Dull floors

[Sabrina]

I am hoping that you can help me by giving me an honest opinion. I am in charge of the cleaning service that cleans the injection molding plant where I work. We have a large amount of vinyl floors that are to be serviced twice a year in addition to daily mopping. Everytime the cleaning service strips and waxes the floors they look great for a couple weeks and before long they are dull and scratched looking again. I've watched this for a couple years and finally called the manager of the service to ask about this.
What he is telling me now is that I need to have the floors burnished in between the two times a year service. He says this will improve the appearance.
I am having a hard time with this and wondering if he is just trying to get more money. It's hard for me to want to spend more money for something like this when like I said the floors don't stay looking nice. I have no idea what burnishing is and if it really will make the floors look nicer for very long. Could it be possible they need to use harder wax on my floors?

[Kevin]

Sabrina,
Great question with many answers. First burnishing is re-heating of wax currently applied, or in laymans terms , when burnishing is performed the cleaning service will remove scuff marks and scratches with a high speed floor machine, also applying more wax to bring floor to a shine. It sounds like you have a problem with the area in general. I would suggest allowing the cleaning service to perform the maintenance as requested once on a trial basis. I would also suggest after to then cover this area with heavy duty floor mats that can be placed in problem areas. There are many mat services who will come and change the mats weekly, bi weekly or monthly. The price is will be more cost effective than burnishing twice. Thirdly I will inform you of our business to business program where a trained IJCSA member will come to your building inspecting the work of your current cleaning service. They will also submit a service agreement for the exact work performed. I believe you are asking for an outside opinion of the service you are currently using. In most cases if this escalated to the point that you are using a public forum the communication level between you and the service is slim to none. Meaning you are unhappy. I will also defend the current cleaning service you are using. You should tell them, the owner or manager exactly how you feel, and quit beating around the bush. Communication is the KEY when dealing with your service providers.

Contact A IJCSA Member who will be glad to inspect the work, and offer you a written service agreement for the same work performed.

[godofcleaning]

Yes i agree with Kevin,it sounds like you really could do with a third party to come in and take a look.Although burnishing will bring up the floors nicely,it won`t nessercerily keep them looking any better for longer.Maybe the mats could be your answer.

[Am. Business Cleaning Services]

A third opinion: Kevin and Adrian are right.
My husband and I just signed a small business that had been having thier showroom floor "done" every 6-7 weeks. The floor was dull and nasty, and looked as if it barely had any wax left on it at all.
Initially, the gentleman stated that he thought coming in once a month to burnish would be sufficient. We explained to him that by allowing us to come in at LEAST 2 times a month, we'd be able to maintain a better appearance......the wear and tear on the wax itself would be easier to "repair" with spray wax, and the burnisher would "smooth" out the scuffs that make it seem dull.
In the end, we agreed that we'd buff every 2 weeks, and do a light scrub and re-coat every quarter. This is a very high traffic area, and the additional visits from us will improve his overall "look".

On another note...it kinda sounded as if you feel you are paying your cleaning service enough already......Talk to them! If you feel you're not getting your money's worth, let them know. Communication is such a very important element! Express your concerns, give them a chance to fix any "issues" and then, if you're still not satisfied, perhaps look into another company.

Ali

[William]

There is really no clear option around this one here besides more payment and more wax work on your floors. Thats the only way. True the mats are fine but thats not so appealing if you don't get ones that fit your office layout and all. But hey if they are good than for more work done there should be some plan for a payment plan to get them nice and you not so broke. Good Luck.

[J4K Cleaning]

Burnishing with a mop on restorer on a regular basis will more then likely make the appearance of the floors much better. As stated above if done correctly this will remove minor scratches and scuffs and pop a shine back into the floor. I also recommend letting them do this and see if you like the results. There could also be other factors causing the floors to dull. Are there chairs in any of the areas with casters? Often carpet casters are used on chairs that sit on VCT and wear thru the finish. Good luck with it.

[ECBS Clean Team]

Plastic Injection molding plants are much cleaner than the metal shops I used to work in, but they get there fair share abuse. WE strip & refinish a plant out by us every 3 mos.! No in between burnishing because of the grease that is tracked in ( it just would not help )

I would see about adjusting the entire maintenance schedule on this floor. How about fitting in top scrubs? This would mean more maintenance on the floor throughout the year & the reduced cost for top scrubbing vs stripping may be appealing. I understand the abuse that a plant floor can take & it may start breaking down within 2 weeks after the strip. Another thing for you to check is what is being used to mop the floor? Are you using cool water with a neutral floor cleaner? Could your janitor be helping break down the finish by using hot water or a degreaser?? Is someone taking care of the plant floor to prevent soils from being walked into the tiled areas? I saw runners mentioned, this would apply to mats outside the doors as well.

He should be using a 25% solid floor finish

[daabebe]

The only suggest i have for your floor problem is to put more wax on the floor like 8 to 12 finish and do daily maintenance with damp mapping not wet mapping and monthly buffing with red pad or using 1500 burnishing machine with white polish pad. I think will do the job.

[ECBS Clean Team]

are you saying 8-12 coats of finish? The problem she is having is the appearance of the finish ( top layers ) The guy has not tried a buffing program yet. No need for additional layers uuntil the buffing program is tried. I have never applied 8-12 layers of finish anywhere ever. I dread the thought. I am not saying I know everything about floor care but that seems excessive, have you actually done that b4? Who else has.

[J4K Cleaning]

8 to 12 coats would be a pretty good time when you go to strip it all off as well You may want to lay down a "few" extra coats but no way I would go to 12.

[Kevin]

This is why this was moved from the open consumers help area, I have never put on 8-12 coats of anything.

[rclllc]

yea... i agree. i would get a IJCSA member to give you a confidential evaluation of your property.

[monayuki]

Like J4K and Brian a few extra coats but not 8-12 coats.

[colin]

Sabrina,

It is quite evident by your post. Or it appears, that you have not been properly sold or informed on the floor care procedures that is taken for vinyl composite tile my reasoning for saying that is, Because you say you don't know what burnishing is and you have been using their services for the last two years !!!... I'm curious, did your current cleaning service explain when submitting their quote...? did they provide you with the maintenance sheet for the floor or job, i.e. what the procedures were on floor care and maintenance and cost?

It could have looked something like this

routine maintenance
Purpose:
frequency:
technique:
Cost:

Periodic surface restoration:
purpose:
Frequency:
Technique:
Cost:

Deep scrub and recoat:
Purpose:
Frequency:
Technique:
Cost:

Full strip and recoat:
Purpose :
Frequency:
Technique:
Cost:

If your current cleaning services submitted to you a quote similar to the above. Then they have done their job. The costs for professional floor care services is not cheap so I highly doubt that they are taken advantage of your inexperience and you should go to your boss and asked to revise your budget for cleaning services.

If your current cleaning service has not provided to you with all the details and procedures and you are unable to have open communication and you are unhappy with your cleaning services. I highly suggest you seek services from another company.

That's just my opinion, and I hope it helps

[logan5127]

I have cleaned floors in injection mold plants before. they also did not want a maint. service. New wax is soft. Burnishing is buffing with high rpm to acieve heat . this compresses wax and hardens it finish and removes most of the scuffs. I will always tell a client that if they don't sit up a maint. program either with an outside company or inhouse the job will not last long. There are harder finishes. When you know its not going to be buffed request this . It will last a little longer but not much and is usually harder to strip off. It has been my experience for years that if maint is sit up right it takes three buffings to get the best shine and a good hard finish. You can see a light reflection on a new floor as a bright glow. When floor has been buffed 2 or 3 times you can actually count the bulbs in the reflection.