Jer

A bottle of whisky or vodka is offered to anyone who can tell me what these stains are and what made them.
I thought I would turn to Scoobynet and see if anyone had an idea what these stains are on a new floor I have just had put down.
I have just converted an empty retail unit into a dental practice and used a building contractor to do the majority of the work. They completed the build last week and when cleaning up could not got some marks of the vinyl flooring (polyflor).
The builders will not admit responsibility because we have had a few more contractors in fitting x-ray equipment, compressors etc.
Most of the marks look roughly the same shape, it looks like the chemical or whatever has stained the floor was on the bottom of something getting moved about. I was hoping someone in the building trade or a floorer may have an idea, a long shot yes but it’s 4K worth of flooring.
I have only viewed the photos on my laptop, you can see the shape of the stains if you look at an angle.
Forgot to say the stains are about 2”x 2” and there is about 10 of them in different rooms.
I have tried some patch tests with tea, coffee and Irn bru all have wiped off.

www.jwie.f2s.com/Stains/stain1.jpg

www.jwie.f2s.com/Stains/stain2.jpg

David Lock

I take it you mean the brown staining?

1) Perhaps the contractors used some proprietary cleaning stuf that they are keeping quiet about?

2) Have you tried yourself to remove stains e.g. by hot soap and water or cleaner suitable for that type of floor surface. Hands and knees stuff.

3) Was there a common item that contractors used in different rooms e.g. welding kit with dirty rubber feet or whatever?

4) Is roof leaking?

mj

at a guess I'd say it was rust.

*Sonic*

my guess is that in the 2nd pic, a small alien spontaineously combusted

richieh

looks like curry stains on my worktop
bleach works on them but it takes about 1-2 mins to work
might be worth a try
richie

David Lock

MRSA spores?

apples24

iTrader: (1)

hmn well if there 2 by 2 squares all over the place id be looking into what type of ladders and towers they used (if any) presuming suspended ceilings etc?

Jer

Hmm, rust and currys. There is a curry house next door. Rust, I will try a spot test and see if it looks the same colour. Ladders have crossed my mind, Why do you say suspendid ceiling? we did have a suspendid ceiling fitted.

richieh

curry house next door?
u lucky git
dont suppose there is a pub the other side is there?
if so 'gis a job'
richie

apples24

iTrader: (1)

because they would of use towers etc , all made or hollow tubes etc etc and my betting is rust etc dripped down

although i think the towers are ally

deffo gotta be ladder, rust etc related

David Lock

Can you make a template from the pattern of the squares - real Poirot stuff!! This might identify the "footprint" of the culprit e.g. base of tower......

fast bloke

No idea what they are, but try cleaning them with "Spotless" from Homebase. I think it is made by JML. It is non abrasive oven cleaner and I have yet to find anything it doesn't clean.

fast bloke

You can get it on Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...451818-0446008

Jiggerypokery

The second one looks like an image of the Virgin Mary, get it on eBay and make a few quid quick!

mj

are they 2 inches or 2 ft square?

The Zohan

LMAO - sounds like heaven to me

Looks like rust ot curry to me.

Buzzer

Jer

I dont think it would be stepladders as they would of used aluminium ones, same goes for the scaffold, however the wheels on the mobile scaffolds used today are steel so some rust could come off them but this doesn't explain the 2" x 2" pattern

What type of ceiling was installed, is it a Plasterbaord and skim ceiling (painted) or is it a "tiled" ceiling like you see in offices?

Was any "stained" timber used, like for the architrave or door casings. Continuous 2" x 2" patches with a few blobs staining a floor would suggest a stain or varnish type product. Was that area used to dry out stained pieces of timber?

ajm

If it's rust try a cleaning solution containing oxalic acid. If you can't find one then try a chandlery as I think some GRP boat hull cleaners contain it.

austen_wrx

give the sponsored link ago, they may be able to help

Andy H STi

LoL, thats who I work for

Andy

Nicks VR4

Looks like Chicken Korma and Vegetable Curry / poss Bombay Potatoes
Leaves the same stain on the kitchen counter

Try using bleach with a cloth and hot water

ScoobywagonGl

try using neat Milton (sterilising fluid used for babys) on it. that should clear it up in no time. leave it on the stain for about 10 mins and then use a mop to clean away.

dicky ticker

the fact that they're in several rooms probably eliminates my suggestion but here goes.

if you have x-ray equipment you probably have some form of wet chemical processing

if you have then developer solution leaves these nasty stains on vinyl flooring. fixer solution can leave a yellow stain on certain floor types.

if the engineers have been sloppy it could have been spillage on the outside of the bottles which where then moved around the premises.

if i am correct your stuck with them. however if i am correct and you manage to get rid of them then sell the solution to every xray department in the country.

cheers

colin

fast bloke

What do they put in that stuff. It is first class for cleaning ovens, tiles, worktops, rust off chrome bicycle wheels, motorbike footrests, the crap that sticks to the chip pan, the crap that sticks to your engine, tar spots off your car, dead flies off your helmet :fnaar fnaar: and just about everything else I have ever tried it on (OK - Its crap for carpets )

Jer

Thanks for all the replies, still no closer to an answer though. I will try some of the suggestions with the cleaners etc. My builder has said if we only agree to getting the bad bits replaced he will work something out. I am still due him 5k so he better sort something out.

We are using a dry phosphor developer called donoptics.


Cheers

Jer