Keys to a Successful Floor Care Program

1. Management Support: you must have upper management support to have a successful floor care program. If you do not have this support, your efforts are doomed to fail.

2. Follow the “never list”: by the following the next six “never” items, you can eliminate 90% of all floor care problems.

Never use cold, clean water to clean your floors. Always use 1-2 oz. Of recommended cleaner. Water is one of the worst cleaners you can use to clean floors. It does not have the ability to hold dirt in suspension. All you’re doing is diluting the soil, spreading it out and leaving it on the floor.

Never use a new mop. Always presoak a new mop in hot water for one to two hours and then rinse before using. The purpose is to remove any cotton seed oil and/or sizing (glue) materials if it’s a cotton or cotton blend mop. This will assure that the contaminants are not absorbed into your finish, creating problems.

Never put floor finish or a restoration product into a metal bucket (unless it is stainless steel). Always use a plastic bucket or put a plastic trash can liner into the metal bucket. This will save your products from becoming contaminated by the metal and picking up a grayish discoloration from the bucket.

Never stop an automatic scrubber and allow the brushed to run or rest on the floor. Always raise the brushed, then squeegee the residual amount of liquid by moving the machine forward, then shut off the machine. If you hold to automatic scrubber in one spot and keep the brushed moving, it continues to clean, leaving white circles on the floor.

Never leave the pads on either the automatic scrubber or buffer when the job is finished. Always remove the pads, rinse them out and let them “rest” for two days before using them again. This will extend the life of your pads tremendously and will also decrease the discoloration and dirt pickup that you can get by using dirty pads.

Never put dry pads on an automatic scrubber. Always immerse the pads in water or the cleaning solution before putting them on the scrubber. When you put a dry pad on, there is always more initial grinding action.

3. Always use clean janitorial equipment, solutions and materials: clean janitorial equipment plus clean solutions will always equal a clean floor. If you have dirty janitorial equipment or dirty materials, you’ll end up with a dirty floor.

4. Proper dilutions: always follow the recommended directions. If it says 2 oz. per gallon, it means 2 oz. per gallon. If a little does a good job, then a lot more does not necessarily do a better job. Always follow recommended dilutions.

5. Necessary janitorial equipment and janitorial supplies: always check your inventory list before starting. Make sure that you have the janitorial equipment and janitorial supplies on hand to do the job so that you do not have to take short cuts.

6. Proper training, in-service: work with your manufacturer’s representative. Have him/her come in and do an in-service with your personnel so that the employees are instructed and trained in the use of their products.

7. Always use good judgement: good judgement and common sense will solve more problems during a floor operation than anything else. Follow label directions, using common sense, and good judgement will get you out of trouble. You must have the right combination of janitorial equipment, product and pads. Have your manufacturer’s representative help you in matching product with janitorial equipment and the proper pad. In general, brown and black pads are for stripping; green, blue or red pads are for scrubbing; and lighter colored pads (tan, peach, white, beige, and champagne) are normally for high speed burnishing. Make sure that you are matching the proper pad to the job and follow manufacturer’s suggestions.

Article Source: http://www.christiannotepad.com

Great janitorial tips and janitorial information by Lee Harris can be found at www.monsterjanitorial.com. Lee Harris is an expert in the janitorial industry and can answer all your questions about janitorial equipment and how to save money on these types of products.