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Sticky floors and floor cleaning bring their own challenges to most venues, despite on the face of it appearing to be a relatively straightforward task. Surely after vacuuming or sweeping to remove all debris, we just pop some chemical with water and mop-right?
Sticky floors can be a very frustrating issue for venues. We have all been to "that" pub or club where it feels like a workout, every time you peel your feet off the floor whilst walking around haven't we?
If you don't understand the main causes of sticky floors, it really can feel like there is no answer to the problem. You mop and scrub away only to have the floor end up stickier than when you started. But why?!
There can be a number of reasons for asking yourself "why are my floors sticky?" whils scratching your head.
Believe it or not, your perceived attempts to make the floor cleaner may in fact be the cause of your sticky floors!
Most people think that using more floor cleaning solution in their bucket will lead to squeaky-clean floors - surely three pumps into the bucket is better than one - right?
Wrong - this is not true and can easily lead to a sticky residue after cleaning! This will often leave floors sticky.
When you use too much cleaner, the excess creates a soapy residue that is sticky to the feet especially when you’ve not done enough rinsing of the mop head during the process.
To tackle this potential cause of our sticky floors:
This simple action alone could make your sticky floors a thing of the past!
If you clean the entire hard floor of your business premises with the same bucket of water, you can expect to end up with a messy, dirty, and often sticky floor. This means you aren't really cleaning the floor, but simply moving dirt around the venue.
Putting dirty water back onto the floor not only defeats the purpose of cleaning, but can also put people at risk, especially in healthcare environments.
To remedy this, you need to change the cleaning water each time you see it starting to become visibly dirty and changing colour. This can be either when it changes the colour significantly, or when you see lots of debris floating on top or at the bottom of the cleaning bucket.
Depending on the type of venue, it may be necessary to change your water as frequently as every ten square metres in heavy footfall venues such as pubs and clubs!
After you have mopped the whole floor, use clean water to rinse it. Change this water the moment you notice it’s become soapy or dirty.
These are big issues, and that is before we even consider other issues caused by not changing water often enough and using one bucket for all areas of a premises, such as cross contamination - learn more about this issue at this link.
FUN FACT - Dirty Sticky Floors was the first solo single by Depeche Mode vocalist Dave Gahan
While normal cleaning may require using simple soap or mild chemicals, some stains require specialist chemicals to come off.
The basic rule for removing sticky residue is to use a floor cleaner with the opposite PH to the sticky dirt. For example, an acidic cleaner does a better job at cleaning alkaline (basic) dirt.
This is obviously not something that everyone will understand, and careful product selection is essential to maximise the cleaning efficiency of your floor to avoid the risk of damaging it. If in doubt, seek advice from a product supplier, or get in touch with us and let us take care of cleaning your floors.
As important as the chemical is, even the most effective cleaning product will be near useless in a dirty bucket with an old mop head that has not been properly maintained, or has been attached to the mop for weeks on end. It is essential that cleaning equipment is cleaned and maintained after use, and advanced floor scrubbing machines can deliver results that will not be seen by hand mopping, and in much quicker time.
It may sound obvious, but if you don't have a regular cleaning schedule, you may well end up with sticky floors. Spilt drinks, debris off shoes and other spillages will result in sticky, dirty floors.
The easiest way to ensure your floors remain looking great along with the rest of your workplace is to engage the services of a good commercial cleaning company.
At Green Fox Cleaning, we clean in all sectors, and have access to the best cleaning products and machinery, utilised by our highly trained staff.
If you have a cleaning company currently and are suffering from sticky floors, this is a sign of a lack of understanding / training and it is probably time to review your cleaning options.
To get in touch with your local office, click here and find out how we can help improve the appearance of your business with ours.
