Cleaning has always been an essential part of our daily lives. So, it’s natural to assume that commercial cleaning would be the same as our daily household chores, and anyone can do it without any hassle. However, the reality is far from it as professional cleaners can also make common mistakes, which at the time lead to chaos and hazardous results.
In this blog post, we have highlighted 6 common mistakes of commercial cleaning. Understanding these basic yet disturbing mistakes will help you avert the potential damage. This way you can also avoid making costly mistakes.
No Daily Floor Cleaning:
The appearance of a space doesn’t necessarily reflect the state of its flooring. At times, a thin layer of dust gets accumulated on the surfaces, which is invisible to the eyes. It can dull your floor and wear your carpets or the floor finish. Thus, you must clean your floor daily. Here, by cleaning, we mean vacuuming, dusting, sweeping, or mopping the floor. Following a daily cleaning plan will help you:
- Save your money;
- Increase the durability of your products;
- Secure your investments.
Not Prepping Floors Before Scrubbing
The goal of floor cleaning is to get the dirt out of the flooring’s surface. To do this, you need to remove dust and other microscopic particles from the surface, along with larger dirt and debris. In a commercial setting, it becomes more important as floors are exposed 24/7 and can become coated with dirt and grit from outside.
If you’re going to scrub your floors, make sure you sweep them first. It’s not just about removing dirt that might scratch or scuff the flooring surface. It’s also about preventing the chemical agent (and whatever else ends up in there) from getting trapped in a little pile of grit. If not removed regularly, this grit can damage the flooring substrate over time. It can also accelerate wear on the auto scrubbers brushes—leading to higher repair or replacement costs.
Vacuuming Wet Or Damp Floors
Vacuuming is essential for carpet maintenance and prolongs the life of commercial flooring. However, vacuuming wet carpets can be a big risk if not done correctly which also leave your carpets looking dull, dingy, and damaged.
To avoid this, the cleaning operative must wait until the surface has dried before they begin vacuuming. Wet surfaces tend to trap dirt and grime deep in their fibers. This makes it much more difficult to remove everything during the cleaning process. Likewise, it can more likely damage your equipment or leave behind streaks and residue once the floor dries again. If you own an industrial vacuum or are using a portable upright, follow these tips to protect your equipment and carpets:
- Always check and empty the vacuum bag before cleaning the wet carpet.
- Only use low suction when cleaning wet carpeting.
- Don’t leave the vacuum on for more than 30 minutes.
- Turn up the unit’s fan speed so it will dry more quickly.
The most common floor cleaning mistakes are easy to avoid, but they’re so common that we neglect them. Besides, we forego important steps for cleaning commercial floors to finish our job quickly. Taking the time to do things will save money and keeps your facility safe from contaminants trapped on shoes, clothing, or other objects.
Using The Wrong Chemical Product
Many of us have seen the consequences of using the wrong chemical products on our flooring. You might not realize it until you’re standing in the middle of a big, ugly stain that’s marred your flooring forever. But how to know which chemicals or cleaning equipment are right for which floors?
It’s pretty simple: different types of flooring require different types of cleaning solutions. For example, a chemical that works for removing stains from tile and stone can easily damage the finish on wood laminate flooring. Some chemicals will eat away at wood laminate flooring before they ever even touch the stain.
Another common mistake is the use of one product across multiple types of flooring. While this may seem like an easy shortcut, it’s simply not true. If you try to use one product across multiple surfaces, you could wind up causing serious damage to both. For example, when you try to shine up a hardwood floor with a product made for laminate floors, you could damage the wood itself.
Not Thinking Safety-First
Slips and trips account for almost 20% of all workplace injuries in the USA. Therefore, commercial cleaners need to be extra careful to mitigate safety risks and reduce any potential injury. If your staff is not carefully considering the safety risks of the floor cleaning process, you can end up increasing the risk.
Here are some points to consider to mitigate risk when it comes to commercial floor cleaning:
- Use signage for wet floors.
- Use auto scrubbers to collect maximum water pick-up to dry floors faster.
- Return mats as quickly as possible, especially when the floors are clean and dry.
- Follow all guidelines and best practices for handling cleaning chemicals and equipment.
- Include safe practices in your employee training and general workplace audits
Failing To Train Employees
Training is essential when it comes to consistently high-quality floor cleaning. Most basic cleaning procedures may seem simple, but the ability to execute them well comes from a thorough understanding.
When cleaning crews are not trained, performance and customer satisfaction suffer. When you have a dedicated training process, you’re setting your team up for success. Discuss when, what, how, and why to maximize your efforts in achieving your business and environmental goal. Similarly, focus on innovation, as well as ongoing education, training, and support for all staff.
Conclusion:
Cleaning the floors in your building is often a simple, straightforward task. Almost everyone has swept or vacuumed a floor at some point, and for many of us, it’s one of the first household chores we teach our children. But as with any job, some things can go wrong—especially when you’re cleaning commercial floors.
In this blog post, we have tried to highlight six common mistakes that are commonly found in commercial cleaning. If you are looking for professional floor cleaning services, consult All-Star Floor Cleaning services. We ensure that you do not have to face any troubles when it comes to your workplace or professional settings.
