“LVT floors should be deep cleaned at
least once a year, and scrubbed thoroughly to remove ingrained dirt.”
Cleaning is key
Paul Rogers, Technical Services Manager at Amtico, discusses simple steps to ensure Luxury Vinyl Tile and carpet flooring is kept clean and well-maintained post-lockdown.
As the COVID-19 battle continues, good hygiene is more crucial than ever, especially in commercial environments. The type of flooring and specific cleaning methods are often overlooked; however, effective floorcare maintenance has become critical to ensuring locations like offices and healthcare facilities can operate within the new ‘normal’ and ongoing measures.
Flooring not only needs to provide a durable surface, but also deliver on maintenance and levels of cleanliness. For these reasons, Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) is an increasingly popular choice of commercial flooring. Indeed, it’s one of the most versatile and hardwearing products available – presenting a commercially attractive alternative to other flooring materials, namely natural wood, stone, sheet vinyl and laminates.
The type of floor significantly impacts on how cleaning is approached, as well as how frequently it needs to take place. There’s often some confusion around maintaining LVT floors, so it’s important to note the difference between ‘day-to-day’ and ‘deep’ cleaning.
LVT’s hard surface makes it easy to remove loose dirt or debris, while liquids are unable to permeate the tiles and planks as easily as other materials, such as laminate, ensuring it’s less susceptible to mould and bacterial growth. Daily sweeping or vacuuming, which can also be incorporated into the daily floorcare routines of feature areas, including entrance matting, is a simple way to ensure hassle-free day-to-day maintenance when paired with occasional manual mopping using a neutral cleaner.
For larger or more open areas, using a scrubber dryer can be more productive and cost effective for soil and light mark removal; we recommend fitting the scrubber dryer with a red or blue 3M nylon scrubbing pad (or equivalent).
For increased peace of mind, day-to-day LVT cleaning regimes can also include the use of antibacterial products (or those containing bleach) – as long as they are correctly diluted. For Amtico floors, we recommend diluting these
34 | FLOORCARE AND MAINTENANCE solutions with at least 10 times as much water.
In addition, LVT floors should be deep cleaned at least once a year, and scrubbed thoroughly to remove ingrained dirt. The recommended method is to prepare the stripper solution and apply over a manageable area using a mop and bucket, then agitate the solution using a low-speed rotary machine with a green 3M pad (or equivalent), before removing slurry with a wet vacuum machine or mop and bucket. This can then be followed by an application of dressing to provide a protective finish, if required.
Although LVT is becoming increasingly more popular, many commercial environments will also have areas with carpet, or entrance matting that limits the amount of soil and moisture entering a building. Vacuuming is a pivotal part of daily floorcare and can remove around 80% of soiling; for carpet tiles or entrance matting such as Entryway, we advise using a dual motor upright model with rotating beater, or canister vacuum with a power head. Spot cleaning should also be carried out daily on stains.
To keep entrance matting and carpet tiles in good condition over the long term, we also recommend hot water extraction – a good quality machine can leave the floor virtually dry. This type of periodical floorcare can be conducted in three simple steps: first, pre-spraying to allow the chemical to break down stains and soil; then, agitation with a carpet rake to help lift dirt from the bottom of the fibres; finally, use the hot water extraction machine to rinse out the chemical and soiling.
Day-to-day cleaning of all flooring types combined with deep cleaning, at least once annually, will be of paramount importance to all environments, not just commercial, as we enter the new year. Carefully following floorcare guidelines provided by manufacturers will also help protect the flooring product’s warranty. However, if you’re unsure, we recommend looking at the available information on a company’s website, or getting in touch with the company directly.
www.amtico.com
twitter.com/TomoCleaning
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