I've noticed when I have a throw rug just inside my rear door the floor discolors, sort of a dark red. Has anybody experinced this? It seems the closer to the door the worse so I think the sun has something to do with it.If I remove the rug it seems to get better but not completly. Want to lay a new floor but since we use rugs when it gets cool I don't want to ruin it.

I've been told that using rubber-backed throw rugs can mess up the vinyl. We made sure to use cloth-only rugs in our camper and at home. This article suggests it's the heat build-up which would be worse with more sun exposure.http://articles.philly.com/2010-12-31/news/26356488_1_vinyl-floor-mat-rugs

I was floored when I read the article. Ours has yellowed under the rug with no sunlight, just as the article suggests, and it's getting worse. Now I know why, what a drag, I feel as though the rug was pulled from under my feet. I doubt there are inexpensive little rubber-backed runners out there that won't yellow the floor. Anything but rubber will slip on the vinyl.

I once read an article by a flooring company that said that vinyl needs oxygen to be the proper color. Putting a rug down blocks oxygen. Remove the rug and the color returns to normal gradually (months). Bleach also removes oxygen. Explained why my countertop had a yellow area under the tissue box that got worse when I tried to bleach it. Left it alone (no box) and it gradually turned to normal.

Ahaaa-ha thats the reason. The carpet we were using was not rubber back. It was cut to size in 1 peice very thin cheap stuff from HD that I used for the headliner on my Polaris. It was easy to just pull out and shake clean then with it's memory it fell right into place. If you can't even use that and rubber back is worse, what can you use?After reading that artical they say rubberback but also heat if I read correctly. As I said the rug we used was not rubberback so I would assume it's just as much a heat problem. It's worse at the door where the little lower window is and farther in it gets better.

I have been using fluffy all cotton bath mats, the ones that you step out of the shower onto, and have had no discoloration issues in 4 years of use so that may be an option.

Floor discoloring? | Good Sam Community

20 Replies

tuna_fisher
Explorer
Sep 19, 2015
I just picked up my turnbuckles off the floor and there is a perfect red spot shaped just like the turnbuckle on the floor. I found this post and it is just what is happening to my floor. Water is not the problem, I live in the desert. Windows closed so no sunlight.
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28279872.cfm
tuna_fisher
Explorer
Oct 29, 2014
Thanks guys for all the ideas on what creates the floor problems. Now I just have to figure which one it is, LOL.
silversand
Explorer
Oct 28, 2014
....every discoloration instance of vinyl flooring has to be assessed each on its own (forensically) !

...it could be from MANY causes: improper adhesives used by camper maker not specifically sanctioned by vinyl / plastics flooring manufacturer; polyurethane patching of wood sub-floor by camper maker will yellow linoleum flooring; even chip-board or waferboard will yellow linoleum. Among numerous other scenarios/interactions.
HJGyswyt
Explorer
Oct 28, 2014
Well, not to rain on a parade here, but we too had discoloration in our vinyl flooring in our Arctic Fox, and sadly it turned out the door sill had been leaking for 5 years and that was the very sign that the plywood was rotting away under the vinyl.

Happily for us Northwoods MFG took our RV back even after 5 years and rebuilt the affected areas and installed new flooring throughout, and not a penny out of pocket for me except to deliver and pick up the unit myself from the factory in Oregon.

We live in the rainy NW, but do keep our RV's inside, and I see you live in the desert, so I don't know how much of a threat dry rot would be. Best of luck, Hans
mike_kellie
Explorer II
Oct 28, 2014
Not all vinyl floors have the same surfaces. Some are made of urethanes, some pvc. What is becoming more likely is that newer rvs have products that are not adhered and allowed to flex with structural movement and temperature changes. That takes away the possibility of adhesive discoloration bleeding through the surface.
We've seen room numbers in doorways and locations of sprinkler heads show up through rubber flooring in hospitals.
I think most mats these days will have warnings or guarantees not to stain. FWIW...French's mustard left on your floor and you will be looking for a mat. Now I want to go camping!
Super_Dave
Explorer
Oct 28, 2014
I'd rather suffer some discoloration with a rubber back than break something stepping on a cotton rug over a slick vinyl floor. I use a 2' wide carpet runner from the door to the front bed step and have never noticed any change in the vinyl but I've been accused of being color blind before too.
mike_kellie
Explorer II
Oct 28, 2014
It's a chemical migration and not related to moisture. Rubberized backings and vinyl surfaces have reactions to plasticizers in their composition.
Buzz is right about cotton being the best. My worst professional experience was doing a motorcycle showroom in an edgy diamond plate pattern sheet vinyl made with pvc. The rubber tires would leave coffee colored stains etched into the surface when parked. Our trade has turned into a forensic science in my 35 years of commercial flooring. Mike-
Capt_Eddie
Explorer
Oct 28, 2014
I would think that it could possible be moisture. Either from condensation under the mat or at the seam s of the door. I have found this happen in bathrooms and kitchens during remodeling. The area under the mats can not dry out like the exposed area can. The color comes from the glue being a waterbase.
pjay9
Explorer
Oct 27, 2014
I am amazed...have had rubber backed rugs and bath mats for years and different types as they ware out. I'll have to watch...looked no change in the Lance floor! Funny!
tuna_fisher
Explorer
Oct 27, 2014
As far as my lower window goes, I think I'll try to get in the habit of dropping it when we get to camp. Never do and that might be part of the problem. I do try to park with the sun on the front as sometimes when eating indoors that sun in the eyes is not fun...Gee, I wish all my problems were this simple, lol.