Whether you hire a professional commercial cleaning team such as phs, or hire internal employees to manage it yourself, one thing is always certain - floors need to be cleaned, and they need to be cleaned properly.
Spills, dirty footprints, scuffs - floor cleaning can be a full-time thing.
But each type of floor requires a different kind of cleaning technique, so we’ve listed a few of the most common here to help you:
Stone Floor Cleaning
The most important thing about cleaning stone floors is to keep in mind that they are very porous and to use a commercial sealer to prevent fluids draining into the floor.
Use a wool pad to apply a thin layer of acrylic floor finish, then apply a second layer for good measure.
From here you can simply mop with all-purpose floor cleaner, but once in a while you should strip off the sealer, rinse the floor off and re-apply it just to maintain the proper protection.
Wooden Floor Cleaning
First, use a vacuum cleaner to remove all dust and debris from the wooden floorboards.
Then, use a microfibre or a mop treated with a dusting agent to pick up the tiny dust, hairs and other contaminants.
Most of the time this will be enough for minor spruce up, but for a deeper clean, occasionally follow this up by mopping the floor with 4.5 litres of water mixed with around 240ml of vinegar.
Hard Floor Cleaning
For hardwood floors, you can simply do the deep cleaning procedure with vinegar described above. Hardwood floors are much less likely to get damaged by debris so you can skip the vacuuming stage if necessary.
Limestone Floor Cleaning
Limestone floors are soft and porous, and therefore they pick up stains very easily. Limestone should always be treated with a limestone-specific sealer in order to protect it from these stains.
Once it is adequately sealed, the most effective way to clean a limestone floor is:
- Use a vacuum cleaner to remove all dirt and dust.
- Scrub the floor thoroughly using a pH-neutral stone cleanser. You should be sure to use a limestone-specific cleanser and never use normal soap or all-purpose cleaner for limestone.
- Use a small brush such as a toothbrush to scrub individual stains. Stubborn ones can usually be removed with a special stone cleaner specifically made for limestone, if necessary.
- Rinse the floor thoroughly with distilled or soft water then run dry immediately. This is crucial as hard water can seriously damage limestone flooring, as can leaving water sitting around on it for too long.
- Once done, test your floor’s seal by leaving a drop of water on it for 5-10 minutes. If the water appears to absorb into the floor or leaves a dark spot behind, you will need to seal it again.
Slate Floor Cleaning
Natural slate is extremely porous and rough, and as such should be treated using the same cleaning procedure as our stone floor cleaning section above.
As long as you keep the slate sealed and strip and reseal it from time to time, mopping with an all-purpose cleaner should work wonders.
Marble Floor Cleaning
Marble floor can also be very porous when not polished, so make sure you seal it with a commercial sealer.
From here, use water and general all-purpose cleaner to mop down the entire floor.
Be sure to strip the sealer, rinse the floor and reapply from time to time. If using a paste sealer, we would recommend testing it on a small corner of the floor first to be 100% sure it won’t lead to any discolouration or floor damage.
Laminate Floor Cleaning
First, use steel wool to scrub down laminate flooring and remove any marks or mess that’s stuck to the floor.
From here, use a general all-purpose cleaner or polish to mop the floor.
It is best to keep it simple with laminate flooring as many more advanced products such as solvent-based cleaners can damage it, and even very hot water can be a bad idea.
Ceramic Floor Cleaning
If ceramic tiles aren’t glazed, they are very porous and should be treated similarly to a stone floor using the steps listed above.
If they are glazed, they can usually be mopped with a simple mixture of warm water and all-purpose cleaner.
Industrial Floor Cleaning/Commercial Floor Cleaning
Industrial floor cleaning usually involves the same steps as above, but on a much larger scale. A commercial building could even potentially contain all of the floor types listed above, each with huge surface areas.
As a result, industrial cleaning equipment and professionally trained staff are usually required.
The most effective way to keep your commercial floors clean consistently is to either work with phs, who are experts in the field and can clean all of your floors without interrupting your daily activities or to build an expert internal team who can manage this for you.
If you’d like to talk about how we can help, contact us today!
