If you have wood flooring in a commercial space, you may have noticed that it takes a lot of abuse. Maintaining hardwood flooring is not just about keeping them looking good, it is also about keeping them safe. Keeping your wood flooring clean and functional is important for keeping your business looking good and keeping your customers and employees from getting injured. This guide will help you prolong the life of your wood flooring, take preventative steps and minimize damage of your flooring. Proper wood flooring maintenance is not just a yearly maintenance coat, it requires daily and weekly cleaning to ensure the floor stays clean and beautiful.
Choosing the Right Wood Floor Product
First, if you are installing new flooring or replacing old flooring you will want to choose the right product for your needs. Unfinished solid wood products, along with engineered wood products and pre-finished wood products all have commercial applications and can be used in spaces like hotels, restaurants, bars and more. Retail spaces are another popular place to install hardwood flooring. All these flooring products have different draw backs and benefits. We often recommend the unfinished wood flooring to our commercial clients because of the ability to customize it to suit their needs and because of the customizable options like finish type and stain color. The other big benefit of unfinished wood flooring is the ability to refinish it later. Refinish hardwood means you can have a beautiful need wood flooring surface without reinstalling flooring.
Develop a Daily Maintenance Plan
Next, you will need to adopt a daily maintenance plan. Daily maintenance is vital to ensure your floor has longevity and looks good for years to come. There are a lot of factors to consider when setting your daily maintenance plan. First you will need to think about the type of operation, the setting and the foot traffic your floor will experience. Buildings with a lot of foot traffic will require at least daily sweeping but may need more to keep debris off the floor which can damage the finish. Proper walk off mats are a great way to cut down on daily maintenance and keep the floor protected. You will want to have walk off mats at all doors, these mats are designed to collect sand, dirt and other debris from shoes before your guests or employees enter your space. If you live in a place with snow or rain you will want to have mats that are designed to help dry shoes as well. Water and wood flooring are not a good combination. If you have a water prone area maybe SPC luxury vinyl might be best in that area to cut down on potential isses.
If your commercial space is located by a beach, golf course or swimming pool you will want to clean the floor regularly through out the day to keep it dry and free of debris. Debris like sand acts as a sandpaper and can wear off the finish on your floor quickly. If you have a high use floor you will want to set both a daily and weekly schedule. The daily schedule will include dust mopping while the weekly schedule will tackle more intensive cleaning including vacuuming and mopping.
Schedule Deep Cleanings
A deep cleaning of hardwood floors is something you will need to schedule as well. A monthly deep clean will help you to keep your floor looking good without using harsh cleaners and equipment too often (which can also damage your floor). The finish manufacturer can advise you on the right cleaning materials to use along with an auto scrubber, buffer or commercial mop. It is vital that you consult the finish manufacturer prior to cleaning your floor with any machinery. While it may seem safe to use an item that is labeled to clean “wood flooring” your manufacturer may have certain limitations or recommendations you will want to adhere to. You can learn more how to properly Clean a hardwood floor here.
Re-coat Annually
Finally, you will need to adopt an annual finish maintenance. Annual hardwood floor finish maintenance allows you to add a new layer of finish to revitalize dull, scratching and fading flooring finish. This will help keep your floor looking good and improve the stain and water resistance. Dependent on the type of flooring you have you will have a variety of finish options that can be added annually. The different finishes have different benefits and work better in different applications. There are conversion varnish finishes, wax finishes, and moisture-cured finishes. The more common options include oil based, water based, UV cured and natural oil finishes. Your flooring professional is your best bet for choosing the right finish to fit your flooring type, foot traffic and additional needs. Additionally, you want to consider the setting when choosing a flooring finish type. If there are a lot of windows you won’t want to use a flooring finish that ambers in the sun easily. This will make your floor yellow and look aged.
When choosing your finish coat you will also be able to choose the sheen level. There are a variety of different finish sheen levels ranging from matte to gloss. The sheen level is a design choice and does not affect the strength of the floor finish. Satin is a popular sheen choice because it offers some shine without showing all the imperfections that glossy floor finish reveals. Matte is a very modern choice and looks great in a lot of spaces. Gloss floor finish can give your space an upscale look.
Eventually your floor may need to be refinished to remove deeper scratches, any additional damage like water damage or staining. A full refinish takes a few days to complete and is more intrusive than a buff and coat or maintenance coat. The ideal timeline for this service is every 5-8 years.
Trust an Experienced Hardwood Floor Maintenance Company
Commercial spaces are a great place for wood flooring if the wood is cared for correctly. You will love the ease of cleaning and the resilience that hardwood flooring has. A proper maintenance schedule keeps your flooring beautiful for years to come. When installing or maintaining your hardwood flooring you will want to consult an expert hardwood floor maintenance company to ensure you are caring for your floor correctly and have a good maintenance plan in place.