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Vct maintenance and the following of a recommended program is the key to a long, attractive life for commercial vct flooring. walk off mats, sweeping, mopping, polishing and buffing protect not only the floor but the building owners investment!
How to determine your maintenance program
There are a number of factors that should be considered prior to formulating your vinyl composition tile maintenance program. The following should all be carefully considered prior to determining the maintenance methods that are best for your application.
What are the owners real expectations?
What is an acceptable appearance?
what is the owners expectation of "shine" level?
What color is the flooring?
the color and pattern chosen at point of purchase are huge factors in how the floor appears. busier highly contrasting patterns will hide things better than solid ones. midtones are always best opposed to lighter or darker colors.
What resources, equipment and personnel are available to the maintenance staff?
do you have access to the proper chemicals and equipment?
how well trained is the maintenance staff?
What is the location of the floor in the building?
Entryways, lobbies, and other high traffic areas especially on entrance levels may require more frequent cleaning than lower traffic areas of the building.
What is the type of traffic and type of soiling this floor may get?
the entry or corridor will get different soiling for example than a nurses station or exam room. dirt brought in from outside can differ significantly from soil and chemical spills found in labs etc...
Will there be rolling loads or wheel cart traffic that will be excessive in certain areas?
this type of area may require additional maintenance or extra coats of protection
Once you have determined the above answers you can formulate a plan for your vct maintenance program. The flooring professor has been selling, installing, and caring for flooring for many years and can help make it easy for you! Below you will find a good general guideline that will apply to nearly ANY brand of vct maintenance program.
To prepare the vct floor for commercial traffic:
First you need to scrub the vct flooring with a neutral detergent solution/commercial floor cleaner. use 4-6 ounces per gallon or follow directions on bottle and a scrubbing pad (3m blue/green or equal) If the floor is badly damaged or scratched you may need to strip it using the same procedure and a stripping solution.
****PLEASE NOTE***** The use of aggressive strippers such as mop on/off no-scrub and no rinse strippers is not recommended on vct floors less than 2 years old as it may affect adhesive bond!
2. Rinse flooring thoroughly and allow to dry
3. Apply 3 to 5 coats of high quality commercial floor polish throughout. A stain resistant premium sealer may be used in areas of extra high traffic as referenced above!
Daily/regular vct maintenance
Sweep or vacuum often and clean walk off mats frequently
Damp mop as needed using a neutral detergent solution at 3-4 ounces per gallon. (or as directed on the bottle)
Periodic maintenance
As needed scrub with an automatic floor machine and appropriate pad (red for light scrub, blue/green for a deeper scrub) OR equivalent brushes depending on your machine.
Thoroughly rinse and allow to dry.
if the thickness of the polish seems sufficient (equal to 3-5 coats) then buff, spray buff, or burnish to restore to gloss level desired.
If it is needed apply additional coats of floor polish at this time
For restorative maintenance of vct flooring
***PLEASE NOTE*** Stripping is the process of removing existing layers of sealer and finish. This should only be performed when routine daily/periodic maintenance procedures are no longer effective. The use of High quality vct maintenance products and adherence to a well planned vinyl composition tile maintenance program will greatly reduce the need for stripping.
Also remember!!! The use of aggressive strippers such as mop on/mop off, no-scrub and no-rinse strippers is not recommended on floors less than 2 years old as it may affect adhesive bond!
Scrub the floor with a properly diluted stripping solution using a single disc floor machine (300 rpm or less) equipped with a scrubbing pad (3m blue/green) or equivalent scrub brush.
remove the dirty solution using a wet vac or mop.
Rinse thoroughly with CLEAN water and allow to dry.
Apply 3-5 new coats of high quality commercial floor polish, and use a high quality stain resistant sealer in areas as needed as per your well planned vct maintenance program as outlined above.
Vinyl composition tile is being used more in residential applications today. for Vct maintenance in a home environment please refer to our vinyl flooring care and cleaning page. The above guidelines are designed for maintaining vct floors in a commercial setting with a maintenance staff and a regular maintenance program!
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