Month: April 2019

Deep cleaning your floors at least once a year extends their lifetime and eliminates the need for early replacements. It is also the perfect opportunity to get rid of tough stains and unpleasant odours, thus improving the overall appearance.

Every season brings about floor cleaning challenges, which are a constant struggle in industrial and commercial facilities. The good news is that you can solve most floor cleaning problems if you have the right tools. This guide sets you up with tips to spring clean your industrial floors with ease and efficiency.

Cleaning vinyl floors

There are three main options when it comes to vinyl floor cleaning. The first is stripping and waxing. You start by stripping the vinyl floor before coating it with 4-6 layers of wax. Depending on the manufacturer’s recommendations, you may have to repeat this process twice or thrice each year.

Scrubbing and recoating is a more cost-effective solution. Also, it improves the overall look dramatically without requiring too much physical effort. Simply remove the top few layers of wax and apply a couple of coats. Like stripping and waxing, this should be done 2-3 times annually.

You can also mop the floor clean and restore any fill-in holes in the wax. Finish up by burnishing or rather melting the wax for a fresh look.

Cleaning hardwood and tile floors

Commercial hardwood and tile floors come in many forms, which require different cleaning techniques. You’ll need to consult the manufacturer’s recommendations; however, the following tips will work in most cases.

• Remove any visible debris from the floors
• Use stripper solution to remove any damaged floor finish. The product label should contain exact instructions for use. Make sure you keep the windows when working with harsh chemicals.
• A scrubber and elbow grease will get rid of any remaining finish effectively
• Use clean water and mop to strip the remaining finish, then give it a few hours to dry
• Apply two coats of seal and finish for a fresh look

Cleaning commercial carpets

Carpets are great hiding places for debris, germs and dirt. Start by vacuuming with heavy suction to remove large debris. Removing office furniture and equipment will make the task easier. Avoid cleaning around equipment and other objects as this may cause carpet discolouration over time.

The best way to maintain your commercial floors and keep them clean is to hire the best industrial floor cleaning machines. Get in touch with us for a cost-effective solution.

Using dangerous chemicals when cleaning can endanger the health of others. As a result, the law requires that hazardous substances be strictly controlled. Employees and other people that might be exposed to these substances must be protected at all time. The measures are basic, but penalties for disregarding them can be severe. Here are some basic steps to ensure compliance with COSHH when using cleaning machines.

Train Everyone on the Team

Everyone from the supervisor to the employee using the cleaning machines and chemicals needs to get the right training. Anyone who could potentially be exposed to dangerous chemicals needs to know what steps to take without a moment’s hesitation. Sometimes, catastrophe can be avoided with the right training, which has to be repeated often.

Ensure you have the COSHH Sheets for all Dangerous Chemicals

The manufacturer will usually supply you with the sheet, but you can often download it from their site. It is important to have both digital and hard copies of the list in case of an accident. The list should be easy to access by anyone who works with the chemicals or who might be exposed to them.

Carry Out Regular Risk Assessments

The COSHH sheets will cover all the risks that come with each chemical. It is important to carry out the risk assessment of each chemical. This risk assessment will entail reading the COSHH sheet and contextualising it.

Have the Right Equipment

As part of the risk assessment, you will learn which safety equipment you need to handle any chemical. You must also ensure that the equipment you use is of the right grade. For instance, some goggles are designed specifically with dangerous spills in mind, which might be dangerous for those who use them to prevent physical splinters from entering the eyes.

Ensure Chemicals are Properly Diluted

One of the most important compliance measures is to ensure that you are getting the dilution of chemicals right. If a chemical is too concentrated, any safety measures you put in place will be compromised. Ensure that the employee in charge of the dilution process always has the right measuring equipment to get the dilution right. In some cases, employees will attempt to guess how much of the chemical is needed. This behaviour should be highly discouraged.

Summary

With this and a few other rules, compliance should be easy. On the last note, ensure that trigger bottles are properly labelled since it can attract heavy fines. When an employee is harmed, doctors need to be able to tell what chemical caused the injury.

Industrial floor cleaners should be cleaned and maintained properly to ensure continued performance. But given their daily use, it’s only natural that these machines start to break down during use. Issues like brush motors failing to operate and poor water pickup become common. In this post, we identify common industrial cleaning problems, their causes and what can be done to resolve them.

Excessive dusting

This is caused by failing to turn on the vacuum fan. Other causes include a clogged hopper dust filter, damaged vacuum hose and worn brush skirts & dust seals. Resolving the issue is pretty easy. Consider replacing the brush skirts and dust seals. The same applies to a damaged vacuum hose. Don’t forget to clean the dust filter and turn on the vacuum fan.

Poor sweeping performance

This may be due to some reasons including worn brush bristles, failure of the main and side brushes, improper adjustment of the main and side brushes, damaged or worn hopper skirts and more. You can improve sweeping performance by replacing the large debris trap, emptying the hopper, replacing the hopper skirts and brushes. Improperly adjusted main and side brushes should be adjusted and debris removed from the drive mechanism.

No machine power

From low battery power and clogged hopper filter to switching on the emergency stop, there are many things that could cause zero machine power. To get your floor sweeper running, turn the emergency stop off then restart the machine. You should also consider charging the battery and cleaning or replacing the dust filter.

Failure to operate

A floor scrubber dryer may fail to operate if the batteries are discharged, an emergency stop is activated, the battery is loose, or the main fuse blew. A faulty key switch can also compromise the machine’s ability to run. Charge the battery and turn the emergency stop anticlockwise to deactivate it. Replacing blown fuses and faulty battery as well as tightening loose battery cables will get the machine running again.

Poor water pickup

Some things can cause poor water pickup such as clogged vacuum hose, damaged squeegee blades, full recovery tank, loose vacuum hose connections, low battery charge and more. Measures that will improve water pickup include replacing damaged vacuum hoses, cleaning the filter, draining the recovery tank, tightening hose connections, position the tank cover properly and replacing worn brushes.

At CleanHire we specialise in selling, hire and servicing industrial floor cleaners. Get in touch with us and let’s discuss an ideal cleaning solution for you.