To keep a healthy facility image in Chicago –a city with four seasonal changes – properties with laminate or vinyl composition tile (VCT) flooring have an undeniable need for a scheduled floor-care maintenance program. Left unchecked, hard surface flooring breaks down, leaving the base flooring exposed and vulnerable to permanent damage and potentially expensive repairs.
Not every janitorial provider has the knowledge and skill-set to design and carry out a custom VCT floor care maintenance program. Many factors need to be evaluated prior to creating a successful floor-care program. Alpha Clean recognizes that the amount of foot-traffic, facility type and location, color and style of the flooring, client budget and expectations all play a significant role in determining the frequency of care to gain optimal results.
- Daily Care – perhaps the most overlooked component of a maintenance program is routine Daily Care. Routine cleaning is intended to keep a floor at a consistent level of appearance by completing procedures with scheduled frequency. A Daily Care routine consists primarily of dry soil and grit removal. In high-traffic environments, performing these simple procedures on a daily basis can extend the time between, and need for, more aggressive and costly periodic or restorative care. Alpha Clean can provide janitorial services customized to manage your Daily Care needs.
- Periodic Care – Periodic maintenance occurs less frequently and goes well beyond dry soil removal and wet mopping using more aggressive and skillful cleaning techniques that Alpha Clean is well-suited to provide. Whether using a machine scrubber to deep clean floors, providing a spray or dry buff (high speed burnishing) or a combination of all three procedures, we consider every aspect of the Periodic Care spectrum to enhance the overall gloss of the floor, especially in high traffic areas.
- Burnishing or Dry-buffing is the process of buffing a clean, dry floor, using a machine, to restore and increase gloss. Conventional dry-buffing is typically performed at 175-1,500 rpm, while Ultra High Speed (UHS) burnishing utilizes a machine that reaches speeds of 1500-2,000 rpm or higher. Alpha Clean’s floor care experts take care to avoid damaging baseboards and burning uneven floor surfaces while operating a UHS machine.
- Spray-buffing, the process of buffing a floor while applying a specially formulated buffing-solution, is especially useful in high-traffic areas. During the procedure, the buffing-solution is sprayed on the floor and immediately buffed with a machine until dry. This process levels and fills scratches, reducing the need for stripping, while enhancing the gloss-level of the floor. Depending on the finish and type of floor, spray-buffing is performed at machine speeds of 175 to 1,000 rpm.
- Machine Scrubbing deep cleans floors using a moderately-abrasive nonwoven pad, or appropriate brush, attached to a low-speed scrubber to vigorously agitate the wet surface. This procedure is used when a floor is heavily soiled and less-aggressive cleaning methods have been unsuccessful.
- Restorative Care, the most aggressive of all types of floor care, typically involves stripping and refinishing the floor and requires the largest investment of time, labor and money. Alpha Clean performs these procedures when routine or periodic maintenance no longer provides the desired level of appearance. We offer the following Restorative Care services:
- Stripping the floor is the process of removing existing layers of previously-applied sealers or finishes from the flooring surface. During the procedure, a standard stripping chemical is diluted and applied to the floor with a mop, or solution applicator, and allowed to dwell as it penetrates the finish and re-emulsifies into a semi-liquid state. Abrasive agitation is then required to completely remove the finish using a floor machine.
- Floor Refinish is when a temporary polyurethane coating is applied to a pre-treated floor to enhance the appearance, while protecting the area in which it is applied. The refinish acts as shield against abrasive wear and scratches from dust, dirt, grit, debris, embedment of soils and the leaching effect of frequent cleaning or spills.
- Scrubbing and re-coating is a deep clean of hard surface floors utilizing a machine scrubber. Apply 1 or 2 coats of finish to high traffic lanes, and other areas that show excessive wear, in order to present the best possible appearance.
- Sealing the Floor is generally an optional procedure. A seal is recommended for older floors, or on floors where addition stain-resistance is necessary, in effort to improve maintenance characteristics. Sealers may also promote adhesion and, by themselves, are generally not recommended as a walking surface. All sealing procedures must be top coated with a floor finish.
Our recommended maintenance programs will improve the appearance and protect your flooring by reducing wear and abrasion, ultimately increasing the service life of your flooring. The procedures across the Frequency of Care options contribute to a safe and healthy environment, enhancing the overall cleanliness of the building -protecting more than just the floor – but ownership’s capital investment.Contact us today for more information.