Hardwood flooring is the floor covering of choice for warmth, an upscale image, and an enhanced environment in commercial and retail facilities. In addition to the variety of design options of the different colors, grain patterns and widths of the wood species available, hardwood flooring is one of the most environmentally responsible and cost-efficient flooring choices you can make. The key for long-lasting beautiful hardwood floors with a sustainable lifecycle, is following the correct process for installation, sand and finishing, scheduled recoats, and most importantly daily and long-term maintenance.

Maintaining commercial hardwood floors presents the extra challenge of extreme traffic and wear, with limited time access to care for the floors. Unfortunately, the right products specifically for maintaining hardwood floors haven’t been readily available, so facility managers were left to generic floor care methods used on other floor covering surfaces to maintain hardwood floors. They have also taken desperate measures selecting improper cleaners found in retail stores. This has resulted in unsightly floors and excessive costs to repair unnecessary damage. If budget restraints have required cutting back on facility maintenance, it doesn’t mean you have to neglect wood floor care. The right system will ensure durability, beauty, environmental responsibility and an economical solution for your hardwood floors. When done correctly, hardwood floors are easy and inexpensive to maintain.

The Process

Depending on the condition of your floors or the stage in their lifecycle (new installation, existing floor in good condition, existing floors that are already poorly maintained and damaged, etc.), by using the right products and procedures, you can effectively protect the investment of hardwood floors in your facility and extend the life of the floor.

Here is a brief description of each stage for successfully maintaining your hardwood floors:

Initial Sand & Finish/Refinishing. When unfinished hardwood floors are originally installed, the process involves sanding the wood to get the floor flat and properly prepare it for staining (if desired) and a protective polyurethane finish. Prefinished floors come from the factory already coated with a polyurethane finish, but some can be periodically refinished. Refinishing is sanding and finishing to restore a worn or damaged existing floor. It’s important to specify the use of a dust containment sanding system to prevent the infiltration of dust throughout the jobsite.

Equally important is the use of a quality waterborne finishing system which doesn’t require vacating the jobsite because of harmful fumes, as is required with solvent-based systems. Low-VOC (volatile organic compound) waterborne formulas are better for indoor air quality and the environment. Some areas of the country prohibit the use of higher VOC solvent-based sealers and finishes. Good quality, high-performance waterborne finishes offer greater durability and beauty than solvent-based finishes because of their advanced technology manufacturing process and non-yellowing characteristics. Also, the faster drying (2-3 hours per coat) and cure times (90% in 72 hours) of a quality waterborne system are great features and advantages for commercial and retail environments.

Daily Cleaning & Periodic Deep Cleaning. Improper methods and products used for daily and periodic deep cleaning are probably the main causes of damage to commercial hardwood floors. Avoid water, all-purpose cleaners and harsh chemicals (which can damage the wood or dull the finish). Also don’t use dust mop treatments, oil soaps, silicone and acrylics which can leave a residue and adversely affect the adhesion of a coat of finish in the future.

Following the correct methods is easy and relatively inexpensive:

• Vacuum or Sweep to remove dirt, sand or grit that can act like sandpaper to scratch and damage the floor.
• Clean with Hardwood Floor Cleaner specifically designed for polyurethane-finished hardwood floors. Choose a non-toxic, low-VOC waterborne formula for indoor air quality, health and environmental benefits. For small areas, use a microfiber or terry cloth mop. For larger areas, a commercial mop, buffer or autoscrubber can be used with hardwood floor cleaner to remove dirt, stains and dried spills.

Preventive measures that can be taken to help avoid damage in addition to daily vacuuming or sweeping:

• Use protective felt pads on the feet of furniture and fixtures. A very common source of deep scratching of hardwood floors in commercial environments is from dragging fixtures across the floor. Protective felt pads should prevent this unnecessary damage.
  • Remove spills promptly
  • Use walk-off mats at entrances and heavy traffic or pivot areas.
• Maintain consistent humidity as excessive swings in humidity levels will cause hardwood floors to swell, shrink, cup, crack and show gaps between boards. Keep the humidity level within a 5-10 point range.
• Recoating depends on the amount of monthly/annual pedestrian traffic and the level of daily and periodic maintenance. This process involves deep cleaning and abrading the old finish to remove dirt and surface scratches, and the application of 1-2 coats of a waterborne polyurethane finish (see above benefits of waterborne finishes in the Initial Sand and Finish section). If the correct cleaner has been used that does not leave any residue, then the new coat of finish should adhere properly, saving the time and cost of having to completely sand off the existing finish. Recoat adhesion solutions can be used for conditioning the existing finish to optimize adhesion of the new coat of finish.

The Problem

The following case study about the hardwood floor maintenance at FlatIron Crossing, a busy indoor mall in Broomfield, Colorado, illustrates the simplicity and cost effectiveness of the right way to care for hardwood floors.

FlatIron Crossing Mall in Broomfield, Colorado, has 12 million visitors per year.

The situation at FlatIron Crossing was the same problem we’ve been seeing all around the country. The janitorial staff applies an acrylic-based maintenance coating designed for VCT (vinyl composition tile) flooring. Not only does this acrylic coating not wear well (low durability and scratch resistance), it actually acts as a contaminant for hardwood floors. It holds in the dirt, has to be chemically stripped to clean it, adding too much moisture to the wood and leaving you with damaged boards that have to be replaced.

In the case of FlatIron Crossing, they had to replace the wood in two pedestrian bridges, and the rest of their hardwood floors had severe cupping. This required a complete sand and finish of 15,000 sq. ft. The total cost for repairing the damage caused by improper maintenance was $34,000.

The Solution

The floors in FlatIron Crossing were sanded and finished with a waterborne polyurethane finish, and maintained using a waterborne hardwood floor cleaner designed specifically for polyurethane finished hardwood floors. Daily maintenance involves dust mopping with an untreated mop (to avoid contamination) and a weekly spray buff or autoscrubber with hardwood floor cleaner.

It is critically important to use a cleaner that does not leave any residue that could adversely affect recoat adhesion. The mall now schedules recoats every 12-18 months with a recoat adhesion system and waterborne polyurethane finish. A high- performance, quality waterborne finish is the perfect finish for extremely high traffic malls like FlatIron Crossing. If this system is followed, there shouldn’t be a need for a costly sand and finish, and the hardwood floors will look great for the life of the floor.

Randy Berman, assistant property manager at FlatIron Crossing Mall, was thrilled with the results. "We have about 15 million people a year come through here, and the floors take a beating. Not only did the acrylic maintenance system not work and cost us money to repair the damage, but the floors never looked good. With the right hardwood floor care system we've cut our labor costs for maintaining our hardwood floors by 75% (a $60,000/yr. savings) and the floors look great," Berman said.

"In the past, we didn't know much about hardwood floors. With hindsight, it’s just common sense. Why invest the money in hardwood flooring and then spend money to maintain them with a generic process that actually ruins them? A commercial floor care system specifically designed for hardwood floors, is the right way to take care of hardwood floors," said Berman.

Using Green Products and Systems

More facilities are demanding green methods for all maintenance processes in commercial facilities. Maintaining good indoor air quality should be a major factor in all of your facility purchasing decisions. There are plenty of green alternatives to traditional products that generally offer better performance and cost efficiency. Demand green products that have third party certification through organizations that independently test and certify products such as GREENGUARD, Green Seal®, Scientific Certification Systems and many others. They are a great source for verifying manufacturers’ claims on the performance of featured products.

By following these simple cost-saving methods and using the correct products, you will find that hardwood floors are an ideal sustainable flooring choice for an enhanced commercial environment.

Related Link
www.greenguard.org

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