Special Section: Floorcare & Carpet Care Equipment & Supplies — Advice On Keeping AFH Floors Clean, Attractive, Safe And Resilient

By Harrell Kerkhoff, Maintenance Sales News Editor

Proper selection of flooring, along with making sure floors are well cared for to ensure longevity and occupant safety, remain crucial parts to the overall success of any away-from-home (AFH) facility. It’s an area that manufacturers, distributors, and facility-care professionals can work together on for best results. This effort can involve both hard floors and carpeted surfaces.

Several AFH flooring and floorcare equipment professionals were recently interviewed by Maintenance Sales News Magazine to discuss trends and share advice related to this important topic.

IPC

Kevin West

Those in charge of AFH facilities increasingly demand not only visually appealing floors but also hygienic and sanitized environments. To meet those demands, innovative cleaning technologies and products are being developed that provide deeper disinfection while minimizing environmental impact.

There are certain steps that work best when it comes to floor maintenance, according to IPC.

“For starters, cleaning entryways is critical to maintaining entire facilities. A first line of defense is a matting system. Low moisture or dry cleaning is also important. That includes daily dust mopping or sweeping, the use of automatic vacuum sweepers, and starting the cleaning process from the outside to the inside of the facility, involving all entrances,” IPC Eastern Division Manager Kevin West explained. “Foot traffic and weather will often dictate cleaning frequency.”

Regarding wet cleaning, West added that the use of proper chemicals in important, involving a neutral PH of 7. That process can include traditional mopping with the use of a microfiber flat mop,

automatic floor scrubber, and commercial extractor for tough stains.

When asked how often floors should be thoroughly cleaned in an AFH setting, West said there are certain steps that can be taken on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. That includes:

• Daily: Sweep, vacuum and mop are the key words to remember. Winter and rainy seasons may require multiple daily cleanings to avoid permanent damage to floors. Meanwhile, spotting issues from spills should be quickly isolated and cleaned with proper techniques.
• Weekly: Deep cleaning with automatic scrubbers is often required. Different brushes, floor pads and chemical solutions may also be needed for soils that routine maintenance does not remove.
• Monthly: Intensive treatments such as burnishing and carpet extraction are often necessary.

Creating a commercial cleaning schedule is also a good idea, taking into consideration the number of available staff members; square footage to be cleaned; available time/budget; and soil and floor types.

“It’s also important to determine your specific cleaning days, times and duration — based again on the number of available staff and square footage,” West said. “Selecting the right equipment for the job and assigning responsibilities are vital, along with continual staff training.

“Cleaning schedules often vary and can be based on season, soil type, and foot traffic, so allow more time for cleaning with those factors in mind. Once routine is established, consistency is key as well as scheduled inspections.”

West discussed some of the most common types of flooring used in today’s AFH facilities, and the main challenges to cleaning and properly taking care of such floors. They are:

• Polished concrete, a porous surface that can be susceptible to staining;
• LVT Luxury Vinyl Tile, involving textured surfaces that can retain dirt and soils;
• Carpet, which can hide spots within busy patterns, along with dirt and debris;
• VCT Vinyl Composition Tile, a floor coating (finish) is recommended for protection and shine; and,
• Natural Stone, which can be susceptible to etching.

West added that investing in product innovation involving floor care ensures businesses can remain relevant and resilient in a rapidly changing market.

“Commercial and industrial applications often require professionals who can recommend the most cost-effective solutions. Labor is the highest expense to cleaning so incorporating equipment that saves time and improves outcomes is the best approach,” West said. “For example, robotics can reduce labor costs. Meanwhile, chemistry is always evolving, offering better cleaners and protection for surfaces. The result is extending the life of flooring and maintaining its appearance.”

It’s also important to provide comprehensive education and training programs for end-users that feature the benefits and proper usage of sustainable cleaning products, he added. Such education and training can help reduce a company’s carbon footprint.

IPC is a global manufacturer of cleaning equipment and tools to support the successful operation of your maintenance program. We are committed to providing our customers with quality cleaning products including automatic scrubbers, vacuum sweepers, industrial vacuums, and professional window cleaning equipment, but IPC means more than equipment. Our goal is to leave you feeling cared for by offering you solutions and support with the aid of leading cleaning equipment and expertise. Visit ipcworldwide.com/us.

The Bullen Companies

Mark Warner

Knowledge is power. That is especially true for manufacturers and distributors involved in floor care when helping end-users meet today’s growing focus on environmentally friendly and sustainable products and practices.

“The key to creating value to end-users is being able to teach, train and educate,” The Bullen Companies National Sales Manager Mark Warner said. “Saving time and money in labor costs can far outweigh saving a couple of cents on cleaning chemicals, cleaning tools or cleaning equipment. The ‘green’ movement toward environmentally friendly and sustainable products have led to incredible advances in chemical and equipment technology. Floor finishes are built to last longer using copolymer technology instead of zinc-based metal interlocking systems.

“Heavy-duty cleaners are also available that don’t use potentially toxic solvents. Instead, they feature bio-based active agents that clean as well, or better, than older and more traditional products. And, floor restorers are available that reduce water and electric usage, along with reducing labor costs. The list goes on. These are all opportunities for ambitious manufacturers and distributors to share across the end-user spectrum.”

When asked what preventative measures should be taken to properly protect hard and/or carpeted floors in away-from-home (AFH) facilities, Warner noted that the first line of defense is matting. He explained there are three primary types of matting that will act as dirt filters to keep up to 90-95% of dirt outside a building or trapped in the mat.

“Outdoor matting is designed to scrape soil from shoes. It often involves black rubber ‘fingertip’ mats, astroturf mats, cocoa mats, or mats made from synthetic strands,” Warner said. “Matting standards declare that outside mats should be about 15 feet long (allowing for 8-10 footsteps). Such mats remove most of the heavy soil for shoes. Inside mats are absorbent and often rug-like with textile fabric. These products are designed to dry the soles of shoes to allow safe passage onto hard floors. They should also be 15 feet in length.”

He added the third type of mat is used in vestibule areas with two sets of doors. These areas often have a recessed well in the floor (about 1 inch deep but can vary) and a floor level grate. Such mats in those areas collect most of the water and snow, which allows the liquid to evaporate. Fans or other ventilation are often used to accelerate the evaporation.

If these Best Practices are followed regarding proper matting, Warner explained, 90-95% of soil and moisture can be prevented from entering a building.

“Snow and ice can create additional needs. Rock salt and ice melters have a purpose; however, they need to be kept off carpet and hard floor surfaces,” Warner said. “Rock salt is used on roads and parking lots. Engineered ice melt pellets are used on sidewalks because they won’t harm concrete or landscaping when used as directed. However, they should not be applied closer than 50 feet from a door. Liquid ice melt products, meanwhile, are best used in the last 50 feet leading to the door. That prevents all the rock salt and ice melt granules from being carried into the building and potentially damaging carpets and hard floors.”

Warner also discussed the most common types of flooring used in today’s AFH facilities.

“There are six primary types of floors. They each require special cleaners, coatings, and cleaning processes. Each is very different from the others,” he said. “Having knowledge about the actual type of floor is critical to its proper care.”

The six floor types are: Wood floors (hardwoods, softwoods and cork); Resilient floors (VCT, LVT/P, linoleum, poly vinyl sheeting, etc.); Stone floors (marble, granite, slate, terrazzo, etc.); Clay floors (quarry tile, ceramic tile, grouted tile floors, etc.); Concrete floors (construction-grade, densified concrete, diamond polished concrete, epoxy coated concrete, stamped or stenciled concrete, etc.); and Specialty floors (raised access flooring, glass floors, electrostatic dissipative floors, etc.).

For effective and efficient floor care, it is critical to spend time researching a specific floor type before prescribing the proper cleaning process for that floor, according to Warner.

“Floor care and floor maintenance frequencies are also dictated by occupant traffic patterns and actual soil load entering a building,” he explained. “This can vary based on seasonal fluctuations or other variables. In general, floor care is broken into three primary processes. These are the daily/routine task of soil removal; the periodic interim care to prolong the appearance, function and safety of the floor; and restorative project work that involves stripping and refinishing or deep extraction processes.

“The goal is to increase interim care frequencies and decrease restorative care frequencies, which provides a cleaner appearance and a better functioning floor. That has the optimal benefit of lowering floor maintenance costs while improving a floor’s appearance and function.”

Finally, Warner discussed why innovation and product development are so important for manufacturers, distributors, and end-users as it pertains to floor/carpet care equipment and supplies.

He explained floor care equipment has evolved greatly from the days of floor buffing. High speed burnishers will now polish a floor to a “wet look” in one-eighth of the time that “old buffers” used to require.

“Modern finishes have also evolved with excellent UV resistance, which reduces the impact of sunlight-causing floor finish discoloration,” Warner said. “And, high build systems capture soil at the surface film level and can be ‘sheared’ off the surface by a knowledgeable and talented floor technician using the right equipment and tools. This will extend the period between ‘stripping and refinishing’ floors by years, not months — ultimately providing a better-looking floor with a lower cost of floor maintenance.”

The Bullen Companies is a manufacturer of high-quality cleaning and odor control products. This includes a variety of chemical cleaners, deodorants, disinfectants, and similar products, often used by professional cleaning services. These products are used across different industries such as janitorial, industrial, aviation, and more. Bullen has its own brands: Airx, Truekleen, One Up, Clausen Carpet Solutions and E-Clean environmentally preferable cleaning products. Bullen also makes thousands of specialty products from dog shampoo to aircraft cleaners. Bullen provides training videos for almost all its products. The information includes kill claims and how each item should be properly used. Also provided are training brochures that can be posted in cleaning closets. For more information about Bullen, send email to sales@bullenonline.com or visit www.bullenonline.com.

U.S. Products

Jon Smalley

There are several ways distributors today can better help their end-user clients meet today’s growing focus on proper hard floor and carpet care practices, along with seeking greater environmentally friendly and sustainable products and systems.

It includes assisting buyers with information about advanced floor extraction systems that provide several key capabilities, according to U.S. Products CEO Jon Smalley. He noted such equipment with built-in power features — such as dual vacuums and higher psi and lift capacity for faster cleaning — helps crews complete more square footage in less time. This process also requires less water and cleaning solvents.

“Ergonomic ease-of-use is also vital,” Smalley said. “Studies show that crews work faster and complete more space in less time when they have lightweight, efficient tools and high capacity, portable extractors that can be utilized in all situations and across all surfaces — anywhere and anytime.

“High heat capability is also important. High temperature cleaning creates a fast turnaround. By reducing the time it takes for areas to be cleaned, an operation can turn around a space faster and increase area usability and worksite productivity. Also important is the focus on product durability, simple maintenance, a solid track record for reliability, and advanced features. Those attributes combine to provide a long-lasting system that is easy to use, maintain, and has a work life that increases sustainability.”

When asked what preventative measures should be taken to properly protect carpeted floors in away-from-home (AFH) facilities, Smalley explained that in high-traffic locations, it’s important to make sure carpets are cleaned in the most effective and safest way possible. He provided four factors to consider for proper protection:

• Approved Cleaning Methods Only — “Some carpet manufacturers may specify approved cleaning methods, and using a different method can void the warranty,” he said.“However, some carpet manufacturers may identify non-approved cleaning methods, such as dry foam, rotary brush, bonnet cleaning, or dry powders.These manufacturers specify that cleaning crews should use hot water extractors.”
• Portability and Mobility — In order to maintain the flooring at multi-level, multi-room facilities with tight angles and stairwells, cleaning operations must rely on the most portable, mobile and powerful extractors, Smalley added.
• Once and Done Cleaning Effectiveness — AFH facilities also require proper cleaning that can revitalize and preserve carpet fibers for the life of the flooring. Professional hot water extraction cleaning, along with diligent maintenance including frequent vacuuming and prompt stain removal, are standard methods for AFH facilities.
• Fast Dry Time — AFH facilities must protect both carpet and residents. Wet flooring can pose risks, particularly in facilities where residents are at a higher risk of slips and falls. Wet flooring also delays or prevents the immediate re-use of the area. Smalley noted many AFH facilities require a powerful suction high-lift extractor that removes most of the water so carpet will dry within minutes.

“New factors in carpet/floor cleaning demand new solutions,” Smalley added. “Vacuuming cannot remove all the residue that is left by the environmental dirt and oils that are tracked deep into carpets by foot traffic. The trend is toward hot water extraction. Heat is the single largest differentiator in carpet restoration. In combination with high pressure and low moisture (.8 GPM), hot water extraction provides superior results with quick dry times.”

Smalley provided other key reasons for the use of a hot water carpet extractor.

“Over 85% of carpet mills recommend hot water extraction as the specific method for cleaning. Heat tends to soften and fluff carpet fiber, allowing the fiber to regain some of its original lift and resilience. Most carpet/floor detergents are formulated to work more efficiently at higher temperatures. Hot water also evaporates faster. Less moisture provides faster drying and reduces the chance of mold or mildew,” Smalley said. “Faster evaporation and moisture extraction also reduce cleaned-area downtime because the carpet dries faster. Such areas can then be accessed more quickly. This can be a revenue boost for hospitality operations that need to quickly turn around rooms and private-use areas.”

He added: “Operational requirements have changed. Many operations now must sanitize and clean more often to meet company and customer standards. These companies require deeper cleaning and more convenient equipment operation. Crews must also clean more space today — and do so quickly. They also want to clean efficiently and have long run times between water fill and dump. And, cleaning equipment must be simple to use as there’s less skilled labor available now and little time to train new crews. Hot water extraction also delivers the highest soil recovery rate of all methods and is gentle on carpet fibers.

“In summary, hot water extraction uses high pressure water to create powerful fraction against stubborn dirt particles and grime that collects on the surface of carpets. This helps to remove a top layer of dirt that rests on a carpet that resists the suction of a vacuum. For deeply embedded dirt and grime in carpet fibers, as well as settled dirt at the bottom of the carpet, chemicals in detergent used to clean carpets can break this dirt down for better removal. Using hot water and high pressure is recommended at least twice per year to complement the work of a vacuum. Hot water can strip away grime that has built-up and can help restore carpet to its original luster. The hot water extraction method requires machines that can produce the needed pressure to administer water and detergent at high speeds.”

Smalley added that flooring in high traffic AFH sectors, as well as medical, cooking and dining areas, should be cleaned daily. Medium traffic meeting rooms, conference and exercise areas, meanwhile, should be cleaned weekly. And offices, storage and low traffic areas should be cleaned quarterly — at least four to six times per year. Weather extremes — such as snow, rain and other situations that bring trackable moisture, dirt and road oil/grease into a facility — require areas be cleaned as part of shift maintenance.

Currently, Smalley said, the main types of flooring that are used and need to be properly cleaned in AFH facilities are: Luxury Vinyl Tile, Vinyl Composite Tile, Sheet Vinyl, Rubber flooring, Bamboo and Wood Laminate, and Commercial Carpet.

“Due to so many flooring types available today, AFH cleaning crews should select floor cleaning extractors that have multi-surface capability — so crews can seamlessly move from one area to the next, with little training or change of tools,” Smalley said. “This way, crews can cover more surface area in less time at the jobsite, and deliver clean, dry floor surfaces faster and more efficiently.

“My final recommendation is for operations to do their homework: talk to users and dealers. Also, select high/adjustable psi, large capacity extractors that feature dual vacuums and high lift to quickly recover water and reduce cleaning time. Powerful, durable extractors will help crews deep clean even the most stubborn surface dirt, while covering more square footage per day.”

U.S. Products provides high-quality floor cleaning and spot extractors, wands, tools, and powerful restoration flood extractors. Its product lineup includes commercial jan/san floor cleaning extractors, helping commercial cleaning operations increase productivity and revenue by cleaning and finishing more square footage in a day. Visit usproducts.com.

Lindhaus

Al Carpenter

Flooring continues to evolve within the AFH marketplace, involving every part of a facility — from entryways and hallways to kitchens and restrooms. Such changes are based on new preferences and advancements in technology. To meet these changes head-on, those responsible today for properly cleaning and maintaining flooring must adapt, according to Lindhaus USA President Al Carpenter.

“Many facilities are going toward such products as vinyl tile flooring and away from natural hardwood,” Carpenter said. “Carpeting has also changed, from the older style wool to synthetic. With changes in floor types comes changes in how to properly take care of new floors. For example, some of the standard cleaners and vacuums are not designed to properly clean the new style of carpets.”

He added a problem many facility-care professionals face is finding the right equipment for today’s new hard floor surfaces and carpeting. Ideally, the best machines can handle both types of flooring. There is such equipment available.

When focusing on carpet care, Carpenter recommends using a vacuum that features proper height adjustment capabilities as well as an aggressive fast speed brush system. The latter feature helps to properly sweep up debris often found in areas of heavy foot traffic.

“When it comes to properly caring for floors of all types, a lot of attention should be placed on areas with concentrated foot traffic. For example, in an office building, most people are not walking from corner to corner of a room. Instead, most foot traffic takes place in a somewhat straight line. Therefore, there is a lot of space that doesn’t need to be cleaned as often, while the heavy traffic areas require continual attention,” Carpenter said. “It’s also important to understand that carpet tends to hide dirt better than hard surfaces. A lot also depends on the floor color when it comes to hiding dirt.”

Whether appearing dirty on not, proper floorcare requires the right type of equipment, cleaning procedures, products, and a well thought out commercial cleaning schedule. Debris should be swept away daily from all types of flooring, with floors thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis based on floor type and location within a facility.

Carpenter said hard surface floors, as a rule, have gained in popularity within the AFH sector. That is partly due to being viewed by some as easier to maintain and clean. One issue with hard floors, however, is slippage problems that can develop after moisture is carried onto the floor from foot traffic. That can especially be a concern in northern climates during winter weather. Properly using matting at door entrances can eliminate a lot of issues pertaining to wet hard floors, and thus, slip and fall accidents.

Carpenter was asked for his thoughts on how manufacturers and distributors involved in flooring and floorcare can better help end-users meet today’s growing focus on environmentally friendly and sustainable products and practices. In response, he said it’s important to consider how much cleaning products are being consumed and energy used when keeping a specific floor type well maintained. It also helps to use modern equipment that is more energy efficient.

“New product innovation is very important in every facet of building maintenance. That certainly holds true in floorcare,” he said. “It may not be efficient, for example, to vacuum a new type of carpeting with a machine that was designed 10 years ago. The same is accurate with hard floor care. New equipment can also improve indoor air quality during the cleaning process. That is especially the case with today’s newer vacuums that feature greatly improved filtration systems.”

The Lindhaus complete line of professional cleaning products is designed and manufactured to meet the specific needs of companies in the public and private sectors and the hygienic needs of every type of space and environment. Products include floor scrubbers, electric brooms, professional vacuum cleaners and backpacks, carpet cleaners, upright vacuum cleaners, and scrubber driers. These products are used in shops, bars, restaurants, offices, hospitals, and other high traffic places where the sanitation of the environment becomes a constant necessity. Lindhaus machines for professional cleaning can remove all kinds of dirt, residual liquid and solid properties, making them suitable for all types of environments. Visit lindhaususa.com.