B05 - Cleaning & Maintenance - Floor Covering Reference Manual

B05 - CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE GUIDE

Preface:
This reference guide covers the cleaning and maintenance of resilient flooring. Individuals using this guide should verify all facts with particular product manufacturer requirements.

1 • RESILIENT FLOORING MAINTENANCE

.01 General:

Proper cleaning and maintenance practices will ultimately determine the general appearance and maintain the functional benefits of resilient floor coverings.
Initial and long-term maintenance requirements for each type of resilient flooring are provided by product manufacturers. This should also include recommendations of maintenance methods and materials (strippers, sealers, polishes, and cleaners) for each type of flooring. Low and/or no VOC floor products are available.

.02 Initial Maintenance After Installation:

The temperature in areas with new flooring must be maintained at room temperature, i.e. at 18°C (65°F) for a minimum of 48 hours after installation is completed to ensure proper curing, setting, and bonding of flooring adhesives before initial cleaning and polishing takes place and before flooring is exposed to foot traffic.

Floors must be swept or vacuumed thoroughly to remove any dirt caused by installation or other construction. In addition such floors must be protected from soiling if further construction is continuing in the vicinity. Clean drop cloths or construction paper may be used.

Some flooring products (such as rubber flooring) are supplied with a coating to protect the floor during construction and in the case of rubber tile for example, a silicon mould release coating. These coatings must be removed after the flooring is installed otherwise they will attract and lock-in dust and dirt. Once this coating has been removed the flooring may be polished and/or regular maintenance can be performed.

Removal of protective coatings is typically accomplished by using the manufacturer's recommended cleaning fluid and water which is allowed to react with the coating and then is scrubbed off with a rotary machine. During this process the cleaning fluid / residue should not be allowed to dry on the floor. Once complete, the residue and following water rinse must be picked up with a wet vacuum and the flooring allowed to thoroughly dry (from 1 to 4 hours depending on temperature and humidity conditions). After drying, the floor is then machine polished (a sealer may be also be required if recommended by the flooring manufacturer). During cleaning and polishing, soft synthetic or natural brushes must be used to provide the required gloss level with buffing done in two different directions.

Poor initial cleaning will make routine maintenance more difficult.

.03 Sealing Floors:

The process of sealing a new floor may be an option or a requirement of some flooring manufacturers after installation (e.g. as a base for polish), or on older floors to improve maintenance characteristics, and on floors where additional stain resistance is desired. If the polish manufacturer recommends the use of a sealer, that recommendation should be followed.

Sealers must be applied before the polish or on existing floors that have been stripped of polish.

.04 Cleaning Floors:

Cleaning a floor can range from simple damp mopping to completely stripping the floor.

Damp-mopping/spot-mopping is appropriate for cleaning up dust, spills, and other easy-to-remove soil. When using detergent or even clear water the solution should be changed frequently to eliminate re-depositing mopped-up dirt back on the floor. This procedure can minimize the need for more time-consuming maintenance procedures if done on a regular basis.

For heavily embedded dirt, scrubbing may be the recommended solution. This method usually requires application of a non-stripping cleaning solution followed by scrubbing and rinsing of the flooring. The scrubbing procedure can be performed with pads, scrub brushes, a single-disc floor machine, and a wet vacuum (for removing dirty cleaning solutions and rinse water), or an automatic floor machine. The type of cleaning solution and brushes must be as recommended by the flooring manufacturer. When working with linoleum, all cleaning solutions must have an alkaline rating of 10 pH or less.

Automatic floor machines are useful for large areas because they apply the detergent solution, scrub the floor, and take up the dirty solution in a single operation. These are available in various sizes and can be fitted with appropriate pads or brushes. A single disc machine, on the other hand, requires separate equipment for each of the scrubbing/rinsing steps.
Cleaning products used must leave no residue.

.05 Stripping Floors:

Stripping is the process of removing all old polish and sealers from a floor surface. This is labour intensive and depending on the size of floor, could be an expensive floor-maintenance procedure. Because of this, it should not be done more often than is absolutely necessary. Well-trained maintenance personnel using proper equipment and maintenance products on a regular basis will significantly reduce the need for stripping floors.

When stripping becomes necessary, the type of stripper used must be in strict accordance with the floor covering (and polish) manufacturers' recommendations. Typically stripping should be done at low rpm using appropriate pads or scrub brushes. The use of aggressive pads or brushes and high rpm may cause permanent damage to a floor covering. The dirty cleaning solution should be removed with a wet-vacuum or mop and the floor rinsed thoroughly, and the process repeated until all old polish is removed. Typically dry stripping is not recommended on any resilient floor. When working with linoleum, all stripping solutions must have an alkaline rating of 10 pH or less.

There are also mop-on / mop-off stripping solutions that do not require machine scrubbing. The use of mop-on/mop-off, no-scrub and/or no-rinse strippers is not recommended on tile floors that are less than two years old, because they may affect the adhesive bond. The use of these high-solvent or high-concentrate strippers can also be detrimental to linoleum and other specialty flooring products. In all cases the flooring manufacturer's recommendations in regard to strippers must be adhered to.

.06 Polishing Floors:

The application of floor polish is done to protect and enhance flooring and aid in maintenance.

On most floors a protective layer of polish is required at all times. In some floors, such as linoleum, this may be as many as three to five coats of polish. Adequate drying time must be allowed after each coat. Maintaining an acceptable gloss level is done by buffing, spray-buffing, or burnishing. Do not buff, spray buff, or burnish linoleum flooring with less than three to five coats of polish, as this may result in the buffing / polishing pad or brush making contact with the flooring surface and likely marring the flooring with burn marks and swirls.

Supplementary coats of polish should be applied to maintain the minimum protective layer. To maintain optimal appearance and gloss levels in high-traffic and high-soiling areas (such as lobbies, chair-slide areas in cafeterias, elevators, supermarket checkout lanes, etc.), polish may need to be applied more frequently.

The number of coats of polish, the method of application, as well as drying time between each coat must be in accordance with the flooring and material manufacturer's requirements.

It is also important not to move the polish applicator back and forth over the same area more than once or twice. Frequent passes of the applicator over the same spot could cause streaking which would require the floor to be stripped and polishing begun again.

Some types of flooring do not require the application of polish but only a spray coating and then buffing.

Note

high gloss finish

.07 Routine Maintenance:

Regular cleaning is more beneficial and cost effective than occasional heavy cleaning.

The optimum frequency of cleaning and maintenance is determined by the way the floor is used. Refer to Maintenance Program below for appropriate considerations.

In all cases the flooring manufacturer's requirements for cleaning and use of specific products and methods must be adhered to.

As with any maintenance product, material handling safety guidelines must be followed. WHMIS data must be provided and adhered to for each cleaning product.

WHMIS - Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System

.08 Protective Measures:

Maintaining a good appearance for any floor that has been properly cleaned and polished is relatively simple if the following are considered.

The worst enemy of most floors is abrasive grit and dirt and moisture tracked in from the exterior. This abrasive grit can act like sand paper grinding away the surface of the floor, causing scratches, and dulling the appearance of the floor. As much as 80% of dirt entering a building is brought in by foot traffic. To minimize this from happening the use of exterior door mats or grilles and interior entrance mats, rugs, or grilles, as well as frequent sweeping or vacuuming of the floor is recommended. This will reduce or almost eliminate the problem. Mats and rugs should also be periodically shaken out or cleaned regularly.
The recommended surface for entrance mats, rugs, and grilles depends on the type of soiling likely to be brought into a building. In the case of entrance grilles this may be carpet, vinyl, rubber, or abrasive metal inserts having high-friction and an open surface designed to knock grit particles from shoe bottoms and then trapping the particles. Mats, rugs, and grilles should be at least as wide as the doorway and in commercial areas, at least 2400 to 3650 mm (8 to12 feet) long (it is generally accepted that a minimum area of 4 to10 steps across the mat, rug, or grille is required before soil is removed).
Mats and rugs should be selected with a backing that won't stain the flooring. Rubber or latex-backed mats contain a chemical (antioxidant) used to keep the backing from becoming brittle but can also permanently stain some types of resilient flooring. A non-staining vinyl-backed mat or rug may be more suitable. In addition, mats and rugs should be colourfast as they may stain resilient flooring if they become wet.

Dust and spills on flooring can be removed by damp mopping that may also incorporate the use of a cleaning solution recommended by the flooring manufacturer.

The use of strong alkaline cleaners may be prohibited on some flooring, notably linoleum, as they may remove the polish and may damage the floor.

Unless recommend by the flooring manufacturer, highly abrasive scrubbing tools must not be used.

Vacuum cleaners used should not have a beater bar as it can visibly damage the floor surface.

Depending on traffic conditions, any polish will, over time, become worn and dulled. This changing appearance will dictate the frequency of cleaning and polishing the floor. This may also require stripping off the old wax and resealing the floor.

Prior to any cleaning or polishing, the floor should be damp mopped or washed with a cleaning solution, followed by a thorough rinsing with clean water. Proper rinsing will insure adequate adhesion of the floor polish to be applied. All materials must be removed before drying.

Before the application of any sealer, stripper, or polish, floors most be thoroughly dry.

The use of protective feet on chairs and tables will reduce scratching floor surfaces. As a general rule of thumb, the heavier the item, the larger the surface area of the protector must be. These must also be cleaned occasionally. Where rolling casters must be used the double wheel type is the best option. As they can damage the floor, casters are not recommended by some flooring manufacturers.
When cleaning and moving heavy furniture, equipment, and appliances, a plywood panel should be laid over the flooring to protect it from scuffing and tears or the items should be picked up and carried.

.09 Repair of Flooring:

Accidents can happen even with the best cared for flooring. The flooring manufacturer must be consulted in regard to appropriate repair measures for flooring damaged by accident, wear, and use of improper cleaning materials and methods.

Stains should be removed as soon as they are discovered. Where possible, and if the staining agent is known, stain removal should be conducted on a sample piece or hidden area of flooring. Most stains can be safely removed using a dry (paper) towel, water, or detergent, white spirit or alcohol as recommended by the flooring manufacturer. Highly alkaline products such as ammonia, soda, or strong solvents such as acetone, should not be used as they may be harmful to flooring and may be a health hazard as well.

.10 Specialty Flooring and Materials:

1. Static Dissipative Flooring:

This type of flooring must not be waxed, as any applied coating will affect the ability of the flooring to dissipate electrical charges. Cleaning methods and materials must be in strict accordance with the flooring manufacturers recommendations.

2. Slip Resistant Flooring:

This type of flooring must not be waxed, as any applied coating will affect the flooring's slip resistant properties. Cleaning methods and materials must be in strict accordance with the flooring manufacturers recommendations.

3. Resilient Base:

Rubber and Vinyl Wall Base may be maintained with regular wiping using a soft, wet cloth. A mild soap may be added to the water. An acrylic wax may also be applied to increase the gloss level when desired. Coarse scrubbing media or harsh cleaning chemicals may damage the base surface.