10 Tips And Tricks To Cleaning Restroom Floors

Proper floor maintenance is critical to achieving a clean away-from-home restroom. (Photo courtesy of Imperial Dade).

Foul odors and dirty floors are two major factors impacting people’s perceptions of a facility, including restrooms. Knowing this inspired Imperial Dade to put together a collection of tips and tricks for effective restroom floor maintenance.

Tip #1: Display Signage To Communicate Hazards

Placing wet floor signs is an effective way of informing people that the restroom floor may be wet or has recently been cleaned, and they should be cautious about slips and falls. Posting signage can also let people know that the restroom is closed for maintenance. Place signs in front of restroom doors as well as in areas where water tends to pool.

Tip #2: Always Remove As Much Dry Soil As Possible

Before wet mopping or cleaning with an auto scrubber, it’s important to remove as much dirt and other dry buildup from the floor as possible. Failing to dispose of soils can lead to an even bigger mess when dirt and soil particles mix with water or cleaning solution, leaving muddy streaks across the floor.

The best tool to remove dry soils in the restroom is a disposable microfiber dust mop. Disposable microfiber dust mops are single-use products. This eliminates the risk of cross-contamination. Microfiber dust mops are also highly absorbent.

Tip #3: Clean Restroom Flooring From Back To Front

This tip applies to most floors when cleaning, not just restroom flooring. Start at the innermost corner of the restroom and work toward the entrance so that you don’t have to trek across a freshly cleaned floor.

Furthermore, if you walk across a freshly cleaned, wet floor, you risk tracking contaminants or cleaning chemicals to other floor spaces in the facility, which is both a slip-and-fall risk and harmful to other floor surfaces like granite or hardwood. Bathroom restoration chemicals for grout and tile can be highly acidic and could damage other floors.

Tip #4: Use A Compact Scrubber Or Microfiber Mop When Cleaning Grout Lines

The most effective way to clean grout lines is with a compact scrubber. Floor scrubbers can penetrate down into grout lines and lift dirt away. However, if you don’t have access to one of these, you may be required to use a mop and bucket. If that’s the case, then we recommend using a microfiber mop.

Microfiber mops can lift dirt from grout lines, making them effective at elongating the time between scrubbings.

Tip #5: Use A Compact Orbital Floor Scrubber To Attack Nasty Grout Stains

Also known as a small floor scrubber, this is the perfect piece of equipment for cleaning restroom floors because it is designed to fit under partitions and urinals, behind toilets, and in other hard-to-reach places that are typically extra dirty.

We recommend using a blue turf pad because it is rough, flexible, and designed for tile and grout work. Equipped with a blue turf pad, the compact scrubber will have no problem penetrating into the grooves between tiles, making it perfect for cleaning grout.

Tip #6: Install Anti-Splash Guards

90% of restroom odors are caused by urine trapped in the grout line. Prevent urine from splashing onto the floor with anti-splash guards. These guards are installed in urinals to dramatically reduce splashback, keeping the liquids in the urinal instead of sending them to the floor. There’s no better way to limit odors than by preventing them.

Tip #7: Strategically Position Urinal Mats For Added Protection

As an alternative to anti-splash guards, urinal mats can be placed under a urinal. They’re designed to collect urine and liquids, preventing moisture from reaching grout lines and flooring by absorbing it on impact. Most urinal mats are disposable, so they don’t require cleaning. This can help cut down on labor costs.

Tip #8: Tackle Bathroom Odors With An Odor Digester

Even with splash guards or urinal mats, urine can still find its way into grout. Inevitably some urine will splash from the bowl and get onto the floor and in-between the tiles, where it seeps into porous grout lines. When this happens, the most effective product is an odor digester, which is bio-enzymatic. The “good” bacteria and enzymes from a bio-enzymatic product will break down the “bad” bacteria from the stain and eliminate the odor in a process called biodegradation.

Tip #9: Use A Grout Restorer To Bring Back Original Coloring

If the grout color isn’t restored after periodic cleaning, like scrubbing, it is likely time to perform restorative grout cleaning using a grout restorer. This is an extremely acidic product that does a terrific job of eliminating large amounts of dirt build-up and restoring discolored grout lines.

This product should only be used for deep, restorative cleanings. If it is used too frequently, it can cause permanent damage to the grout.

Tip #10: Perform Floor Care As The Last Part Of A Restroom Maintenance Routine

You should always clean from top to bottom when maintaining a restroom. That means cleaning walls, mirrors, partitions, counters, sinks, and toilets before beginning on the floor. If restroom cleaning is done in reverse, then there is a high likelihood that some residuals from cleaning those surfaces will fall onto the floor. If that happens, the floor should be cleaned again. Visit imperialdade.com.