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| [Tuesday, August 21, 2012] |
| The floor is comprised of ceramic tile that came pre-finished, no sealing or top coating necessary due to a special coating applied during production of tiles. The floor is uneven due a combination of a bad foundation and the fact that it was built on swamp land.
We use a ride-on auto-scubber by Tennant, model T-16, every night on it. A 3M chemical solution is used every other day, alternating with just water.
The problem is that there are water spots everywhere, despite changing speed, chemicals, drivers, and adjusting the squeegees in various ways, and spot mopping up the bad spots..
Mopping the whole thing is simply not feasible because we only have one person at night cleaning the floors. Trail-mopping is not very feasible either due to the square footage we have to clean. Because the water spots are everywhere, we would be just mopping the entire thing.
Basically, the floor cleaning crew is at its wit’s end trying to do things better so we stop getting complaints about the floors.
Is there anything you can suggest to help?
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| Hard & Resilient Floor Care - Caitlin Hanks |
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| [Sunday, April 08, 2012] |
| I am trying to achieve better quality results with our floor care services. We provide these services for schools, churches, and office buildings, typically VCT or Terrazzo flooring.
We always apply 25% non-slip, high quality finish, but I am looking for a solution to reduce imperfections such as bubbles, hairs and particles that always seem to end up in the finish.
We are using rayon finishing mops (string, not flat) and are very careful to make sure the floor is very clean post strip/scrub and pre re-finishing, including removing all loose fibers from the black stripping pads, etc. Regardless, it never seems to come out as immaculate as I see in certain retail stores.
I understand that retail stores are propane burnished and receive care more frequently than the semi-annual floor care we provide, but is there a middle ground?
I understand that burnishing between coats of finish application and can help remove some imperfections, but it is labor intensive, takes much more time and, of course, adds expense. When stripping and refinishing an entire school during the summer, it would be out of the question.
What do you suggest to achieve that "retail/propane burnished" look? I am considering experimenting using microfiber flat mops for applying finish, but have yet to see a a proper finish/bucket system for this, aside from the all in one set-ups such as Johnson Diversey's Pro-Speed system.
Since microfiber flat mops for finish require more coats, it seems a bit more time consuming, although I do understand that each coat requires less drying time since they are thinner.
Any insight would be appreciated as we try to active better results.
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| Hard & Resilient Floor Care - Robert Rivadeneira |
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| [Wednesday, October 12, 2011] |
| We recently did a strip and refinish on a daycare floor of about 10,000 sq. ft. We used Johnson’s Premia® floor finish. Now, about two months later, the teachers are using a Swiffer® wet cloth to wipe the floor daily and the cloth turns black. We dustmop and mop the floors daily with a neutral cleaner, and buff twice a month.
The other day they called and said that they used a cloth diaper to wipe the floor and it turned black. So we went in, after the crew had cleaned, and used a cotton towel on the floor and it did not turn black. We followed with one of the Swiffers and it turned black.
What do you think the black is?
The other day they call and say that they used a cloth diaper to wipe floor and it turned black. So we went in, after the crew had cleaned, and used a cotton towel on the floor and it did not turn black. we followed with one of the swiffers and it turned black.
what do you think the black is? |
| Hard & Resilient Floor Care - Brenda Olague |
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| [Saturday, July 17, 2010] |
| Some of these retail outlets are located geographically below sea level. There is a lot of traffic onto the VCT flooring that brings in sand, dirt, and salt which results in rapid deterioration of floor finish. We have tried different floor finishes, matting systems, and aggressive floor care maintenance programs, and even had meetings with operational managers of those stores.
Now, with budget cuts and careful spending, it is a challenge to keep floors the way we want as a company. Our clients are satisfied, but I want to see if we could improve our ability to provide a service that goes beyond our clients’ expectations.
We’ve been in this business for almost 20 years and I believe there’s a lot more to learn about servicing people. Please, if there are any recommendations of products, maintenance programs, or advice, I welcome them.
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| Hard & Resilient Floor Care - Allen Bobiles |
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| [Saturday, July 17, 2010] |
| I just refinished a floor which looked great on Friday. Monday, it has streaks all over the floor and looked shiny, streaky, shiny, streaky, every other stroke. Used Spartan Vectra, 3M backpack, used a neutral rinse.
When you feel that streak, it is slightly moist. This campus has chillers for the cooling. What causes this, can anything be done to prevent it, and why isn’t it all over the floor?
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| Hard & Resilient Floor Care - Tim Dazey |
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| [Tuesday, July 13, 2010] |
| We were awarded a post construction clean that includes about 30,000 sq. ft. of Roppe cork flooring which we will be scrubbing, sealing, and finishing per contractor request.
Our bidding is on the mark and there are no questions there, as I did general footwork on the cost of this project. My question is whether or not there may be a ''spray-on'' sealer we can use on this floor since it is so porous and has an actual sponge-like appearance. I want to be sure the first coat evenly penetrates all the spaces.
I do have the manufacturer’s recommendation for sealers and that is what I plan to use but there are no guidelines as to application. Is it possible to use our gallon sprayers (new, of course, not to contaminate the sealer) to spray on that sealer?
If we can’t apply with in the ''spray-on'' method, is it necessary to use a lamb’s wool applicator, or could we possibly use the Gearpress/Betco backpacks?
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| Hard & Resilient Floor Care - Steve Perfect |
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| [Thursday, May 13, 2010] |
| I just completed a project where we had to scrub & finish 150,000 square feet of VCT but only in 5,000 square foot sections due to it being a construction remodel with gondolas and what not being moved and repositioned.
Do you have any tips on cutting and/or blending the lines? The finish provided by the big box retailer was from SC Johnson, one of their high maintenance, high gloss finishes.
When we’re able to do complete stores in a matter of a couple of nights, we usually overlap our stripping, under lap our finishing, and than are able to connect on the next night with minimal lines. This....was another story, help! We’re bidding on a lot of these projects and though it was quite profitable, I’m always looking to excel.
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| Hard & Resilient Floor Care - Steve Perfect |
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| [Tuesday, September 15, 2009] |
| We recently stripped and finished about 6,000 square feet in various locations in a church building. All throughout the process, the floor looked clean and shiny. After applying the fourth coat, no one stayed around to wait for it to dry and see the results.
The next morning, after about 8 hours of drying time, we returned to find it looking splotchy. Almost the entire space that was treated had patches of floor that now looked dull and different than the surrounding shiny patches. We do not have any idea what may have caused this as we performed every step of the job the same way as we have at countless other facilities with no problem.
What could have caused these spots or patches of shiny and dull floors? Also, is the floor ready for a second and third coat of finish to be added as soon as it is dry to the touch and sight, or does it need a certain amount of time per coat to dry? The stripper we used is a different brand that we have never used before... Are there combinations of chemicals in different brands of stripper and finish that should not be used together and could cause this type of problem?
Lastly, how long should finish be allowed to set before being burnished to bring out the shine?
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| Hard & Resilient Floor Care - Tiffany Stewart |
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| [Tuesday, September 08, 2009] |
| We have an account with a small dance studio. They have 2 VCT floor dance rooms, each approx. 1,200 sq. ft. The owner uses one coat of a concrete sealer (acrylic base formula) to eliminate slips and falls - and to attempt to protect the VCT. This is the 2nd year we were hired to strip "a" floor once a year (alternate rooms every other year). In the mean time, she seals both rooms with one coat of the concrete sealant (yep, totally blackened by scuff marks and all the caked-on residue) as needed through the year. The stripping job is tough for us, but we have had good results.
We have noted excessive wear on some parts of the tile and have addressed the issue with the owner. She reports that she's aware that she is ruining the floor by not protecting it, but feels that there's no option as she can't finish it in fear of a slip. I have suggested finishing the floor with a finish/sealant such as "hard as nails" by Betco to more properly protect her financial investment and she could follow-up with her concrete sealant. I have asked a couple of my suppliers, but no one seems to give me a concrete answer.
Are there any other alternatives to protecting the VCT dance floor while protecting the dancers from possible slippery floors? If so, what are the names of the products and/or where can I find them.
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| Hard & Resilient Floor Care - Martha Castillo |
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| [Friday, September 04, 2009] |
| We’ve owned a residential/commercial cleaning company since 1973 and are currently a service provider for a wonderful facilities maintenance company. We have been asked to bid on a contract for Dollar Stores for both stripping-refinishing and scrubbing-recoating of the floors on a regular basis. They want 2 separate bids. The stores are from 3,000 to 9,000 sq ft+
We haven’t provided bids for this kind of work before nor have we done this type of maintenance in the past...any help on bidding based on the work scope below? Then, if we’re awarded the contract, help with procedure, tips, sub-contracting etc.?
The work scope is as follows:
Strip Service
Arrive at store per confirmed start time.
Minimum three (3) person crew.
Remove any old finish and build-up.
Apply four (4) even coats of approved finish to the tile floors.
Walk the floor with the manager to ensure the scope of work has been completed.
Document any issues or concerns.
Provide "before" & "after" pictures, where possible.
Swing machine or auto-scrubber or propane stripping machine.
Stripper: SC Johnson "Bravo 1500+" or Armadillo "High Productivity".
Finish: SC Johnson "Showplace" or Armadillo "Extended Wear".
Crew must supply ALL their own cleaning equipment & supplies including mops, buckets, doodlebugs, rags, scrapers, etc.
Crew will strip sales floor, restrooms, office and VCT leading to those areas.
Some stains may not be removed if they are embedded in the tile.
Desired finish is a "satin" look and not a high-gloss finish.
Service will last approximately 8-10 hours for the initial strip at the average-sized store.
Recoat Service
Arrive at store per confirmed start time.
Two (2) person crew minimum.
Top scrub current finish to remove surface dirt & build-up.
Apply two (2) even coats of approved finish to the tile floors over existing finish.
Walk the floor with the manager to ensure the scope of work has been completed.
Document any issues or concerns.
Swing machine or auto-scrubber.
Scrubbing solution: SC Johnson "Stride" or Armadillo "Floor Cleaner".
Finish: SC Johnson "Showplace" or Armadillo "Extended Wear".
Crew must supply ALL of their own cleaning equipment & supplies including mops, buckets, doodlebugs, rags, scrapers, etc.
Crew will scrub sales floor, restrooms, office & VCT leading to those areas.
Dirt which has become deeply embedded in the current finish may not be removed.
Desired finish is a "satin" look and not a high-gloss finish.
Service will last approximately 4 hours at the average-sized store.
d finish is a “satin” look and not a high-gloss finish.
Service will last approximately 4 hours at the average-sized store.
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| Hard & Resilient Floor Care - Gary and Vicki White |
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| [Tuesday, January 15, 2008] |
| We have approximately 1500 sq. feet of scored and stained concrete in our new home (1 year old). About 6 weeks ago, at the advice of the concrete contractor, I applied 2 coats of a mop-on acrylic floor polish. It really shined up the floor but it shows scuff marks just from walking across the floor in shoes.
Last week, the guy who cleans our home, who is a custodian by trade, spray burnished the floor with a high speed machine and a "Gorilla" pad. This process did remove the scuff marks (temporarily anyway), but there are now places where you can see circle marks in the floor- like the circular outline of the pad from the burnisher.
What would have caused those marks to appear and how can we prevent them? I watched him burnish the floor and I could not see that he moved too slowly, or lingered too long over one spot, but maybe he did.
He is suggesting coming back and scrubbing the floors and then applying at least 2-3 coats of a more durable floor finish, something that would resist scuffs better than the product that is currently on the floor. Does this sound reasonable, and is their a product you would recommend for this?
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| Hard & Resilient Floor Care - Tim Powell |
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| [Saturday, October 06, 2007] |
| A retail/service pet shop with VCT has 12 very heavy metal hydraulic grooming tables that must be moved every time the floor is serviced. We will be stripping and refinishing, then cleaning and burnishing every two weeks. Wall-to-wall detailing is required, so quite a bit of moving is involved on this job, including 2 antique barber chairs and an antique bathtub (short, no feet). Ergonomics, safety, time, and the aggravation factor are my main concerns, besides profitability. Using long pry bars to lift the items onto a dolly would mar the floor finish. The tables are 24"x 44" and must be moved through a 32" doorway for the strip/refinish process. There is no space to park material handling equipment. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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| Hard & Resilient Floor Care - Jan Basnar |
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| [Monday, December 04, 2006] |
| While scrubbing a VCT floor in a large medical facility, I had two buffers running, working toward one another from opposite ends of the building. Another person was running the wet vac, with the plan being to remove solution from one end, then go to the other end.
We got sidetracked by another issue, and the solution was almost evaporated from a large part of the floor. We removed the small amount of remaining solution, then mopped before applying finish.
I was taught that allowing the solution to evaporate from the floor is a problem. My question is, why is that a problem? Isn't the goal really to remove the solution from the floor? If I'm going to mop afterward anyway, is there really any reason to fret if some of the solution has evaporated?
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| Hard & Resilient Floor Care - Burt Forney |
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| [Wednesday, September 13, 2006] |
| In the past two years, I have done the initial scrub/ finish for several large new installations of VCT flooring for one company. In one case, there was a rather serious problem with the glue wicking up around the edges of the tiles. It was a mess, but only happened the one time. The installer claimed the problem was my fault, caused by flooding the floor. I've been doing VCT for twenty-five years, and this had never happened before.
I used a shower feed tank on my buffer to put down a standard soap and water solution, which was quickly removed with a wet vac. This is the only method I know of for cleaning a floor completely.
While talking with a contractor recently, he tells me that VCT no longer comes with a paraffin coating; but with a powder for keeping the tiles from sticking together. He says the appropriate method for cleaning a new floor for the initial finishing is to damp mop, then use an aggressive pad without moisture to knock loose glue drips, paint etc., from the floor surface, and then apply finish, using six or seven coats the first time. Can this be true? Six coats is a LOT of finish.
In any case, I was taught that a proper installation, with drying time to harden the glue, should provide a surface that would not allow liquid to enter the cracks and cause wicking. As I mentioned, this only happened once. Was it my method, or was it the installation, that caused the problem?
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| Hard & Resilient Floor Care - Burt Forney |
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| [Tuesday, December 28, 2004] |
| We clean a sports bar that has 4500 s.f. of VCT. Since the snow has arrived, the de-icer is coming into the building. How do you get the de-icer residue off the tile? We use a mop and bucket, neutral cleaner, and some chemical that is a residue remover, but that didn’t solve the problem. After a good wet mopping, and three rinses, the floor still has a film on it. I know an autoscrubber would do it, but you would have to clear the floor of many tables and chairs every night, and the owner doesn't want to pay for the extra time and labor.
Any help would be very welcomed. |
| Hard & Resilient Floor Care - Margie Cline |
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