Thread: Vinyl Floor Turning RED in areas

A client has a wood framed/brick veneer townhouse about 40 years old in the Toronto area with vinyl sheet flooring in the kitchen over ¼” and 5/8” plywood on 2x8 joists, no ceiling below. (In the photos) the lines on the flooring are about 30cm/12” apart. The flooring is 12 to 20 years old.

For the last four years or so there has been a pattern of red dots on the vinyl floor (see photos). They are in two areas – one near the middle of the kitchen floor, the other near the sliding door/heating diffuser. These red dots are sometimes slightly brighter/better defined than at other times. Doesn’t seem to be weather/humidity dependent. You can’t “feel” the dots/marks or wipe them off. They aren’t rust spots, mold or blood (so the client says!). The bottom side of the subfloor is perfectly clean/dry/unmarked. These people don’t use any weird chemicals etc… Any ideas what the marks could be? cheers, Phil

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Who really cares with this outdated pattern of cheap vinyl sheet 20 years old, full of micro abraisions, exposed to sunlight, foot-traffic, likely contining lead for opacity, asbestos, and etc.? Replace it - get linoleum sheet goods if wanting greener.

WAGs:

Builder's mason grunt spilled dry mortar pigment on subfloor, was never cleaned up - what color are the joints in the brick veneer?

Stained chairs/table legs not isolated from floor - no felt or cork pads to prevent scratching.

Former site of area rug - high foot traffic area.

Pigment/dye staining, such as what is used here to tint #2 fuel oil and certain trans/hydraulic fluids.

May have leached from rug itself, or saturated from foot traffic.Abrasion to top layer trapping matter, such as kool-aid.

Spray paint.Dry clothing/cloth "tye-dye" package accident not properly cleaned.

Red chalk line spill on already damaged flooring.

Bad batch of Rosin paper under bad underlayment,

Photo by register looks like seams from cheap 12" tile, but you did say was sheet goods. Likely continually overwetted, perhaps adhesion not complete or rolled near slider/register - reliant on 1/4 round or shoe pictured (and pinned) to hold down, possibly condensation/moisture from slider window or bad sill pan getting under there and activating dye under floor/seeping through underlay.

Replace flooring not that difficult or expensive. Remove underlayment. Install new proper strength and thickness ply over 5/8" existing. Use un-dyed rosin paper between. Clean up old chalk line spillage, seal.

Every time I have found spots or stains on sheet vinyl like you have pictured is has been caused by moisture from the underside of the flooring. It does not have to be a large amount of moisture, normal mopping or cleaning can cause it. All sheet vinyl flooring will have a clear sheet of vinyl/plastic on the top surface. This clear covering protects the flooring and provides the shine. If it is cut, punctured or damaged moisture will find its way into the flooring.

Look at the quarter round in the picture. What is that black gunk growing out the top?

I see some of the red speckles on the air register, so it is something evidently that has been oversprayed on the flooring.

Could be blood splatter. Any fresh mounds of dirt in the rear corner of the yard?

Rick

Thank you gentlemen! Some very useful ideas. Maybe I'll follow-up on the fresh-mound-of-dirt-in-the-backyard angle. cheers, Phil

Did you figure out what the cause of this was? I have the exact same case and the red areas area identical and somewhat more concentrated.

The floor was installed in 1992. I am wondering if there is a defect in the laminate. The red areas are right next to windows and receive a lot of direct sunlight, I am thinking that it could be caused by sun exposure.