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Topic - Maintenance |
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Q: What causes floor polish to powder off the flooring surface? |
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A: Powdering is the partial or total disintegration of the polish film resulting in a fine, light-colored material. Possible causes are acrylic-type polish applied over wax-type polishes; floor not thoroughly rinsed after stripping; dirty mops used to apply polish; surface of polish force-dried; inadequate grit and soil control (no walk-off mats); mismatched polish and machine speed; floor pad too abrasive; room temperature too hot or too cold or humidity too high or too low or excessive alkaline moisture permeating through tile from subfloor. To correct the problem, follow stripping recommendations for the specific flooring. |
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Q: What causes streaks in floor polish? |
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A: Possible causes of streaks can be too much or too little floor polish applied in one coat; dirty mop used to apply polish; inadequate drying time or alkaline residue on the floor. Follow recommendations for stripping or heavy cleaning, and then follow recommended procedure for preparation for commercial traffic. |
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Q: What causes rapid black marking on flooring? |
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A: Possible causes of rapid black marking are little or no protective polish; polish and/or cleaner too high in pH; polish and/or cleaner too aggressive or floor polish too soft. To correct, follow recommendations for stripping and/or heavy cleaning. Follow with preparation for commercial traffic, following recommended procedures. |
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Q: What can cause bleeding of brightly colored vinyl composition tile? |
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A: Possible causes are too little floor polish; cleaning/stripping solutions too aggressive or colored pigments removed by abrasion from coarse stripping or scrubbing pads. Following the recommended maintenance procedures will prevent the problem. |
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Q: How long after an installation should a floor be protected from rolling loads? |
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A: Newly installed commercial flooring should not be exposed to routine rolling load traffic (carts, lifters, etc.) for at least 72 hours after installation to allow setting and drying of adhesives. If rolling loads cannot be avoided, protect the installation for 72 hours after installation by covering with wood panels. |
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Q: Do our polishes conform to the National Volatile Organic Compound Emissions Standard? |
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A: There is a National Volatile Organic Compound Emissions Standard for consumer products that went into effect on December 10, 1998. (Institutional is included in their definition of consumer products.) In that regulation there is a maximum VOC content limit (weight percent limit) of 7% for floor polishes for flexible flooring products; of 10% for polishes for nonresilient flooring; and 90% for wood floor wax. Our products do conform to that regulation, and we are registered with the EPA Region 3. |
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Q: How to remove tar from surface of flooring? |
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A: Use mineral spirits, charcoal lighter fluid or turpentine on a clean white cloth. Blot or rub the stain (keep the tar isolated to one small area by not rubbing wider than the original area). Change the cloth area frequently. Rinse with warm water. For residential sheet and tile: avoid the area for 30 minutes. Commercial sheet (linoleum, inlaid and homogeneous only) tile (VCT and SDT only): if there is a slight yellow cast remaining because the color has absorbed into the commercial product, use a green pad to scrub the area with stripping solution, and then polish as recommended. |
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Q: Furniture is sticking to the floor. What can cause this to happen? |
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A: Furniture sticking is normally caused by the following conditions: Furniture replaced too soon after polishing; furniture left in place while polish was applied; floor not properly rinsed; sealer/polish not compatible; polish not properly cured/dried (floor temperature too low, high humidity, recoated too quickly, building closed up with no air circulation, dew point too high, contaminated mops or finishes); slow drying polish formulations; furniture rests have something on them (not clean); excess moisture from damp mopping. Some possible solutions include: Only apply polish when drying conditions are right; use brand-name products; clean furniture rests as needed; test for dryness. Tip - to release struck furniture, tap the legs near to the floor, hitting firmly in a horizontal direction. Be sure to protect legs to avoid scratching or marring. Do not attempt to lift furniture straight up before loosening. |
