- October 17, 2022
- in News
- by Joshua Rollins
The floors of your business are important, everything is going to take place on top of them! So keeping your floors in good condition should be a priority to ensure the safety of you, your employees, your clients, and your business in general!
There are a few major threats to your floors, knowing them and identifying ways to counter/remedy them if something happens can be simple when plans are made ahead of time. The major threats are:
- Spills/Drops
- Inclement Weather
- Tracked Dirt/Mud
- Wear and Tear
Spills are the most obvious threat to a floor. If the biggest threat is spilled water or soda your floors aren’t at much risk. Paper towels or carpet cleaners and the right tools can easily and quickly save a carpet from a light spill, and a hard floor is simply mopped. When dealing with more serious chemicals or food prep areas you should have a spill kit ready. This kit should include any drying agents, cleaning chemicals, and tools you’ll need to tackle a spill. If you have a facility services company that wouldn’t clean the spill outright they should provide and maintain a spill kit for your business. Furthermore, every business should be equipped with a bodily fluid clean-up kit in case disaster strikes and a minor bodily fluid spill needs to be cleaned up safely.
Inclement weather is another risk factor that has simple solutions. Weather mats should be put at all entrances to keep water and ice from tracking through your business. Umbrella bags can be provided at entranceways as well to keep wet umbrellas off of your floors and furniture and to prevent dripping. Some businesses might benefit from a coat rack to keep anyone entering the building comfortable and to prevent them from tracking the weather in with them. Extra care should be taken to clean floors after bad weather conditions as well to keep everything in good shape.
Many of the same provisions preventing your floors from being weather-damaged will protect you from Mud/Dirt. But other things like boot/shoe cleaners can be very useful to some businesses. Mud and dirt are less of a threat to hard floors but they definitely need to be considered for carpeted buildings. Regular carpet cleanings will prevent the buildup of mud and dirt, weather mats are also extremely useful (especially with a “please wipe your feet sign”).
The last risk factor is the hardest to predict and prevent. Your floors are going to get used, a lot. Wear and tear will occur, and your floor will be damaged over time, but you can take some steps to get the most out of it. Wear and fatigue mats can be laid out in high-use areas and replaced far cheaper than a section of flooring, they also offer a more comfortable surface for employees to work on. Maintaining the wheels and rollers on any doors or equipment also goes a long way.
With attention and planning, you can maximize the lifetime of your flooring.