MAINTAIN COMMERCIAL FLOORING IN WINTER
MAINTAIN COMMERCIAL FLOORING IN WINTER
Winter is here and that means snow, ice and mud on your commercial floors. That also means chemicals like magnesium chloride, sodium chloride, and calcium chloride (a.k.a. salts) will be on the roads and sidewalks and likely transferred into your facilities.
Treadwell’s epoxy commercial flooring & polished concrete systems are made to withstand these substances, so there really isn’t a need to worry if you have them installed. if not, is always best practice to keep your commercial concrete floors clean to avoid any chemical buildups that could lead to degradation or staining. Fortunately, there are simple ways to maintain your commercial flooring and keep it looking great for many winters to come.
Install Walk-Off Mats
Walk-off mats at entryways are a quick and easy way to capture excess salt, water and dirt. Adding mats can also help avoid slips and falls from any puddles caused by melted snow. Remember to remove the mats when cleaning the floor to ensure the floors get a thorough cleaning.
Install Rubber Mats
If your facility houses any vehicles using studded tires or tire chains, consider installing rubber mats for the vehicles to drive and park on. This will decrease the chances of damaging your floors from point load.
Regularly Scheduled Cleaning
Ideally you are already following a regularly scheduled cleaning program for your concrete floors, but with the additional corrosive agents this winter, you should consider spot treating and or daily cleaning, especially areas with vehicle traffic.
The cleaning process we recommend for our epoxy floors is as follows:
- Sweep floor thoroughly.
- Apply a high alkaline cleaning product to floor surface.
- Dwell allow cleaning product time to emulsify foreign material (approximately 10 – 15 minutes).
- Agitate to aid in the release of foreign materials.
- Remove cleaning product from the floor.
- Squeegee (soft neoprene) or shop vac.
- Avoid mopping as it just pushes the dirt around.
- Rinse the floor with clean warm water and remove the water with a squeegee or shop vac. Re-rinse as needed.
The cleaning process we recommend for our polished concrete floors is as follows:
Weekly Maintenance for commercial concrete building floors:
- Dry mop/broom floor first to remove large particles from the floor surface.
- Use an auto scrubber equipped with a “natural hair pad” for polished concrete while using a neutral cleaning product formulated to suspend the dirt particles so they can be more easily removed. Using water only leaves much of the dirt on the floor, where it will eventually abrade and discolor the surface.
- If the facility is too small to warrant using an auto-scrubber, we mop the floor instead.
- Try to clean spills and stains from the floor as quickly as possible so they don't absorb into the surface.
- Give the cleaner enough time to start breaking down the grime, such grease and other contaminants, and then suspend the particles. If you apply a cleaning agent and then immediately vacuum it or mop it from the surface, the cleaner will not have sufficient time to work.
- Make sure the cleaning solution does not dry on the surface. This can be accomplished by cleaning small areas and making sure the entire process is complete before moving on to other areas.
Bi-Annual maintenance tips:
- Follow “weekly” maintenance plan.
- Burnish the floor using a high-speed burnisher equipped with diamond impregnated pads (grit of pad equal to that of floor finish).
5-7 Year Maintenance tips:
- Reapply guard and use burnisher to remove excess.
