Pro Tips on How to Care for and Maintain Hard Floors in Commercial Buildings
In this 13-minute ISSA video, Spartan Chemical representative Andrew Wolfe discusses "hard floor care best practices."
View Notes
- A common misconception about floor finishes is that they "create more maintenance" and can result in a more slippery surface (because they may appear shiny). For the first claim, Wolfe argues that the opposite is true by citing VCT as an example, saying that Uncoated VCT is more likely to get dirty at the microscopic level. Regarding the second claim, Wolfe states that safety should not be an issue for floor finishes that are tested against the ASTM D2047 standard.
- How much floor finish should be used? Wolfe's rule of thumb is to add up the non-volatile solids (NVS) content of the finish until the total is at least 100%, e.g. four coats at 25%. He also noted that the NVS figure is simply "per-coat thickness" and is NOT correlated with durability or ease of maintenance.
- Regarding the concern of sustainability, Wolfe suggests looking for products that meet the GS-40 standard, use "sustainable packaging."
- On the issue of removing ice melt residual, Wolfe's recommendation is simply "using a lot of water" as opposed to relying on specialized cleaning chemicals, as common commercial ice melts tend to be very water-soluble.
