With winter in full swing, we can expect the harsh weather conditions to continue making an appearance. Cold temperatures and heavy snow are a reality of Canadian winters. With these weather conditions however, also comes the potential for accidents and injuries.
At the workplace, it is common for people to wear their wet and slushy winter boots into their work areas, stacking snow, ice and dirt throughout your facility. This not only creates a safety issue, they can quickly turn your sparkly, pristine floors into a dingy mess.
Ensuring you have a winter floor care plan in place is essential to protecting your workplace flooring and the safety of your team and guests during the winter months.
If you don’t have a winter floor care plan in place at your workplace, below we share a few ways to protect your floors in the winter and ensure that everyone remains safe and that your floors look fantastic as well.
1. Well Placed Matting
Entrance mats are effective in removing a good portion of dirt, salt and water that is tracked into your facility from the outside, however these mats are not enough to fully stop water and grime from being spread throughout your workplace. Setting up mats in key areas where people congregate or spend time waiting such as in front of the front desk, in front of and inside elevators will help trap any additional dirt and moisture coming off guest’s outdoor shoes.
Keep in mind that this matting needs to be maintained regularly, this will help to avoid the mats getting waterlogged, salt damaged and becoming worn out.
2. Increase Cleaning
Increasing cleaning frequency is one of the best ways to maintain your floor’s shine while ensuring the health and safety of everyone in your facility. Depending on the amount of foot traffic your facility gets, you may need to have someone mopping and sweeping the floors hourly. This may seem like you are over doing it, but salt and water can stain, scratch, and wear away at your flooring and can also cause slip and fall accidents.
Carpeted areas in your workplace can soak up moisture, dust and bacteria during the winter months and resting salt and ice melter can cause stains and serious damage to your carpets. Increasing the frequency of vacuuming can help prevent salt and water damage from happening and can eliminate built up dust and allergens.
3. Have the Proper Industrial Cleaning Supplies
Having the proper industrial cleaning supplies available for your team to utilize during their cleaning routine is extremely important for keeping your floors safe and sparkling clean. A neutral floor cleaner will provide a residue free clean on hard floor surfaces such as tile and concrete, a specialized hardwood and laminate cleaner allows you to effectively clean finished flooring without worrying about damaging it and carpet spot cleaner will ensure any stains are easily removed
There are many effective floor care maintenance programs and strategies that can be utilized to help prevent damage and slip and fall accidents at your workplace. At CleanSource we can help curate a floor care maintenance program that will help prolong the lifespan of your flooring with floor cleaners, floor finishes and floor strippers.
