Durable floors that preserve their appearance over time are a vital part of any business. By not falling into these five flooring traps, management teams can save money while extending the lifespan of their floors and maintaining their facility’s professional appearance.
- Choosing the Wrong Type of Flooring
Choosing the wrong flooring for your facilities can create maintenance problems for years to come; proper floor preservation starts before installation. Choosing the best floors for the spaces in your facilities is a matter of safety as well as time and money. For example, soft flooring in high traffic areas will deteriorate quickly, even though it might be quieter. Research your flooring options, then speak to manufacturers and installers to determine the best flooring for your business’s needs.
- Not Assessing Lifetime Cost Efficiency
Striking a balance between cost efficiency and resilience needs to be part of every flooring decision. While researching flooring, you may be attracted to the initial cost of installing a particular style. Remember, however, that floor maintenance can add significantly to your operating expenses over time. It’s important to think of flooring’s cost over its entire life cycle. Before choosing flooring materials, consider the following: How long will it last? What will it cost to maintain? How much will it cost to prepare and install? How much will it cost to remove when it’s no longer operational?
- Lacking Doormats
Not using doormats can exacerbate a wide variety of issues for your flooring. Doormats can collect almost ninety percent of dirt, which would otherwise end up on your flooring. A proper doormat should allow for people entering the building to take three to five steps on the mat. Walk-off mats can also help to reduce slipping, as well as floor damage from external debris.
- Failing to Follow a Proper Maintenance Schedule
Not following a proper cleaning schedule will most certainly decrease your flooring’s useful life. No matter the flooring material, when dirt and debris is not regularly cleared away it will slowly be ground into your floors. Maintenance schedules depend on your type of flooring and level of traffic, but creating a regular cleaning schedule for your facility’s floors is essential to maintaining them.
- Not Providing the Proper Tools and Training to your Maintenance Staff
Proper tools and training mean improved return on investment when it comes to the life of your floors. Using equipment specifically designed for the type of flooring in your facility will result in a more efficient clean. This will make your floors look better, and keep them from deteriorating. Just as important as using the right equipment is making sure that your employees are properly trained. They should also know what techniques are appropriate for each type of flooring, and how often the procedures should be performed.
Simply avoiding these common mistakes can save you money, time, and hassle, while improving your facility’s look.
