I didn't do anything to mine and it was perfectly happy. I think Forbo has a product that makes it shinier that is optional.

But heck no this is 2012. We don't wax our floors!

Well, yeah, that's what I thought! But he made it sound as if the seam will attract dirt and that once that happens, it'll never come clean. Anyone else? (Thanks, fori.)

I'm pretty sure that Forbo recommends that all linoleum floors be sealed, either with an acrylic top dressing or wax. They sure did when I looked into using the product 10 years ago, and that's why I said the heck with it.

Wax is correct. Every few months. You don't need to use a paste wax, but there are plenty of liquid wax products. That said, now that we've just completed our renovation, we went to porcelain tile. No work at all.

The Forbo website does not state that you need to apply a wax. They make a floor cleaner that you may need to use, depending on how much dirt/stains you get on your floor. And, if you have to use the floor cleaner several times, then they say you may want to use their floor finish to restore the gloss. But regular maintenance does not entail using a wax or sealer.

The purpose of the wax, to be used every few years, is to keep the seam from getting dirty--that's pretty much it. I thought Forbo put something on the top in the factory; buggers. Well, I guess I can do it. Love the color! (Green Wellness) Thanks for your comments.

Sjerin, if it helps, I just had the local Marmoleum installers in yesterday to give me a quote. They told me that whereas older Marmoleum did not come with a top dressing (as in Hollysprings' experience years back), it is now made with a top coat already factory applied, so no immediate dressing/waxing/polishing is necessary. He said that under optimal (read: totally OCD) maintenance, one should reapply the topcoat, available from Forbo, every 4 months or so -- but most people aren't that anal about it.

He also insisted that ALL seams should be done with the welding rod, which I'm skeptical about, so it could just be that your installer is similarly freaked out by non-welded seams and wants you to coat over them asap. I suspect this is CYA overkill, given the Marmo feedback on this forum over the years.

If you really feel it's necessary, get the Forbo Marmoleum finish and wipe it on with a Swiffer-type pad. But I really don't think you need to do that until you've had it for a while.

Here is a link that might be useful: Marmo floor finish

PS: any photos?? We're vacillating between Jade and Eucalyptus, but would dearly love to see the Green Wellness installed ...

We haven't waxed ours, and won't. I personally like that it's not shiny - I associate the shiny with vinyl, the soft matte of the floor is part of the appeal for us. We have both welded and unwelded seams, and neither are waxed and both are doing fine.

Thanks for the thoughts, cp and youngdeb. I'd much rather not have the shiny look either but don't want the two seams to show up as dirty-looking. The installer has been doing this for years and I think did a lovely job; the one picture I saw of a welding rod, (can't remember whose,) was pretty horrible and I do recall the installer redid the job for her. I guess I'll wait a bit longer and see how it goes.

Circus, now you're forcing me to sit down and figure out how to post a pic without Photobucket. :). I'll do my best to get one up tomorrow or more likely Saturday. My kitchen is pretty much finished and inspection should be next week. Hurray!!

We've had ours for 5-6 years and the seam is still almost invisible. I clean it with just a tiny amount from the big jug of cleaner I got at the time and maybe once I year I get down on my hands and needs and apply the coating that I think of as "moisturizer." It makes it look a little shinier for a little while, but I don't even know if it would matter if I did it or not. It makes it look like new. It's a liquid, not waxy. I don't know why the seams would look dirty if they are flush to begin with.

Mine had the horrible welding rod and was re-done. I was just wondering about waxing, actually. I'd hate to start something that I won't want to keep up though. Pretty sure waxing falls into that catagory. I might just skip it.

On the Forbo site, there is an instructional for how to fill unwelded seams with shavings of the linoleum mixed with wood glue and worked into a paste and then mushed into the seam or dent and sanded down. An earlier thread on GW had someone talking about doing it and it made their seam invisible, fwiw.

Lori, what is the name of the stuff you use as "moisurizer?" And what is the cleaner you use?

Yes, deedles, now I remember that it was you who had the unfortunate installation. I'm going to have to look up that video. Has anyone here tried it, and is it worth it? Wish I could hire someone else to do it as I have no faith in my abilities!

I don't wax mine, but I do clean it with the Marmo cleaner.

Here is a link that might be useful: Marmo cleaner