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PHS Group plc

Keeping Floors Clean

70% of all the dirt, dust and grit entering a building is brought in on peoples feettracks-on-floor
(Dept of Environment)

Where does dirt come from?
Did you know that when a person walks into a building, approximately 7 grams of dirt, dust and grit will be carried in on the bottom of their shoes? And in wet weather, the proportion of dirt carried on the soles of shoes increases dramatically! Effective entrance matting barrier systems are therefore an essential to help stop dirt being carried into and through your building.

Top tips: Protecting entrance flooring

Adopt an integrated approach, combining a regular floor-cleaning schedule with floor protection or barrier matting.

Consider the type of dirt being walked in - foot-borne grease or oil from a car park or workshop requires a different approach to pavement dirt.

Look at how dirt is entering the building. Is it just foot-borne, or are open doors allowing dirt to blow in?

Can you reduce the amount of dirt tracked in by improving the outdor environment? Look at repairing potholes and changing the surface path, for example.

Cleaning

  • Use the correct cleaning solution for your hard flooring. The wrong chemicals can damage the surface, leaving it dull and making it look dirtier than it is.
  • Carpeted floors need frequent vaccuming with rotating brush system to remove as much trapped dirt as possible. Suction only vacuum cleaners remove far less soiling.

Barrier mats

  • Site barrier mats properly, placing them at points where outdoors meets indoors, not some way into the building.
  • Choose the right size mat for your entranceway. Double dooes require a wider mat than single.
  • Small coir or cotton mats work at home, but cannot cope with the volume of traffic and soiling in a typical organisation. Choose a commercial mat solution for the workplace.
  • If large amounts of mud or grit are being tracked in, a two part mat system works best, with heavy-duty out door scrapermat followed by and indoor barrier mat.
  • Even barrier mats fill up with dirt and moisture eventually. Get them regularly and thoroughly cleaned by a professional mat laundry, so that they're always working hard to protect your entrance flooring.
  • Serviced mats incorporate regular, specialist laundering within the contract, and offer better protection than mats purchased outright.

Remember also that there is a legal imperative to take care of workplace flooring. The Workplace (Health,Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 requires that every floor surface be suitable for use, and have no hole, slope or obsturction; nor should it be uneven or slippery so as to present a slip, trip or fall risk.

 

 

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