Problems with Marmoleum

[Pipework]

Hi everyone,
We chose marmoleum for its eco-credentials and lovely colour, but now we’re faced with getting rid of it after only a year.

We had marmoleum tiles laid in the kitchen and dining room of our new extension. Right from the first day it has been nothing but trouble. It is very difficult to clean (water stains it – really!) and the special cleaner - which does work - is very expensive. It is NOT 'durable'. I ran our vacuum cleaner over it on the first day, not realising that the head had been switched from hard floor to carpet. The result was several deep scratches before I figured out what was happening. We had the walls and ceiling decorated and the painter’s cloth used to cover the floor must have been gritty, because it left permanent scuffs and scratches all over the place.

I phoned the manufacturer, Forbo, and was told to use sandpaper to polish out the scratches – which made the problem worse. We did choose a single dark colour (mistake), but even so this should not be happening.

Has anyone else had this problem and did you find a solution?

Yes, we had this problem! Spend tons on Marmoleum, had endless problems, company couldn't care less (tried to blame us at one point), ended up ripping it out ☹️.

This was about fifteen years ago.

Thank you for your reply, RSM. I was afraid someone was going to say this. We have just about decided we will have to do the same, but it rankles because it cost so much to put down. Fifteen years! And they go on selling it. I hope this post will act as a warning to others.

We are about to have Polyflor LVT Expona (commercial grade) put into our flat. It's similar to Amtico but even more robust and is supposed to be very hard wearing.

And, most importantly, is around one third of the price of Amtico. They put it into restaurants and shops.