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Proper Cleaning Protects Investment in Hardwood Floors
By Eric See
Hardwood flooring is the top choice in commercial and retail spaces for its warmth, upscale image, and enhanced environment. Wood flooring offers diverse design options, including colors, grain patterns, and widths, being an eco-friendly and cost-efficient choice. For durability, the key is proper installation, sanding, finishing, timely recoats, and crucially, consistent daily and long-term maintenance.
Maintaining commercial hardwood floors is tough due to heavy traffic and limited care time. Sadly, specific care products are scarce. Thus, facility managers often resort to generic methods meant for other floors. They have also taken desperate measures selecting improper cleaners found in retail stores. This has resulted in unsightly floors and excessive costs to repair unnecessary damage. If budget restraints require cut-backs on facility maintenance, it doesn’t mean you have to neglect hardwood floor care. The right system will provide durability, beauty, environmental responsibility and an economical solution for your hardwood floors. When done correctly, they are easy and inexpensive to maintain.
The Process
Depending on the lifecycle stage and condition of your hardwood floor, using the right products and procedures can effectively protect the investment and extend the lifespan of the hardwood floor in your facility.
Here is a brief description of each stage for successfully maintaining your hardwood floors:
Initial Sand and Finish/Refinishing
Upon installation, unfinished hardwood floors require sanding to flatten and prepare them for optional staining and polyurethane finishing. The factory pre-coats prefinished floors with a polyurethane finish, but homeowners can periodically refinish them.
Refinishing involves sanding and finishing to restore a worn or damaged existing floor. It’s important to specify the use of a dust containment sanding system to prevent the infiltration of dust throughout the jobsite.
Equally important is the use of a quality waterborne finishing system which doesn’t require vacating the jobsite because of harmful fumes, as is required with solvent-based systems. Low-VOC (volatile organic compound) waterborne formulas are better for indoor air quality and the environment.
Some areas of the country prohibit the use of higher VOC solvent-based sealers and finishes. High-quality, waterborne finishes surpass solvent-based ones in durability and beauty, thanks to their advanced technology and non-yellowing traits. Also, the faster drying (2-3 hours per coat) and cure times (90% in 72 hours) of a quality waterborne system are essential requirements for commercial and retail environments.
Daily Cleaning and Periodic Deep Cleaning
Improper daily and periodic deep cleaning methods and products are likely the leading causes of damage to commercial hardwood floors. Avoid water, all-purpose cleaners and harsh chemicals (which can damage the wood or dull the finish). Also don’t use dust mop treatments, oil soaps, silicone and acrylics which can leave a residue and adversely affect the adhesion of a coat of finish in the future.
Following the correct methods is easy and relatively inexpensive:
- Vacuum or Sweep to remove dirt, sand or grit that can act like sandpaper to scratch and damage the floor.
- Clean with Hardwood Floor Cleaner specifically designed for polyurethane-finished hardwood floors. Choose a non-toxic, low-VOC waterborne formula for indoor air quality, health and environmental benefits. For small areas, use a microfiber or terry cloth mop. For larger areas, a commercial mop, buffer or autoscrubber can be used with hardwood floor cleaner to remove dirt, stains and dried spills.
Preventive Measures
Following a few simple preventative measures can help you avoid damage in addition to daily vacuuming or sweeping.
- Use protective felt pads on the feet of furniture and fixtures. A very common source of deep scratching of hardwood floors in commercial environments is from dragging fixtures across the floor. Protective felt pads should prevent this unnecessary damage.
- Maintain consistent humidity as excessive swings in humidity levels will cause hardwood floors to swell, shrink, cup, crack and show gaps between boards. Keep the humidity level within a 5-10 point range.
- Recoating depends on the amount of monthly/annual pedestrian traffic and the level of daily and periodic maintenance. This process involves deep cleaning and abrading the old finish to remove dirt and surface scratches, and the application of 1-2 coats of a waterborne polyurethane finish. Recoat adhesion solutions can be used for conditioning the existing finish to optimize adhesion of the new coat of finish.
Using Green Products and Systems
Many commercial facilities are demanding more sustainable methods for their maintenance processes as a means to maintain good indoor air quality. There are plenty of green alternatives to traditional products that also offer better performance and cost efficiency.
Demand green products that have third party certification through organizations that independently test and certify products such as GREENGUARD, Green Seal®, Scientific Certification Systems and many others. They are a great source for verifying manufacturers’ claims on the performance of their products.
By following these simple cost-saving methods and using the correct products, you will find that hardwood floors are an ideal sustainable flooring choice for an enhanced and commercial environment.
Begin the transformation of your space now. Schedule a Virtual Consultation with our wood flooring experts, or dial 908-232-6600 for direct support and tailored advice to meet your unique flooring needs.