Hard Floor Cleaning Practices to Consider: Green Chemical Options

To reduce chemical waste and excessive water use, some floor cleaning machines include an onboard detergent dispensing system, eliminating the need for manual pre-mixing of detergent and water.

Equipment with onboard chemical mixing systems can provide multiple mixing options ranging from chemical-free, water-only cleaning to detergent solutions that meet the high standards of industries such as healthcare and education.

Typically, floor scrubbers dilute chemicals at a ratio of 128 parts water to 1 part detergent, which is appropriate for heavily soiled floors. However, facilities that are cleaned on a routine basis often do not require the use of these strong detergent ratios. Some floor scrubbers have an ultra-low mode that reduces detergent usage significantly to meet regular cleaning needs.

Proper chemical mixing not only promotes environmental and individual health, but it also prevents long-term floor damage and helps maintain floor appearance. This also minimizes operator exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.

Another equipment innovation, random orbital scrubbing, excels at both daily routine scrubbing and deep scrubbing that is capable of removing floor finish with water only, rather than using stripping chemicals.

These chemicals are some of the most caustic solutions that cleaning professionals use. The orbital scrubbing provides two simultaneous pad motions, a macro scrubbing motion and an orbital micro scrubbing, to accomplish streak-free clean using less detergent and water and fewer chemicals. This option reduces potential slip-and-fall injuries, chemical exposure and environmental impact.

Check back next week to read about slip and fall prevention. 

Hard Floor Cleaning Practices to Consider

Though there are many types of hard floors and a variety of building environments and sizes, there are a few common elements when it comes to modern hard floor cleaning.

The keys to current maintenance practices are promoting long-term floor life while meeting the immediate requirements of providing a healthy, safe environment.

To meet these principles, common practices include using green chemical solutions, minimizing wet surfaces for slip and fall prevention and minimizing any facility disruptions during cleaning processes or restorative maintenance.

To incorporate these values, facility managers must consider multiple variables when developing a contemporary maintenance plan, including staff experience and training, specific facility needs and equipment.

Enhancing Floor Appearance

Stripping and refinishing, among other project-based maintenance activities, are understood to preserve and enhance hard floor appearance, quality and durability.

However, current hard floor cleaning practices incorporate regular, routine maintenance to sustain long-term floor quality.

Although a mop can be useful for cleaning up isolated spills or for maintaining small areas, it can be difficult to meet the increasing health and safety standards using this traditional tool.

Thus, more advanced or automated equipment may be worth considering.

There are specific considerations that should be analyzed when selecting any piece of equipment that is intended to help meet modern cleaning practices.

Check back next week to read about green chemical options.