Stripping and waxing commercial floors should maintain longer lasting surfaces, but a few common mistakes can cause the opposite to occur. First and foremost, stripping and waxing floors is a learned skill. When people attempt to tackle the task for the first time without any proper training or experience, it’s super easy to make mistakes.
Many of the most common mistakes, albeit seemingly small, are large enough to create serious issues for your floors. That’s why hiring a professional commercial cleaning company can make all of the difference in the final outcome and longevity of your floors.
#1. Not Waxing Enough
It’s common for businesses to have floors waxed and then assume they don’t need to do it again for a long time. Any surfaces that get a lot of traffic are going to need waxing on a regular basis. The wax intended to protect your flooring surfaces breaks down rather quickly under the pressure of heavy traffic. Even if the floor appears fine, that doesn’t mean wax hasn’t already broken down or dirt hasn’t wedged its way through the pores of the floor.
Floors should be stripped and waxed on a regular basis in order to prevent damages from developing. Floors should be stripped biweekly, monthly or bimonthly depending on the amount of traffic your building receives. If you are dealing with a large space, it might make more sense to take care of stripping and waxing in rotating cycles.
Not sure how often your commercial floors should be stripped and waxed? We are happy to help you create the right schedule for floor cleaning with just a few simple questions.
#2. Using The Wrong Equipment
Equipment should be in top-notch shape in order to do the job just right. If the machine isn’t running correctly, is running at high RPMs, or is old and outdated, it could create issues that actually damage the floors you are aiming to protect.
We vow to use high quality, updated equipment that is proven effective on your surfaces.
#3. Not Taking Flooring Type Into Consideration
Different types of flooring surfaces require unique treatments when stripping and waxing is involved. The same equipment and chemicals used to clean a VCT floor are not the same as the chemicals and equipment preferred for stone floor surfaces. A familiarity with different flooring surfaces and what they require is fundamental to success.
#4. Using Harsh Chemicals
Harsh chemicals will strip remaining wax right off, and then start damaging the fragile tile surfaces beneath. Harsh chemicals can damage granite, marble and even heavy-duty linoleum tile. It’s so important to use chemicals that are safe on surfaces but still effective enough to get the job done. Another common mistake that relates to this is failing to dilute the stripper, therefore applying a more potent chemical than intended.
#5. Not Having The Right Equipment On Hand
You start the job only to realize you don’t have all of the equipment necessary to complete the job. There is more equipment required for the job than often assumed, such as a defoamer with a wet/dry vacuum. As a result, you could end up with half-finished surfaces that are more prone to damage while you await the arrival of equipment needed to finish the job.
#6. Forgetting To Put Up Safety Cones In The Surrounding Area
Safety cones keep people off of freshly stripped and waxed floors, during and after the process. This is why it’s helpful to work in smaller areas, as not to block off too much of your business at one time. There needs to be enough dwell time, during which time the cones should remain up.
#7. Not Wearing Proper Safety Gear
It’s equally important to protect yourself as it is to protect your floors during the stripping and waxing process. That’s why you must wear the right safety gear when stripping and waxing floors, including goggles, gloves and non-slip shoes or safety slippers.
#8. Going For It Without Any Prior Experience Stripping Or Waxing Floors
Stripping floors is a complicated process that requires knowledge and experience to prevent accidents from harming surfaces. It’s easier than one might assume to break through wax layers and begin damaging flooring surfaces.
#9. Not Hiring A Professional Commercial Cleaning Service
Hiring a professional commercial cleaning team ensures no rookie errors are made and the highest quality results are achieved. You can count on Tidy Team to provide superior stripping and waxing of all floor types. We can make your floors last longer and look better for many years to come.