How soon can you put furniture on vinyl plank floors after installation?

When we install our vinyl plank floors, we want to put our stuff inside as soon as we can. Am I right? But When is actually safe to put furniture on our vinyl plank floors depends on methods of installation we use. Each method has different recommendations.

How soon can you put furniture on vinyl plank floors after installation?

With Full spread and Perimeter Adhered method, we recommend you to wait at least 48 h before you put your furniture inside. If you are installing your vinyl plank floors with a Floating method, you can move your furniture inside right away.

For the longer more nuanced answer, please keep reading. You may also check my closely related article: Vinyl flooring buying guide And what happens if vinyl flooring gets wet?. If you haven’t buy underlayment yet, make sure you read my extensive guide about best underlayment for vinyl flooring.

Are Temperature and Ventilation important After Installing vinyl plank floors?

In addition to waiting the appropriate amount of time before walking on your new floors, or moving furniture and appliances into their place, temperature and ventilation are important.

If you live in a cooler climate, or are installing in the cold months be prepared to use your heater. You are going to need to keep the temperature above 68^o Fahrenheit for the next two days. The temperature is important because of the adhesives that are used. If your rooms are too cold, these adhesives won’t seam and set up properly which will cause you problems later on.

Good ventilation is important for you. Ventilation will help with any odor from the adhesives of the flooring and any dust allergens. 

How Long to Wait Before Moving Furniture onto Your Vinyl Floors

There are 3 different types of installation methods for vinyl flooring:

1. The Full Spread method means that the adhesive to hold the vinyl to the subfloor is spread out across the entire subfloor before the vinyl is laid down. You want to ensure this has time to set fully. Some installers recommend 24 hour wait time, others 48 hours or 72 hours. I recommend you wait at least 48 hours before walking or moving your furniture onto the new flooring. 
2. The Perimeter Adhered method also uses adhesive, but only on the edges and the seams. This method uses less adhesive, nevertheless 24-72 hours is the recommended wait time. I recommend at least 48 hours because after the time money and energy put into a new floor, you want to be sure the floor is ready.
3. The Floating method doesn’t use any adhesive. Some call it click clak sistem. This method doesn’t have a required wait time for moving furniture and appliances onto it. You can actually walk and move furniture onto the flooring as soon as you want after it is all installed.  Vinyl per square feet with floating method costs a little bit more and when you do calculations, more or less all methods costs the same. If you have flooring heating, adhesive is needed!

Protect Your Vinyl from Heavy Furniture

Even after waiting the appropriate amount of time before moving your furniture onto your vinyl flooring, you should take other precautions.

Thoroughly sweep and clean the area first. Next, you should use a floor protector. I recommend the X Protector Felt Furniture Pads. They come in a variety of colors, so you can pick a shade that is close to the color of your flooring. They also come in a range of sizes and thicknesses. The pads have a glue on one side of them that will allow it to stick to the legs of your furniture. This includes chairs, sofas, tables, entertainment centers and so on.

For moving heavy appliances over your floors, the New Haven Scuff Shield is a great tool. It slides under your heavy appliances and then has a handle that is used to guide the appliance across the floor to the location you want it. It is intended only for moving your appliances, not to hold them in place. 

Protect Your Vinyl from Office Chairs

Those rolling office chairs may be great for the home office, but they are very destructive to your floors. The isolated pressure, the rotation, and the friction those little wheels put on the floor beneath them can scratch, dent, and wear out your flooring. You can protect your floor from by using a chair mat. Be careful when selecting your chair mat, as it’s important to stay away from any mat that has cleats or grippers on the underside. Those chair mats are for carpeted floors, not hard flooring. I recommend this Crystal Clear Chair Mat by MuArts. It’s highly recommended because it is clear and so you can still show off your beautiful floors. It also is comfortable because unlike some other chair mats this one isn’t slippery, so you won’t be rolling around in your chair while trying to work, you will only roll when you choose.

Protect Your Vinyl from Sliding Rugs  

I definitely recommend using area rugs in areas of your house that see a lot of foot traffic. The hallway or room at your front door is an example of an area that would benefit from an area rug. Foot traffic will wear on your floor over time, and as we’ve already discussed, dirt and debris can cause scratches.

Having a rug will help to protect the floor from dirt and debris that is naturally tracked into the house from outside. If you like Polypropylene rugs, read more about in my article: Are Polypropylene rugs safe fro my floors? The issue that comes with area rugs then is the sliding. A sliding rug can be hazardous to you and your family members, but additionally can cause scratches. To hold your rugs in place, I recommend a couple different products:

X Protector Rug Grippers – These grippers stick to the underside corners of your rug to hold it in place and literally grip the floor. They are designed also to help with the issue of curling.

Mohawk Ultra Premium 100% Recycled Felt Rug Pad – This rug pad is made from recycled materials and will add a bit of cushion and protect against the rug slipping or sliding along the floor in high traffic areas. More about in my article: Can You put rugs on Vinyl plank flooring?

Protect your vinyl floors by following my recommendations and doing regular cleaning. Dust and debris can collect on your floors and cause scratches over time. For more about cleaning your vinyl plank floors, read my article “Can You Use Swiffer on Vinyl Plank Floors” and commit to a simple cleaning routine to keep your floors beautiful for longer.

Read next

• Can you install vinyl flooring on stairs?
• Which direction to install vinyl plank flooring?
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