Best Practice for Commercial Floor Cleaning

Do the floors at your workplace feel grimy, unclean or outright dirty? Then it is time to rethink your routine for floor cleaning. To help you be on top of the cleaning standards, Melbourne Cleaning Supplies, outlines some best practice for cleaning your floors, based on the type of flooring you may have.

Best ways to clean your Tile Floors

Tile floors are popularly considered the most durable and resilient of any flooring. But tile grout is porous and can absorb stains. So when thinking about cleaning tile floors, the main concern would be on cleaning of grout.

Method to clean tile grout

When cleaning grout, it’s important to ensure that you don’t harm the grout sealants. Using bleach and other harsh chemical cleaners might break down grout sealants. This may cause the grout to become more porous and absorb stains faster. At Melbourne Cleaning Supplies, we recommend products such as LiftOff, tile and grout cleaner which is a combination of safe liquid acid and detergent used to remove grout, cement smears and stains from unsealed slate, terracotta and sandstone surfaces.

Groutbrushes with stiff bristles or with stiffchiseled bristles with swivel heads for easy maneuverability are handy to have in your cleaning cupboard for tile floor cleaning.

How do you clean tile floors?

There are two main methods to ensure your tile is clean. 1. Mopping and 2. Scrubbing with an automated tile floor scrubber.

Best way to mop tile floors:

1. Sweep regularly to remove dirt and debris. Always sweep before you mop.
2. Identify your “mopping plan” before you begin so you don’t mop yourself into a corner.
3. Use a yarn or string mop or microfibre mop. A sponge mop pushes dirty water into grout lines, making them harder to clean later.
4. Change the water frequently. Mopping with dirty water will leave your business’ floors looking shabby and dirty.
5. Buff your floors dry using a clean, lint-free cloth or a microfiber mop.

Regular mopping using the right mop heads is important.

A variety of Mops are available for a variety floor cleaning purpose. Depending on the type of mophead, they promise durability for all heavy duty commercial cleaning jobs. The blend of natural and synthetic yarn in specific mopheads, determines absorbency and cleaning performance.

Types of mops and mopheads:

• Fringe mops and dust mops are used for capturing dirt, lint and dust.
• Polyester and Cotton yarn blend Mopheads are ideal for applying sealers and polish.
• Microfibre Mopheads can be used wet or dry. They can be used with or without chemicals. The butterfly construction of the mop allows for maximum floor coverage. The looped and angle tail banded mopheads prevent tangling and linting.
• Biohazard spill mop pads become useful when spills have to removed swiftly and completely. They are made of highly absorbent material. They absorb the liquid and turns it into a gel which then traps it to prevent leaks.
• Spraymops are a good alternative to mops and buckets. The ergonomic trigger allows the user to easily control the amount of liquid put on the floor. The powerful pre-compression sprayer delivers a precise spray, so no water gets on your walls or furniture. With a powerful Microfibre pad cleans even without chemicals. It is easy to remove the bottle to fill with water or your favorite chemical or even Eucalyptus oil! The pads are machine washable. Perfect for those quick clean ups or for a thorough clean. They are suitable for use on timber floorboards, vinyl, linoleum, polished concrete, tiles & more. Pads with looped Microfibre traps dirt, lifting it away. Cleans dirt and grease without chemicals for a streak-free finish.

Colour Coding of Mopheads:

Mopheads are colour coded and have to be strictly used in specific areas so as to avoid cross-contamination.

Green Mopheads : To be used in kitchens, food preparation areas, food service areas

Blue Mophead: General cleaning, offices, low risk areas

Red Mophead : Toilets, bathrooms, washrooms, dirty utility rooms

Yellow Mophead: infectious areas, isolation areas

White Mophead : Clinical areas, operating theatres

For this system to work, you will need to assign different colour coded mops and buckets to each area, as well as all the other cleaning equipment such as from cloths and wipes to brushes and gloves.

Tiled flooring can be particularly problematic in kitchens when fatty fluids and grease from cooking are sprayed all over the floor. Using wet and dry mops are definitely effective methods for cleaning on an everyday basis but over time, your floor is going to need a good scrub.

Restoring the floor from years of neglect can be a challenge. The best way to get results is to mechanically scrub it at least once a week, preventing natural build-up.

Automated Floor scrubbers for floor cleaning

When you want to achieve a greater result at a shorter time, automated floor scrubbers are recommended. Melbourne Cleaning Supplies recommends a variety of professional floor scrubbers.

i-mopfloor scrubbers, which clean faster, lowering cleaning costs. The i-mop cleans up to 70% faster than traditional mopping and up to 30% faster than traditional auto scrubbers. The i-mop can get right to the edge and under obstacles, virtually eliminating all manual mopping that is normally required to get to areas where your floor scrubbing machine cannot.

Another notable floor scrubber for professionals, is the Motorscrubber range of products. “The recently launched JET is the newest model to the MotorScrubber range. The lightweight and waterproof innovation is cordless for ease of use; it incorporates a jet at the scrubbing head for the direct application of solution to surface. The grab handle gives the user full control and comes with a specially designed flip clip which lets the user make fast adjustments to the telescopic pole, reaching to over 3 metres” says Motorscrubber.

Specific parts such as MotorScrubber tile and grout brush is one of the most abrasive bushes. It consists of grit filaments for deep cleaning tiles. This brush is considered to be perfect for restoring grout.