DIV18/69: Simplifying Floorcare Decisions (23 May 2019)

Issue Date: 23 May 2019
Ref: DIV18/69

Innovations in flooring – for practical and cosmetic reasons – continue to widen the choice of materials and finishes available. This makes the correct specification and use of floorcare products and equipment more complex because there is more to consider. Mistakes can damage the floor and be difficult and costly to correct. In many cases the solution is to use a scrubber drier or rotary disc machine in conjunction with a particular pad or brush and, usually but not always, cleaning product.

In general, innovative synthetic flooring is now more widely used than wood and other traditional materials. This has led to a move from laborious stripping, polishing and buffing to more efficient machine cleaning and maintaining. Diversey offers pads and brushes for almost every type of flooring and will be able to advise on the right one to use with any machine from its advanced TASKI range in any given application. The right combination will achieve the best possible results, economy and sustainability. 

In healthcare, for example, there is a clear trend towards vinyl floors with a thin wear layer that requires no polish and hence has no shine. These floors have a sheen finish and are perceived to present reduced risk of slips, still one of the major causes of accidents and injuries in workplaces, especially to vulnerable patients such as those suffering from dementia. They are also generally easier to maintain because they require no intermittent stripping and sealing.

Floors with wear layers can normally be cleaned using innovative floorcare pads such as Twister by Diversey. This innovative set of colour-coded floor care pads is made from recycled plastics impregnated with billions of microscopic diamonds on the working side. They are ideally used with Diversey’s advanced TASKI swingo scrubber driers or rotary-disc machines and water alone to deliver excellent results while making floor care operations more sustainable. The range includes pads for almost every type of hard floor, manufactured by changing the size and combination of the microscopic diamonds. The pads are less abrasive than corresponding conventional alternatives which helps to protect the floor while giving a smoother and improved appearance. The resulting micro-polished floor is also more resistant to soiling.

Also in healthcare, there is an ongoing use of products containing chlorine as the active ingredient as part of infection prevention efforts. These products can cause long-term degradation of the floor if not used correctly. One way to alleviate such concerns is to use a scrubber drier with effective dilution control and which always applies the correct amount of solution to the floor and then removes it to leave the floor dry and ready to use. These are the key attributes of TASKI scrubber driers equipped with the IntelliDose dilution and IntelliFlow solution control systems.

In commercial settings, Diversey has seen increased use of floors woven from vinyl and other materials that have a textured surface. Conventional rotary pads and discs are less effective on these floors because they cannot reach into the recesses on the undulating surface. In these cases, a scrubber drier equipped with a cylindrical brush will be more effective.

The variety of floor type and the choice of equipment and products can present a bewildering set of choices. Nevertheless, by taking advice from suppliers such as Diversey, cleaning teams can introduce cleaning processes that improve results while being effective, productive and sustainable.