Maintaining Hard Floors In High Traffic Areas

In a prior article, I began making suggestions on how to maintain VCT (vinyl composite tile) floors in a high traffic area such as a school. I noted that the front entrance was catching most of the abuse due to soils/grit being tracked in. I recommended that the outside area be blown/hosed according to the season and weather to reduce the amount of grit being tracked in. Please remember that sand is equivalent to a diamond pad abrasiveness and comes in on every shoe.

I also noted that there was NO walk off matting system in place due to concerns about safety as well as appearance. The safety issue can usually be overcome by having mats that a fixed to the floors. As to appearance concerns, which would you rather have: an attractive, well maintained walk off mat or the worn out finish currently in place?

Other points to consider include the type finish (solids and durability) as well as the number of coats being put down to protect the floor. You currently do not have any measuring system in place to determine how many coats were put down and how many are there after a week, month, quarter of traffic, burnishing and other activities that all tend to take off layers in the middle while not touching the outside areas.

There was evidence of "yellowing" which usually means that your are applying good finish over dirty floors. This can happen due to insufficient mopping or scrubbing before finish is applied. It is essential that the floor be clean BEFORE any finish is applied. Please research past articles for recommendations regarding this process. Once the floor has been contaminated, it will be necessary to strip and start all over.

One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while hoping for different results. Your floors can look better but you need to review and update your processes first before proceeding.

Your comments and questions are important. I hope to hear from you soon. Until then, keep it clean...

Mickey Crowe has been involved in the industry for over 35 years. He is a trainer, speaker and consultant. You can reach Mickey at 678-314-2171 or CTCG50@comcast.net.