FLOOR CARE

Can cleaning help extend the life of a floor while maintaining its value and what is the best way to care for it?

Our experts answer.

Why do hard floors actually need regular care? Is it mainly for aesthetic reasons, or does regular maintenance also remove contaminants and prolong the floor’s life, for example?

Hard floors undoubtedly need regular care, not only for aesthetic and hygienic reasons but also to preserve them over time: it is estimated that the floor’s value represents 5% of the building’s total value, regular care is therefore essential to prolong the floor’s life. Lastly, regular cleaning also reduces maintenance costs because it avoids extraordinary interventions.

What would happen if a hard floor were to be left uncleaned and unmaintained – no matter how much wear and tear it received? 

The more a floor is left uncleaned and unmaintained, the more it deteriorates over time. If the dirt is not removed from the rough floors, it acts directly on the raw material, consequently reducing the duration over time. Similarly, if the treated floors are not cleaned regularly, the treatment risks deteriorating, leading to additional costs related to the restoration interventions.

What types of activities lead to the most floor damage? Can a low-traffic floor be left for long periods between treatments? 

It depends on the country, the season and the type of building: the external dirt that is brought inside by people changes according to the context, for example it can be fine dust as well as sand mixed with de-icing salt in winter. In any case, dirt can scratch the treated floor or directly damage the raw material if it is rough. To ensure a long life, it is essential a regular cleaning of all types of floors, even those with low traffic.

What does a good floorcare plan look like? How regularly should the floor be maintained, and what equipment should be used?

Any good floor care plan starts with prevention: outside mat removes coarse dirt from shoes while inside mat removes the residual one. This is an important practice but definitely not a definitive solution: indeed, it is pivotal to plan both a daily and periodic cleaning.

Cleaning must start from floor dusting, it is not possible to wash or disinfect the surface if it has not been dusted first. The operation can take place with different tools depending on the needs: dust mops are generally used in schools, offices and airports, while soaked cloths are indicated in healthcare facilities.

Floor washing and disinfection can be carried out using Filmop wringer trolleys with two color-coded buckets, Top-Down hermetic buckets for pre-soaking or Equodose dosing device for soaking on demand.

Lastly, it is important to be prepared in case of unexpected spillages: Baggy Kit, consisting of dustpan and floor squeegee, is the ideal solution for quick collection of solid waste or liquid and semi-liquid substances.

What floorcare products does your company offer, and what are their chief advantages?

Filmop offers the right solution for any cleaning needs, starting from the wide range of trolleys with wringer designed to guarantee a deep, accurate and fast cleaning. They are equipped with two buckets to separate clean water from the rinsing one, thus ensuring a high level of hygiene.

Filmop also offers a highly professional solution for the pre-soaking of mops: the Top-Down system allows pre-soaking of mops using special buckets available in color code, complete with hermetic cover that ensures the effectiveness of the cleaning solution.

Lastly, Filmop has developed an innovative solution that allows soaking mops on demand: thanks to Equodose, operator can prepare mops directly on the trolley, dosing the cleaning solution depending on the surface to be cleaned. The mechanical dosing device allows cleaning each room with a different and always clean mop, preventing the risk of bacteria spreading.

The wet mopping systems fit all Filmop trolleys and work along with the special range of Filmop microfibers, ensuring an efficient and effortless cleaning of any type of surface.