Maintenance protects your investment, plain and simple. As every facility manager knows, renovations are expensive. And proper maintenance pays dividends compared to removing and replacing every five years.
Floors are no exception. Your floor will withstand daily foot traffic, spills, and the weight of equipment and furniture. You should have a floor care plan in place to extend the life of your flooring system and keep your manufacturer's warranty intact.
Here, we show you how to work with a flooring installer to develop a holistic floor care plan for your facility. We also provide you with industry-leading resources to learn how to clean your facility's carpet, vinyl tile, and ceramic floors.
Development of the floor maintenance plan for your facility
The key to any floor care plan is to take a proactive and holistic approach, rather than reacting as needed. This means implementing a plan soon after a flooring system is installed and not waiting until the floor is damaged to plan a restorative clean.
It usually costs nothing for a flooring installer to create a custom maintenance schedule for your facility, as your contract covers the actual maintenance work. So there's no reason not to hire the experts. And a flooring installer will add value by adapting your daily cleaning and regular maintenance procedures to your facility's budget and the actual use of your facility.
You first sit down with the building owner or facility manager to read the plan and ask:
- What is your maintenance budget?
- How is each area of your facility used?
- What are the manufacturer's recommended maintenance procedures for each product in your facility?
The answers to each question affect your maintenance plan. Consider a flooring product with the manufacturer's guidelines that requires weekly deep cleaning. This level of frequency can be prohibitive for a facility with a smaller maintenance budget. To maximize performance for your budget and avoid premature ground failures, it makes sense to break down maintenance frequency by traffic pattern.
Creating an effective floor plan
Will your floor last a lifetime? These industry-proven strategies help facility managers keep flooring systems clean, safe and reliable for years to come.
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Break down your facility's floor plan by product and traffic volume
Armed with the floor plan of your facility and the answers to the questions above, your contractor gets to work. You label each space in your floor plan by product and traffic level (light, medium, heavy). They work within their budget and develop frequencies for routine (vacuuming, spot cleaning) and periodic (intermittent deep cleaning) maintenance based on each traffic level.
For example, you can have your in-house cleaning crew perform routine maintenance once a day in high-traffic areas (e.g., lobbies, copy rooms, main hallways) and just three times a week in low-traffic areas. traffic (eg conference rooms, offices). And your floor can be serviced regularly monthly for high-traffic areas and semi-annually for low-traffic areas.
The specific maintenance activities required vary greatly by product category and manufacturer. For example, a luxury vinyl tile (LVT) product from one manufacturer may have slightly different manufacturer-recommended care instructions than a similar product from another manufacturer. Differences are often in the proprietary cleaning chemicals and recommended equipment, not the overall process.
We focus on best practices for maintaining four of the most common flooring systems in commercial facilities: commercial carpet, LVT, VCT, and ceramic tile.
clean commercial rugs
Carpet Tiles and Roll Tiles (This article explains the difference) is the most popular flooring category,that make up 45.4% of the overall retail spaceUS United States.
Routinewartung
Vacuuming is the most important part of carpet care.up to 85% dirtit can only be removed by aspiration. And when there's too much dirt in the carpet, it starts to wear away at the fibers, causing the carpet to look dull and creating visible scuff marks. Use only winning vacuumsCarpet and Rug Institute (CRI) Gold Level Seal of Approval.🇧🇷 If spills, stains, and soiling occur, clean the area immediately with the manufacturer's recommended stain cleaner.
regular maintenance
Temporary containment is needed between deep cleanings, during which the carpet is vacuumed, sprayed with detergent, agitated, and then vacuumed again. Hot water extraction, in which the carpet is vacuumed, sprayed, shaken and then rinsed with clean water and then dried, requires encapsulation treatments from time to time to thoroughly clean the carpets. Videos on hot water extraction and encapsulation can be found hereon here🇧🇷 It is important that all periodic maintenance by aCRI approved maintenance companyto ensure that the manufacturer's warranty is maintained.
If you want to learn more about commercial carpet care, you've come to the right place.of several Manufacturer verification listcheck.
How to clear commercial LVT
LVT-Tienequickly established itself as a leader in the commercial vinyl flooring categoryacross many markets. Hospitals, schools and corporate offices are switching from vinyl composite tile (VCT) to this low maintenance, no polish alternative. And for a school, moving from VCT to LVTsaved $77,941 in just 10 years.
Routinewartung
It is recommended to regularly vacuum and scrub the LVT to prevent dirt from penetrating the surface. Spills and stains must be cleaned immediately with neutral detergent diluted in the recommended concentration. Wet cleaning can be performed daily, weekly or as needed depending on the area's traffic or floor level.
regular maintenance
At the frequency recommended by the floor installer, the LVT should be cleaned with a mild detergent and an automatic washer and then rinsed with water. If necessary, spray polishing can be performed to remove abrasion. Routine maintenance should be performed before regular cleaning to prevent the washer from accumulating dirt on the floor surface.
Are hereof several maintenance Führerfrom multiple manufacturers if you want an in-depth look at how to clean and maintain commercial vinyl floors.
How to clean commercial VCT
VCT has been a leader in commercial vinyl flooring for years. It is a low-cost, abrasion-resistant and durable material commonly used in warehouses, schools and canteens. But it has one big downside: it's very high maintenance. However, with the advent of LVT, many facilities are transitioning to avoid time-consuming and expensive VCT maintenance.
Routinewartung
The floor must be vacuumed regularly and dried with a neutral detergent recommended by the manufacturer to avoid the accumulation of residues that could cause abrasion of the tile's protective varnish.
regular maintenance
The floor should be machine scrubbed regularly and additional coats of polish added as needed. Restorative maintenance is required from time to time to ensure there is an adequate protective barrier over the porous tile. This will require a chemical strip and reapplication of tile floor polish. As with other types of flooring, all periodic and repair maintenance must be carried out in accordance with routine maintenance procedures.
For a deeper understanding of VCT cleaning and maintenance best practices, check outManual.
How to clean commercial ceramic floors
Ceramic tiles open up countless design possibilities: mosaic patterns, bright colors, custom-made designs. They're also powerful and low-maintenance, with a long list of commercial applications: lobbies, bathrooms, high-end offices and more. And while LVT has taken the market by storm, offering a cost-effective alternative to tile, ceramic tile continues to make its presence felt.more than 14% of floors sold in the US
Routinewartung
Most dirt can be vacuumed and cleaned with a neutral detergent. Stains, paints, oils and soaps can be removed with stain remover (See page 492 of this guide for a spot cleaning matrix) recommended by the manufacturer. It is important to note that dirt left on the floor can wear away the surface of the tiles and liquids will alter the sliding resistance of the tiles and pose a safety hazard.
regular maintenance
Tiles should be cleaned regularly to remove mineral deposits or mold using the manufacturer's recommended cleaners. And even ceramic tiles were installed100% epoxy groutIt needs to be cleaned thoroughly from time to time to remove buildup of dirt, grease, soap or other debris and to prevent discoloration of the grout.
TestIt's maintenance verification listfor more information on cleaning commercial tile floors.
The importance of taking a holistic view of floor care
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to shop floor maintenance. There are dozens of manufacturers, hundreds of products and dozens of types of equipment, so each maintenance program must be thought out on a case-by-case basis.
A variety of factors (floor, budget, traffic levels, facility environment) affect your facility's maintenance needs. Something as simple as buying rugs to place next to the sinks and coffee makers in your break room, or to clean the sidewalks outside your front door, can prevent floor damage and save you thousands of dollars in the long run.
That's why it's important to work with a maintenance professional with in-depth soil knowledge when creating your program. You will consider all factors together to stretch your maintenance budget as much as possible while protecting your grounding system from failure.
What we do at Spectra Contract Flooring is the flooring. We help you choose easy-care floor coverings, their installation and maintenance. And with over 400,000 commercial flooring projects, we have the experience and knowledge to get it right every time.
Let us reduce the floor lifecycle cost of your installation.contact us todayand we'll work with you to create a customized maintenance plan based on your budget.
Request a floor care consultation
Let's talk about your facility's floor care needs and how a detailed product care plan can extend the life of your flooring investment.