Credit Union Marmoleum Floor Cleaning & Polishing
Floor Cleaning Dublin was recently contracted to do a floor cleaning & polishing job in a credit union. They had a beautiful marmoleum floor installed a few years back. But whatever they were doing, the floor was marking easy, looked dull and was scratched in areas. The cleaners were doing whatever they could, but even after mopping and buffing, the floor was not looking great at all. Because this was a public building with a lot of footfall, the floor issue had to be resolved once for all. So the Credit Union contacted Floor Cleaning Dublin to assess the floor and find a solution. Within 24 hours our specialists were on site checking out the floor. It took less than 30 seconds to discover the issue and propose a solution.
Credit Union Marmoleum Floor Cleaning & Polishing | The Issue
Because the floor was relatively new and because the contractor had advised the management that the floor is already sealed, they never considered polishing it. The original sealer is good but when we are talking about a few thousand people walking over the same areas every day, the sealant won’t hold for long. Luckly, in this case the floor was not really damaged but it was impregnated with all kinds of dirt and residue. Nothing that could not be removed with a good floor cleaner and a bit of scrubbing.
Credit Union Marmoleum Floor Cleaning & Polishing | Cleaning
The floor was mopped and pre-treated with a heavy duty cleaning solution to degrease the surface, to remove residue & extract all the stains. Floor Cleaning Dublin used Cleanfast Floor Cleaner and Cleanfast Scrub Clean Low Foam. One product is a slightly alkaline PH 13 while the other one is a low foam floor cleaner and degreaser. It can be used on its own as well but used in a mixture together, the cleaning power and efficiency increases dramatically. After about 5 minutes of pre-soaking, the whole floor was scrubbed with a heavy duty low speed floor scrubbing machine and a 17” green floor pad. The dirt was just breaking apart and the original floor was exposed. There were a number of issues where a plant pot had been placed for a number of years. The water used to mop the floor daily was accumulating in that area and keeping the floor wet at all times. Due to constant humidity the floor was damaged by mould. While some of the dirt was removed, some was still visible. There was nothing we could have done to remove it in full. But the customer was fully aware of that so it wasn’t a big issue. Other than that, the floor looked new.
Credit Union Marmoleum Floor Cleaning & Polishing | Priming
An old marmoleum floor like this can really benefit from a few coats of floor primer. The primer will penetrate the floor fully and it will create a perfect base for further coatings while reducing absorbency. If you do not prime the floor, then the floor polish can penetrate very deep and it can take very long times to dry. Also, the primer is cheaper than the floor polish, it reduces the time needed to complete the project and it helps achieve a smoother finish. We sealed the whole floor with a thick coat of water based floor primer. After about 1 hour, the primer had dried and the floor was ready for polishing. It is essential to wait until the floor primer is fully dry before applying the next coats. Otherwise the new coat of floor polish will find it very hard to attach to a wet surface.
Credit Union Marmoleum Floor Cleaning & Polishing | Polishing
This part of the job requires proper products, skill and proper applicators. We use one of the most durable and most natural looking water based floor polishes available in Ireland. Cleanfast Floor Polish 25% Acrylic is in a class of its own.
We applied the first coat of floor polish moving from north to south. The whole floor was fully covered with a thin coat of floor polish. The next coat of floor polish was done about 1 hour later but this time we have moved from west to east. By doing so you ensure better adherence and durability. The last coat of floor polish took about 2 hours to fully dry. Drying the floor between the coats doesn’t just happen naturally. We use industrial air blowers to speed up the process.
Credit Union Marmoleum Floor Cleaning & Polishing | Burnishing
After the second coat of floor polish had fully dried, the floor looked streak free and 100% even. This protective coat is very durable but a nice burnishing with a red pad will increase its durability dramatically. So we proceeded to buff. Using a high speed floor polishing machine (900 RPM) and a red pad, we polished the whole floor until the sheen level has increased to a mirror like effect. The job was completed and the customer was satisfied.
Credit Union Marmoleum Floor Cleaning & Polishing | Maintenance
A highly polished marmoleum floor will only stay like that for a short period of time if it is not cleaned with proper cleaners & maintainers and polished regularly with a floor burnisher. The maintenance issue is a problem that negatively impacts most marmoleum floor owners. There is a lot of misinformation about this particular type of floor and many people get it wrong. A marmoleum floor should be maintained with “soft maintainers” and deep cleaned with proper marmoleum floor cleaners.
Marmoleum Floor Maintainer | If your marmoleum floor is washed every day, it is unlikely to get very dirty. A soft maintainer has little cleaning power but if it is used on a daily basis, it does not need to be very active. Also, a floor maintainer is great for repairing small scratches and imperfections caused by the daily traffic. When you wash the floor with the floor maintainer, a thin coat of polish will attach to the floor or it will fill up the cracks and scratches. The maintainer acts as a filler. Then the floor has to be buffed with a high speed buffer. This is the process, wash the floor with a maintainer and then buff it with a high speed buffer. By doing so, you will keep the floor in spectacular condition for many years. Failing to do so you will end up with porose and dull looking marmoleum floors.
Marmoleum Floor Cleaners | If the floor is very dirty and neglected for very long periods of time, you still can clean it. But a soft floor cleaner cannot remove all that dirt. So you need to use a more active floor cleaner to make sure that the floor residue breaks apart. The trick is to use enough cleaning power to remove the dirt but not too much to cause permanent damage to the floor. The dilution of your marmoleum floor cleaner is essential.
Credit Union Marmoleum Floor Cleaning & Polishing | Cleaning Systems
Pretty much all cleaning systems work on marmoleum floors but the most common ones are the mopping of small to medium commercial flooring and the use of scrubber driers for large commercial floors. The essential thing is to have proper floor cleaning products and medium to soft floor scrubbing pads. Do not use the black scrubbing pads on marmoleum floors unless you are attempting to remove a number of coats of polish. Usually, the blue and the green floor pads are the most suitable for marmoleum floors.
Credit Union Marmoleum Floor Cleaning & Polishing
