Find out what chemical pesticide they used and ask for the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet). It is required by law to be provided to employees and consumers. Most likely if your floors were waxed then the chemical dissolved the wax coating. If the gloss was a finish on the tiles when purchased then the tiles were damaged. Going to harsher cleaning may make it worse. You'll need some kind of floor coating - whether wax or something else. If you know the manufacturer of the linoleum check with them and see what they recommend. Hopefully none of this pesticide got on your collection. Cheers! Dave David Harvey Senior Conservator & Museum Consultant Los Angeles CA USA www.cityofangelsconservation.weebly.com On Nov 7, 2016 11:54 AM, "Erica Travis" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hi All, > > We recently had a small pest issue in one of our collections storerooms > and the facilities department put some kind of pesticide on the floor which > left patches of cloudy white residue on the linoleum. After consulting a > housekeeping manual we attempted to clean the floor with a mild solution of > vinegar and water, which cleared up the white discoloration, but matte patches > were still visible after the floor had dried, on an otherwise glossy > linoleum floor. I am unsure if these patchy areas are just a physical > change or stain to the surface of the tiles or if this indicates the > floor needs to be more thoroughly cleaned/requires a stronger cleanser? I > am hoping some of you may be able to advise. > > Thanks in advance. > Erica > > ------------------------------ > > To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: > http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 > ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).