MEETING CHALLENGES Cleaning regime vital (continued)
says Mariano. “This allows the operator to control the water flow and prevent excess water from being used,” he said. The company also makes microfibre floor mops that are said to be capable of dusting and mopping in one pass. Prochem Europe’s sales executive Stuart Macmillan shares the general opinion that the location of a floor tends to dictate the cleaning challenge. “The nearer the floor is to the building entrance, the more foot traffic soiling and contamination is likely to enter the building,” he said. “This is why it is vitally important good quality entrance matting is in position and is vacuumed regularly. And on a hard floor, it is also important to dust mop frequently in order to reduce the level of grit and prevent wear and scratching.” He says another factor that can have an impact on cleaning is the weather. “In Europe the weather plays a major factor in floor maintenance whether on a carpet or hard floor,” he said. “Rain, snow, ice and ice gritting can all cause major damage. We cannot do anything about the weather but we can control its impact by means of proper maintenance and cleaning, particularly at entrance locations.”
Type of contamination The floor cleaning challenge depends on footfall and the type of contamination, he says. “I would say hospitals floors tend to
be the most challenging because here you have the added impact of stretcher wheels and body fluids coupled with the need for strict hygiene control,” he said. “And hospitals, supermarkets and airports have the added challenges of tyre marks from stretchers, trolleys and baggage respectively.” The floors in schools can also present a problem, he says. “Here there will be a constant variety of soiling from sports fields, weather, food and chewing gum,” he explains. “Kitchens will have spillages of grease and oil which will be difficult to clean during operational times. However, this problem can be minimised using the correct cleaning products and procedures.” According to Truvox International sales and marketing director Gordon McVean it is the intensity of traffic that dictates the floor cleaning challenge rather than the nature of the building. “For example, the extensive use of trolleys in airports, hospitals and supermarkets may cause scuffing on hard floors while the high degree of foot traffic will be another challenge,” he said. “Some responsive cleaning is likely to be required during the day and it will be essential to minimise disruption and avoid slip risks to pedestrians from wet floors. “Cordless battery powered machines come into their own in these situations, as do one-pass scrubber dryers that have
Le nettoyage de planchers est une tâche qui se distingue de toute autre. Un plancher peut être fait en une immense gamme de matières, allant du béton au bois, et du marbre au linoléum. Et ces matières auront un impact considérable sur le régime de nettoyage. Quels sont les types de plancher à présenter le plus de difficultés aux agents de nettoyage ? Et quels sont les facteurs qui contribuent à cette difficulté ?
Floorcare Focus - November 2017 | ECJ | 8
Bodenreinigung ist mit keiner anderen Aufgabe zu vergleichen. Böden können aus Beton, Holz, Marmor oder Linoleum gefertigt sein. Und das Material, aus dem der Boden gefertigt ist, hat starke Auswirkungen auf das Reinigungsregime. Welche Bodentypen stellen das Reinigungspersonal vor die größten Herausforderungen? Und warum sind diese besonders schwer zu reinigen?
the ability to wash, mop, scrub and dry floors rapidly.” Every building and application has its challenges - but all are surmountable using the right equipment, according to McVean. “The greater challenge for cleaning teams is assembling the right balance of mechanical cleaning capabilities so that the operation is both efficient and costeffective,” he said. “This will be determined by a range of factors including the scale of the facility, the floor type, the area of flooring, the size of the cleaning team and the budget.” Some floor types demand special care, he adds. “Gym and dance floors, for example, tend to have a wood laminate finish and these sustain intensive use and scuffing,” he said. “However, these types of floors need to be cleaned with minimal wetting to reduce the risk of moisture that may penetrate the joints and lead to premature failure. “Safety flooring, which is increasingly common in the healthcare sector, poses another challenge that defeats some traditional cleaning methods. This is particularly the case in hospitals that specify taurine-based cleaning solutions in place of potentially harmful chemicals. This makes it all the more important to agitate the floor to remove soils without abrading the surface. Similarly, tiled floors in kitchens and washrooms risk allowing a build-up of bacteria and soil in the grout lines.” He says a scrubber dryer with cylindrical brushes is the answer in such environments. The Truvox floorcare range includes the Multiwash Pump/Battery; the Multiwash scrubber dryer and the Orbis range of single-disc rotaries. The cleaning challenge may also be greater where regular maintenance has been neglected, according to McVean. “Here the soiling may have been allowed to penetrate into the surface beneath the failing protective seal,” he explains. “More frequent cleaning will need to take place in order to ensure the floor maintains a presentable appearance. This is why a sound maintenance regime in line with the flooring manufacturer’s recommendations is fundamental.” Il lavaggio dei pavimenti è un lavoro diverso da qualsiasi altro. I pavimenti possono essere di diversi materiali, dal cemento al legno e dal marmo al linoleum. E i materiali utilizzati per i pavimenti hanno un forte impatto sul regime di pulizia. Quali sono i tipi di pavimenti che rappresentano le sfide più difficili per gli addetti alle pulizie? E cosa li rende particolarmente difficili da pulire?