Cleaning Maintenance Planning of a Commercial Building: The Pros and Cons of Vinyl Floors

by Max Oof

Introduction to Vinyl Floors in Commercial Settings

Vinyl Flooring in a Commercial Building Environment

Vinyl flooring has become a popular choice for commercial buildings due to its versatility and aesthetic appeal. This type of flooring can mimic the look of natural materials such as wood or stone, making it an attractive option for various settings. In this post, we’ll examine the advantages and disadvantages of using vinyl floors in commercial spaces.

Pros of Vinyl Flooring

Durability and Longevity

Vinyl flooring is known for its durability. It can withstand heavy foot traffic common in commercial settings, making it a long-lasting option. Its resilience against wear and tear means businesses can enjoy an attractive floor surface for years to come.

Ease of Maintenance

One of the biggest advantages of vinyl flooring is its ease of maintenance. Simple cleaning techniques such as sweeping, vacuuming, and occasional mopping with mild cleaners are enough to keep the floors looking new. This low-maintenance aspect is particularly beneficial for busy commercial environments.

Cost-Effectiveness

Comparing cost, vinyl flooring offers great value. It is less expensive than many other flooring options, yet still provides a high-quality look and feel. This cost-effectiveness makes it an attractive choice for businesses looking to optimize their budget without compromising on aesthetics.

Cons of Vinyl Flooring

Susceptibility to Damage

Despite its durability, vinyl flooring can be susceptible to scratches and dents from heavy furniture or sharp objects. Care should be taken to protect the floor from potential damage, which can sometimes limit the flooring’s practicality in certain commercial applications. Sometimes a simple mistake during the cleaning process can lead to unsatisfactory results or unexpected damage.

Environmental Concerns

Vinyl flooring is made from synthetic materials, raising concerns about its environmental impact. The production and disposal of vinyl can contribute to pollution, making it a less eco-friendly option compared to natural flooring materials.

Installation Challenges

Installing vinyl flooring requires precision and expertise, particularly for large commercial spaces. Poor installation can lead to issues such as bubbling or gaps, detracting from the floor’s appearance and requiring costly repairs.

Cleaning and Maintenance Tips for Vinyl Floors

Maintaining vinyl floors in a commercial setting is essential for preserving their appearance and extending their lifespan. Here are some detailed tips for cleaning and maintaining vinyl floors effectively:

Daily Cleaning

  • Sweeping or Vacuuming: Start by removing loose dirt, dust, and debris daily. Use a soft broom or a vacuum cleaner with a soft brush attachment to avoid scratching the surface. This step prevents the accumulation of grit that can wear down the finish over time.
  • Spot Cleaning: Attend to spills and stains immediately. Use a soft, damp cloth to wipe up any spills. For tougher stains, apply a small amount of mild detergent on the cloth before wiping. Avoid using abrasive scrubbers or harsh chemicals that can damage the vinyl.

Weekly Deep Cleaning

  • Mopping: Once a week, mop the floors with a mild cleaning solution suitable for vinyl flooring. Ensure the mop is well-wrung to avoid soaking the floor, as excessive water can seep into seams and edges, causing damage. You can use a mixture of water and apple cider vinegar for a natural cleaning solution that helps to remove dirt without leaving a residue.
  • Rinsing: After mopping with a cleaning solution, it’s a good idea to go over the floor with a mop dampened with clean water to remove any cleaning residue. Ensure the mop is well-wrung for this step as well.

Preventive Measures

  • Use Protective Pads: Place felt pads under the legs of furniture and heavy equipment to prevent scratches and indentations on the vinyl flooring. Regularly check and replace these pads to ensure they remain effective.
  • Floor Mats: Use floor mats at entrances and high-traffic areas to minimize the amount of dirt and moisture brought onto the vinyl floors. Ensure these mats are suitable for vinyl flooring, as rubber-backed mats can sometimes cause discolouration.
  • Avoid Rubber: Be cautious with rubber items, such as rubber-backed rugs or mats, as they can cause staining on vinyl flooring. Opt for non-staining materials to protect the floor’s appearance.
  • Proper Cleaning Products: Always use cleaners specifically recommended for vinyl floors. Harsh chemicals, such as bleach or ammonia-based cleaners, can damage the flooring. If in doubt, test a cleaning solution on a small, inconspicuous area first.

Dealing with Scuffs and Scratches

  • Scuff Marks: To remove scuff marks, rub the area gently with a soft, damp cloth. You can also use a vinyl floor cleaner designed for this purpose. For stubborn scuffs, a small amount of WD-40 sprayed onto a cloth (never directly on the floor) can be effective, but this should be used sparingly and the area should be cleaned thoroughly afterward to remove any residue.
  • Minor Scratches: Minor scratches can often be camouflaged with a vinyl floor sealer or finish product. Follow the product instructions carefully for the best results.

By following these cleaning and maintenance tips, commercial vinyl floors can retain their beauty and durability for many years, providing a clean, attractive surface for any commercial space. Regular care not only keeps the floors looking their best but also supports a healthy, safe environment for employees and visitors alike.

Weighing the Pros and Cons

Vinyl flooring offers several advantages for commercial buildings, including durability, ease of maintenance, and cost-effectiveness. However, it’s also important to consider the potential downsides, such as susceptibility to damage and environmental concerns. By understanding these pros and cons, businesses can make an informed decision about whether vinyl flooring is the right choice for their commercial space.

Office Cleaners’ Mistakes Can Have Bad Consequences

by Max Oof

Dangerous Cleaning Mistakes

You might think that cleaning is an easy and rather boring task. It’s hard to get wrong, isn’t it? After all, if it was mentally demanding, why were all those housewives back in the 1960s campaigning for the right to go back to work etc.? While that could be another topic of debate, it’s still a fact that offices need to be cleaned and it isn’t as easy as you think. It is possible to make mistakes – mistakes with worse consequences than just having a slightly dirtier window or benchtop.

d floor scrubbing brush
Hard floor cleaning brush

Some of the mistakes you could make cleaning around you office could actually be dangerous to your health. If you err in one direction, you could risk not cleaning your premises thoroughly enough and exposing yourself to harmful bacteria or other pathogens. If you go in the other direction, you risk harming yourself and your colleagues by cleaning too much and exposing yourself to far too many toxins from the cleaning products themselves.

Mistakes With Daily Office Cleaning Products

  • You mix cleaners. To be fair, mixing things does work if you’re talking about natural cleaning products like salt, vinegar, soap, washing soda and good old baking soda. Those mix without too much in the way of disaster. However, if you try to mix commercial cleaning products, then you don’t get any synergy. You could be creating a lethal cocktail of chemicals that will damage you, not just the dirt and germs in your office. The very worst combination is a blend of chlorine and ammonia, which produces some of the gases that made trench warfare in WWI such a horror.
  • You love to spray. Many modern commerical cleaning chemicals come in spray or aerosol form. This does make it easy to cover a large area quickly and it does lend a certain amount of fun to the job. It’s like shooting things. However, this causes two problems. The first is that you often end up using way too much product – far more than you really have to. Of course, the manufacturers of these products aren’t going to mind a bit that you’re using more product, as it means that you’re going to cough up for more! The second problem is that not all of the spray will end up on the thing you’re trying to clean. Some of it will be in the air and you will breathe it in. This means that all these harsh chemicals will be landing on your sensitive mucous membranes in your nose, eyes and throat. Sometimes it’s not the dust making you cough and sneeze during a big session of spring cleaning but the product you’re using.
  • You don’t let the cleaner do its job. Most of us want to work quickly and efficiently. So we spray the surface with our chosen cleaning liquid/detergent or apply it in some other way (see below) then get busy wiping away with a cloth. Sprays and liquids aren’t magic and they actually need some time to do their work of dissolving grease and grime, or killing bacteria (or doing both). This time is known to professional commercial cleaners as “dwell time”.

The Right Ways To Use Cleaning Materials

So how do you correct the common and potentially harmful cleaning mistakes described above? Here’s how:

  • Instead of spraying the surface, spray your cleaning cloth or tool. This means that there aren’t lots of droplets flying through the air where you can breathe them in. It also means that you save money in the long run by using less cleaning product. Coat your cleaning cloth or brush with your chosen product, then apply the product to the surface to be cleaned with the product. Alternatively, don’t bother with spray cleaners at all but look out for ordinary liquids, creams and pastes. Use a fresh, clean cloth (preferably damp) to remove the product and the dirt away.
  • Let the product have its proper dwell time. Sometimes, dwell times are listed on the packaging. Sometimes they aren’t. However, products need a least a minute to do their stuff – but don’t leave them too long so they dry out. This may require a little multi-tasking (apply cleaner to Surface A then go and do a little on Task B during the dwell time) but don’t have more than one task going at once or you will cut down on your efficiency – something that all professional cleaning ladies know.
  • If you like to mix and combine, learn more about green cleaning products. Natural cleaners do mix well with each other, so if you love to stir and combine to come up with the perfect commercially available cleaning product, do it with these. These products are safe for your system (you can eat some of them quite safely, like vinegar, baking soda, salt and water) and clean perfectly well.
aning With Lemons

Mistakes With Cleaning Technique

You might have it right when it comes to choosing and using cleaning products, but there may be a few things that you aren’t quite getting right when it comes to methods. Some of the things you do – or don’t do – might be worsening your health and wellbeing.

  • Leaving off the rubber gloves. Your skin can absorb chemicals – that’s how nicotine patches and other patch medications (e.g. some contraceptives) work. Toxins can get into your system in the same way. Even if you don’t absorb many nasties through your skin, many chemicals can damage your skin itself, leaving it dry, flaky and itchy – even cracking. After all, the chemicals in your favourite disinfectant can’t tell the difference between healthy skin cells and bacterial cells. So pull on the rubber gloves!
  • Cross-contamination. You may risk spreading bacteria from a really dirty location to somewhere that germs certainly aren’t welcome. If you use the same tools for every job, you can create this sort of cross-contamination. Take a tip from professional janitors and have a different set of tools (e.g. cloths, gloves and brushes) for different jobs: one set for, say, the toilet and the kitty litter tray; one for the kitchen food preparation surfaces. Hospital cleaners often have three sets (one for really dirty places, one for neutral places and one for areas that need to be sterile) but you probably don’t quite need to go that far in your daily efforts. Here is a London office cleaning company that uses an alternative to commercially recommended industrial cleaning materials. Have a read on their blog to see how they avoid endangering the environment.
  • Forgetting to clean pillows. Pillows contain all the food that dust mites love. However, when did you last clean your pillows? Give your pillows (and duvets) a good spring cleaning. However, if you’re not sure about how to do it, give a professional upholstery cleaner a call to avoid disasters.

Bringing The Shine Back To Your Floor

by Max Oof

Do you always have that thought that having a laminate floor throughout the house just looks unclassy and cheap?

I did.

Once.

I long time ago.

It was 20 years ago. Artificial flooring materials and finishes were not that great and indeed looked like a budget project completed in a hurry. You would try and hide these panels with a rug or a piece of furniture. Sound familiar? I bet it does.

These times a long gone. There are numerous manufacturers who produce real masterpieces of a floor surface – Pergo , Mohawk and Quick Step being at the top. The variety in colour, material, robustness, longevity and ease of installation have grown significantly over the years.

Beautiful floors. Do you really need to cut trees in order to cover the floors in your home or office?

I have seen prestigious London buildings and premises laid with artificial laminate flooring throughout. Did it look cheap? No way, quite the opposite. Those floors looked exquisite and expensive. The one you’d expect to be on the floor of the Buckingham Palace or 10 Downing Street, both SW1 postcode.

Here I will try to provide you with the best advice and product information, as well as installation instructions, tips and recommendations. Just cut me a bit of slack with the design of the website, which is well in progress.