Vinyl Floor Selection and Maintenance

Tips on Selecting and Maintaining Beautiful Vinyl Floors

Choosing the correct kind of vinyl flooring for your particular workplace is important. A floor specialist should be able to advise you on which kind of floor material is best suited for your particular working environment. If you work in an office that is cleaned daily, and traffic is minimal, there will be less dirt and wear and tear on all floor surfaces. If the flooring is tread upon by industrial workers who carry in grease and abrasive elements on their boots or metal shavings are daily being scraped into the flooring, then this calls for a much harder industrially suited floor material. The vinyl in an industrial environment will need much more frequent polishing and periodic refinishing work to protect the surface and maintain shine and an attractive appearance. Grocery stores, hospitals and laboratories are examples of environments with walking surfaces that are almost entirely made up of vinyl flooring. Such floors often need daily cleaning and polishing and more frequent refinishing jobs to maintain a glossy and impressive appearance. Contrary to popular believe a shiny well polished floor is not slippery. As a matter of fact there are Federal regulations as to how slippery a floor finish can be.

Benefits of Regular and Frequent Polishing

• Regular buffing is cost effective and it will delay the expensive cost of more frequent refinishing work.
• Frequent polishing keeps vinyl floors looking spectacular on a daily basis.
• A beautiful shining floor “reflects” the standards of the company and enhances its image. The first thing noticed by customers and employees alike is a sparkling, shiny floor.

Cleaning Tips to keep vinyl floors looking their best:

• Sweep & mop floors daily with an appropriate neutral cleaner that will not dull the shine and wear down the top coat. Do not use hot water to mop floors.
• Place appropriate mats in entrances to reduce the amount of abrasive debris and dirt entering the building.
• Place indoor mats and rugs in areas where there is a high volume of foot traffic.
• Place plastic desk mats under desk chairs where the constant rolling of the wheels wears down the floor.
• Maintain a regular buffing schedule to maintain gloss and hardness of surface.
• Your floor care professional should offer you a regular maintenance routine that includes not only stripping and waxing but also buffing and polishing, restoration, and top scrubbing.

Whatever type of flooring a business has, it is important to follow a maintenance schedule in order to keep the floor looking its best and maintain its life span Scrimping on daily or weekly polishing may save a few dollars initially, but it will cost more in the long run when the flooring becomes dull and damaged and will be in need of more costly stripping and refinishing work.