vinyl itself), and secure the rolled vinyl with hook-and-loop-fastener strips or tape that won't leave a sticky residue when removed. The core not only makes the vinyl roll rigid and easy to transport, but without it, the interior bands of the vinyl are often crushed, likely causing unsightly creases and cracks that aren't only ugly; they can also shorten the lifespan of your floor. Simply retain the cardboard roll around which the new vinyl was wrapped or purchase a PVC pipe from a hardware store.
When it's time to roll out your flooring in your exhibit, allow as much time as possible to let your floor relax. The curved shape of the core will be retained for several minutes after the flooring is rolled out, and forcing it flat - as opposed to allowing it to relax under the force of gravity - can damage the vinyl.
This is a particularly important point if your flooring has recently been removed from a facility that's less than 50 degrees. The cooler the temperature, the greater the chance that the flooring will crack if forced flat and the longer the amount of time necessary for it to release and lay flat via the force of gravity.
After your exhibitry has been placed atop the vinyl, pick up and replace moveable items such as tables and chairs rather than sliding them over the vinyl. Dragging items across the surface can mar, cut, or gouge the floor.
Shortly before teardown, sweep
the floor to remove debris, and wipe
it down with a damp mop and a vinyl-safe cleaner. You don't want dirt or debris rolled up with your floor where it can permanently damage
or stain it. Next, carefully peel back the vinyl from the convention-center floor and gently remove the tape from the perimeter of the vinyl, ensuring that the vinyl's bottom layer remains intact, as opposed to stuck to the back side of the tape.
Vinyl is a wonderful, relatively inexpensive flooring option for countless exhibits. And with these simple steps, you can ensure that your new floor will have a long - and attractive - life.
- Claire Londress, marketing manager, American Harlequin Corp., Moorestown, NJ
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