How to Get Rid of Vinyl Flooring Bubbles

Sheet vinyl flooring can develop bubbles of trapped air.  Since these bubbles are covered by a seamless sheet of vinyl on the top, and by the underlayment or subfloor on the bottom, they will never go away.  How do you get rid of them?

One of the reasons you bought sheet vinyl flooring in the first place is its seamless nature.  With tile vinyl floor, you have seams everywhere.  These seams are bad because they can let moisture seep through down to the underlayment.  It should be noted that most seams hold up well–but there is always the possibility of failure.

By contrast sheet vinyl has almost no seams.  Good for daily living, bad for trapping in air bubbles.

Bubbles under sheet vinyl flooring occur during installation, not after.

Keep in mind that the following method only works for relatively small bubbles (up to 6″ diameter).  Larger bubbles require you to cut out a section of the flooring and replace.

Renting a 100 pound roller is a good idea is you want the job done right.  Our improvised “ironing” method mentioned in this article doesn’t work nearly as well.  You can rent a roller for almost nothing at any local rental yard.

To get rid of these trapped pockets of air under your vinyl, use a canvas needle (a sewing needle used for sewing canvas) or even the tip of an X-acto knife or utility knife, and puncture the bubble.

Most people will not happen to have a floor installer’s 100 pound roller on hand, but if you do, go ahead and use it to flatten the bubble.  Lacking a roller, you can kneel on a short piece of 2×4 wrapped in a towel, and “iron” it out.

Complete by sealing up with a vinyl flooring seam sealer found at most hardware stores.