Crucial Things You Need to Know About Commercial Floor Care

Many commercial buildings are high-traffic areas; they get a lot of use and are subject to a great deal of wear and tear. 

No matter the weather, we bring our shoes into these commercial buildings, and with them any rain or snow, winter salt from an icy parking lot, or whatever else we happen to track in. 

Commercial floors have to withstand a lot of abuse.

Most building owners think of the installation of flooring as a one-time cost, that the commercial-grade flooring will automatically hold up to all the traffic and wear and tear. Unfortunately though, if the flooring isn’t properly maintained, it could last for as little as three years before it needs to be replaced. 

With proper care, however, your new or existing floor can last much longer than three short years. In order to help your investment looking new and fresh, maintenance and care are vital to the longevity of your flooring. 

When carefully maintained, your flooring can last 10 years or even longer.

Selecting and Installing New Flooring 

No matter the type of flooring, even carpet, it can’t just be placed down on your building’s floor. 

If you are selecting flooring for new construction, sure, it may be simple to place down securely, but much of the longevity of your new flooring in your new building will come from selecting and installing a useful, durable and safe floor and then developing a commercial floor cleaning plan (and sticking to it). 

Does your flooring choice make sense with all the different ways your building will be used? It’s important to select flooring designed for safe commercial use and something that will withstand all that heavy foot traffic as well as regular cleaning.  

Choosing the right flooring can make all the difference in the longevity of your building’s floor.

For example, is it really practical to select white carpets for the hallways or common spaces in an office building? You will want to choose something that is easy to clean and easy to maintain so your investment lasts for many years. 

How will the flooring sound? Is it easy to repair? What happens when the floor gets wet?

Another thing to consider: What kind of flooring will keep those in the building safe and prevent falls? What will require little maintenance or repair? Do you need high-traction flooring, as approved by the National Floor Safety Institute, to keep everyone safe?

The Hidden Costs of Replacing Old Flooring

However, if you are replacing the flooring, there are many other factors to consider. It may seem like replacing old floors and installing new ones would be a cinch, that there’s little to do besides take up the old flooring and laying down the new. But it’s actually much more complex than that. 

To begin, nothing brings work to a dead stop like having to clear a commercial space to replace the flooring. Little business can be conducted without a clear, useable space, and so maintaining a floor not only saves money in replacement costs but also in work accomplished. 

Will various parts of the building have to shut down to accommodate the installation, for a day or even longer? That could be quite costly.

Replacing old flooring has lots of hidden costs as well. It’s not just the cost of purchasing new flooring and having it installed. Looking at the cost of the actual flooring isn’t the only cost. 

Most companies think of just the price per square foot and possibly installation costs, but the expense doesn’t stop there. There’s also:

• Paying laborers to remove the old flooring and haul it away.
• Removal of the previous adhesive from the subfloor.
• Making sure the floor is even and applying leveling agents.
• Removing all dust and dirt from the subfloor before installing the new flooring.
• Resealing the subfloor before installing new flooring to prevent possible chemical reactions with the flooring materials, and promoting proper adhesion of the new floors that are being installed.

All of these steps in the floor replacement process take time, labor and money. And all of these steps actively interrupt the business day. 

The best thing? Taking care of your flooring from the very beginning to preserve it and keep it in good condition for as long as possible. 

Preserving Flooring with Commercial Floor Care

There are different ways to care for and preserve different kinds of flooring, and the most important thing is that your commercial cleaning company has a plan in place to care for each kind of floor. 

The key to flooring’s longevity is that you care for it regularly—and even daily. 

Dirt and dust can make some floors almost as slippery as water, so daily attention from a professional cleaning company can not only keep your floors looking their very best for as long as possible, but it can keep them safe too. 

Commercial floor cleaning services should be unique to your building and personalized to the kind of flooring you have and how your building is used.

Vinyl Flooring: Vinyl flooring can be very slippery when wet, but it’s a low cost, long-lasting option for many buildings like schools, retail shops and offices. It holds up to strong cleaners and can handle spills and spots if it’s cleaned right away. 

At All Building Cleaning Corp., we come up with a plan to restore and protect your vinyl flooring and establish both a daily routine and regular maintenance programs. We also conduct restorative stripping when necessary to keep it looking like new. 

Marble Flooring: Marble flooring requires special care based on how it is used. We prefer to gauge the usage to determine how much cleaning is necessary. Not only do we focus on daily and routine floor cleaning, but we also rely on periodic and restorative cleaning on finished marble floors, such as stripping and refinishing to protect your investment for as long as possible.

We know marble floors require specific, gentle care, and we build this into your commercial floor care plan.

Wood Flooring: You probably already know that wood flooring requires special care, and commercial wood flooring is no exception. We provide ongoing, gentle maintenance, from removing dust and debris that can wear away at your floor’s finish to cleaning with safe cleaners, waxes and polishes on a regular schedule as determined by the level of wear and tear your floor receives. 

We never use damp mops or steam cleaners that can weaken and warp your flooring. We use soft tools, wood-safe vacuums and wood-friendly cleaning products to extend the life of your commercial hardwood floors to keep them pristine.

Carpeting: Carpets should be vacuumed regularly and carefully cleaned—before they start to look dirty. That’s the key to keeping carpets looking like new. Some carpet cleaners are too abrasive and can wear away at the fibers and shorten the lifespan of your carpet. 

Other Types of Flooring: Many buildings and businesses are opting for stone and hard finishes for their flooring, and it makes sense. They can stand heavy foot traffic and stains and are easy to maintain for many years. Concrete, ceramic tile, terrazzo and granite all are highly resilient and need different kinds of care. While they may not need the same kinds of care and can handle a mop and a heavy-duty cleaner, they still need regular maintenance to keep the grout and the floor from looking dull or dirty.

Can we design a professional care plan for your building’s specific flooring? At All Building Cleaning Corp., we pride ourselves in using proper techniques to restore and protect your floor so that it not only lasts for years and years but looks like it’s new too. 

We specialize in cleaning all kinds of flooring surfaces: vinyl, wood, marble, stone, tile and even concrete. 

We have all the tools and experience to properly care for commercial buildings—including the floors—in the Miami area. We work closely with facility managers all across Miami County to ensure they are thrilled with the personalized, thorough work we do. 

Among all the other things we do for the buildings we handle, we’re experts in commercial floor cleaning and floor care. Can we extend the life of your floors and leave your whole building looking its very best? 

Request a quote today, and let us handle it from there.