Commercial flooring is built to last. Just like Timex watches, it takes a beating and keeps on ticking. However, over time, your floors will eventually wear out and replacement can be expensive.
The good news, however, is that wear and tear can be minimized and replacement can be significantly delayed if you take good care of your floors.
To extend the life of your floors and get the most out of them, you want to ensure you’re maintaining a proper floor care regimen. A good floor care system can literally add years on to the life of your floors.
Different Types of Commercial Flooring
Before we talk about how to care for your floors, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page regarding commercial flooring. Commercial flooring comes in all shapes and sizes, with some of the most common being:
- Carpet
- Vinyl Tiles
- Sheet Vinyl
- Linoleum
- Rubber
- Ceramic Tile & Stone
- Hardwood
Now let’s look specifically at how to care for commercial flooring.
Carpet Floor Care
Carpet is an excellent flooring option because it’s both economical and versatile. There are many options for carpeting and it’s easy to install, making it a popular choice.
When choosing carpets it’s a good idea to choose ones that are stain, soil, and fade resistant.
To keep your commercial carpets looking great for a long time, follow these care and cleaning suggestions:
- Keep your entryways clean. The doorway areas of your workplace collect the most amount of dirt and debris. It’s a good idea to sweep them daily in order to prevent dirt from being carried further into your building.
- Dirt and debris that is left on carpets will get ground into them, greatly decreasing the beauty and longevity of your lflooring. It will most likely produce stains that will make your carpet ook worn out before its time. Daily vacuuming is an excellent way to maintain the appearance and integrity of your carpeting.
- Take care of stains right away. If someone spills something wet, it’ll immediately begin to soak into your carpets. If not dealt with immediately, the odds of a stain are high. This is especially the case with dark liquids like coffee or soda.To clean up wet spills, blot the spill with a dry towel. You also will probably want to spot treat the affected area to prevent staining. If you’re unable to remove a tough stain, you may want to contact a professional cleaning company to assist you.
- Without a deep cleaning vacuum, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to remove all the dirt and debris from your commercial carpets. For the best care of your carpets, hire a professional cleaning company to bring in a commercial grade vacuum cleaner.High traffic areas will need the most care, but it’s a good idea to have the rest of your carpet professionally cleaned as well.
Vinyl Floor Care
Vinyl flooring is one of the easier types of flooring to install and maintain, making it another popular choice. To maintain the quality of your floors, you should follow these care and cleaning tips:
- Dust and grime can build up on floors quickly, especially in high traffic areas, or underneath furniture. Ideally, you should try to remove dust and dirt daily to maintain the appearance and avoid floor damage.
- Accidents and spills happen in the workplace. If there’s a spill on the floor, clean it up as quickly as possible. The longer it remains on the floor, the more likely it is to leave a permanent stain.Use water to try to remove the stain first, and then try spot cleaning with a natural detergent. Once you’re finished scrubbing the spot, wipe it up with some fresh water.
- Once a week, or more in the winter, clean your floors with a damp mop. Don’t use a lot of water when mopping because the moisture may soak into cracks or openings in your flooring, causing damage below the surface.When you’re finished mopping, use fresh water to clean up your cleaning solution. By doing so, you’ll avoid soap scum and film that might build-up on your flooring.
- Make sure that you’re using the right type of cleaners. Use gentle cleaners and vinyl specific solutions. Avoid using abrasive powders, acetone or solvents, and steam cleaners. These cleaners can damage your floors and reduce their longevity.
- Over time, even with routine care, vinyl floors can still collect build-up and stains. If you find this with your flooring, consider having a professional cleaner maintain your floors. Their specialized supplies and equipment will bring your floors back to a beautiful shine.
Linoleum Floor Care
Linoleum has recently become a more popular flooring option because it is a natural product made from linseed oil, wood flour, rosin, jute, and limestone.
It’s a long lasting flooring that can withstand a significant amount of abuse. It’s also fire-resistant and is often used in schools, healthcare facilities, and restaurants.
To maintain the appearance and integrity of your linoleum flooring, follow these care and cleaning tips:
- As with carpeting and vinyl, it’s important to keep doorways and entryways clear of dirt and debris. Maintaining these high traffic areas will greatly improve the longevity of your linoleum flooring.
- Floors should be swept daily of dirt and debris to avoid stains and wear on your flooring.
- As with vinyl flooring, mop at least once a week (more if you’re doing with rock salt, snow, and ice in the winter). Unlike vinyl flooring, you don’t need to be as concerned about using a fully wet mop. Linoleum stands up well to water and it doesn’t soak into the material. You just need to make sure you soak up excess water on the floor when you’re finished.
- To maintain their appearance, many linoleum floors need to be waxed every 2-6 months. After several coats of wax, you’ll probably need to strip off previous coats before adding a new one. A liquid acrylic floor polish can be a good choice. This is a fairly large project and may be best performed by a professional floor cleaning company.
- To keep your linoleum floors shining, it’s helpful to use a lightweight buffer specifically made for linoleum floors.
Rubber Floor Care
Rubber flooring is another natural eco-friendly flooring type often used in healthcare facilities and schools. It’s also common in airports and museums. It’s created from the sap of tropical rubber trees making it sustainable and renewable. It’s an excellent choice for people looking for a “green” flooring option because it can also be recycled when it is no longer useful.
To maintain your rubber floors, follow these cleaning and care instructions:
- Vacuum or sweep daily to clear the floors of dirt and debris. If you’re using a vacuum cleaner, make sure it’s one that does not have a beater bar as this can damage the flooring or shoot materials across the floor.Rubber flooring is resistant to water and moisture, making it a good flooring option. However, dirt and debris can be caught in the rubber flooring if not cleaned regularly.
- Mop at least once a week, and use gentle sponges or brushes and avoid abrasive scrubbers. Avoid harsh chemicals (or chemicals at all) that can erode rubber material and decrease the value of your flooring. It’s best to use mild detergents and a moderate amount of water to clean rubber floors.
- Rubber floors also require a wet-vac once every month or two. Again, use a mild detergent when using a wet-vac.
Ceramic Tile and Stone Floor Care
Believe it or not, stone flooring and ceramic tiles are the easiest flooring surfaces to clean of all the commercial flooring options. They’re also durable and are a great choice for commercial kitchens, cafeterias, foyers, restrooms, and more.
Recently, this type of flooring has dropped in price making it a more affordable option for more businesses.
To care for your ceramic tile and stone flooring, follow these cleaning and care tips:
- Sweep or vacuum tile daily to remove dirt and debris that could gather in grouting and dull the surface of your floor.
- Mop at least weekly, and use a chamois style mop. Sponge mops tend to push grime into grouting. When finished, dry the tiles so they don’t gather water spots. Acidic cleaners like lemon or vinegar can be used on ceramic but should be avoided on stone flooring. For stone flooring, these natural acidic cleaners can take away its shine.With both ceramic and stone flooring, you’ll want to avoid using abrasive cleaning materials.
- As with other flooring types, it’s important to clean up spills as soon as they happen. If not, these spills can result in stains or they may seep into the flooring.
Hardwood Floor Care
Hardwood flooring is becoming more popular as a commercial flooring option. It’s a warm, inviting, and beautiful, and it can give a commercial space a more inviting appearance.
Hardwood floors are one of the more expensive flooring options, but they can last a lifetime if they’re cared for properly. Here are our cleaning and care tips to ensure your hardwood floors last a long time:
- Sweep floors daily of dirt and debris to keep floors clean and without stains or scratches.
- Hardwood floors can and should be mopped, but not with excessive amounts of water. Standing water can stain or damage hardwood surfaces.Hardwood floors require gentle cleaners because harsh chemicals will strip the finish from the floors. Make sure that the cleaning solution you use is specifically designed for hardwood floors.You only want to deep clean your hardwood floors with cleaners and equipment every month or two. Deep cleaning too often can also strip hardwood of its finish and expose it to dirt, debris, and moisture.
- As the finish on your hardwood floors begins to fade or become scratched, you may want to refinish them. Reapplying finish will add years to your hardwood floors and help them be water and stain resistant.
- If your hardwood floors become very scratched, stained, or scuffed, you may want to sand them down before reapplying a new layer of finish. As this is a fairly large and involved process, it may be a good idea to hire a professional to help.
Keep Maintaining Your Floors
With a proper care floor system, you’ll be adding years of usefulness to your commercial floors.
Depending on your flooring type, and the sort of traffic it receives, it may be more cost-effective to hire a professional cleaning company to care for your floors. From the daily maintenance to the long-term projects, it just makes sense to make sure your flooring is receiving the best care possible.
At Jack Laurie Group, we know exactly how to care for your commercial floors. Our flooring experts know everything from choosing the right flooring for your commercial space to properly maintaining it. If you’re looking for new commercial flooring, we can even install it for you.
Our cleaning team will make sure that you get the most out of your commercial flooring investment so you’re free to handle the other important aspects of your business.
If you already have a commercial cleaning company that you’re working with, make sure to check out our article on the top 9 things they should be doing when it comes to making your business clean and safe.
