Technical Articles

In an effort to provide greater convenience to customers, many retailers now remain open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This customer convenience forces retail facility managers to clean in plain view of customers. In turn, they must worry about customer safety, cleaning durations, noise levels, and equipment size—all while maintaining the image of the retail facility and the shopping experience of customers.

To overcome these challenges, when it comes to floor care, retailers are trending toward cleaning programs, processes and products that support the old axiom that less is more by focusing on anytime cleaning that:

• reduces slips and falls;
• reduces “out-of-service” time;
• minimizes noise levels; and 
• is as unobtrusive as possible.

Reducing slips and falls

In an effort to improve safety and reduce slips and falls, retail facility managers are finding ways to use less water and chemical while still maintaining a clean facility. In particular, they are relying on products that: 

• use less water than conventional automated scrubbing products on hard floor surfaces, leaving less water to remove after cleaning and decreasing the chance of someone slipping and falling;
• use less water than conventional extractors on carpeted surfaces, leaving carpets drier after cleaning and decreasing the likelihood of wet shoes transitioning from wet carpeting to a hard floor surface;
• use a cleaning solution with less detergent that’s more easily recovered to eliminate the potential for water and soap being left behind after cleaning and to prevent chemical degradation of corrugated fixtures; and
• use cleaning systems and detergents that have been certified as being slip-resistant by the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI).

Reducing “out of service” time

Retail floor space equals sales space. Therefore, retail facility managers must ensure that floor surfaces are open and accessible to customers. But because just cleaned floors and carpets that are wet need time to dry, retail facility managers are turning to:

• automatic scrubbers that use less water and have a squeegee that removes virtually all water from the floor;
• carpet equipment with soil transfer technology that uses less water to clean carpets, thereby decreasing dry time; and
• carpet equipment that so effectively provides interim cleaning by removing dirt before it becomes embedded that it increases intervals between restorative extraction cleaning.

Minimizing noise levels

Noise pollution is always an issue when cleaning congested or populated areas. A low noise piece of maintenance equipment operates at a consistently low decibel level. Vacuums are often the primary culprit when it comes to higher noise levels, but retail facility managers are finding there are vacuums available that reduce noise and disturbance levels and allow for anytime cleaning.

Reducing obtrusiveness

Populated retail stores are just that—populated. And because many stores now offer one-stop-shopping, many retail locations have narrow aisles, overstocked shelves and displays, and little room to navigate a shopping cart none-the-less a piece of cleaning equipment.

Therefore, retail facility managers are discovering that size does matter, and smaller is better. They are leaning toward using equipment that is maneuverable, easy to store, and unobtrusive so as not to take up more space than is absolutely necessary in an already busy shopping area.

Having worked in school maintenance for more than 26 years, I’ve seen my fair share of accidents. It’s hard not to with kids running through the halls, pushing and shoving to get to class; lunch trays getting tipped over, and food and beverages awaiting a misplaced foot; or locker doors getting left open or slammed on fingers.

It’s no secret that accidents will happen—especially in such a busy and frantic setting as a school. But some accidents can easily be prevented.

A lesson in chemistry

Wet, slippery or sticky floors seem to be one of the primary causes of accidents—whether in a school, an office complex, a hospital or a retail facility. Throughout my maintenance career, floor safety and cleanliness have been my two biggest concerns. But for much of that career, it seemed that the two didn’t go hand-in-hand.

Then I learned about an automated foam scrubbing system that claimed it could actually make my schools’ floors cleaner and safer. I wanted to learn more.

The technology behind this system, though revolutionary, is really quite simple. A water and detergent mixture is injected with air to create a foam cleaning agent. The detergent is pre-measured so there’s no overuse of chemicals—my staff never has to worry about measuring and mixing the solution. In fact, this system uses 90 percent less detergent than conventional automated scrubbers. That means there’s virtually no slippery or sticky detergent residue after cleaning. And, the system uses 70 percent less water than conventional automated scrubbers, so floors are drier faster after cleaning.

Too good to be true? Guess again. During September, I purchased a walk-behind automated foam scrubbing system and started using it in one of my grade schools. For the first time, my staff was able to use floor cleaning equipment during school hours. There’s no concern about students or faculty slipping and falling, and the floors are safe to walk on immediately after cleaning. In fact, in the two years since I first purchased this machine, I haven’t witnessed a single slip and fall accident where the machine has been used. And the floors aren’t only safe, they’re clean—cleaner than I’ve ever seen them using mops and buckets or even conventional scrubbers.

Do the maths

What I like about this new automated foam scrubbing system almost as much as the safety it offers our students, faculty and staff, is the fact that in improves my cleaning staff’s productivity.

Because the chemical is pre-mixed in an easy-to-use cartridge, it’s simple for staff to simply attach it to the scrubber. They don’t waste their time measuring detergent or mixing solutions. And because the right amount of chemical and water are used, there are fewer empty/fill cycles, too. My staff actually gains about an hour of cleaning time per eight-hour shift because they don’t have to spend time refilling the machine. They just add water and go.

Plus, they no longer need to store and move those heavy drums of chemicals because they can just reach for a cartridge. And talk about productivity—one of those cartridges can clean up to one million square feet. It’s a fact that I experienced first hand when I realised we hadn’t changed the chemical cartridge on the scrubber in more than three months. Now there’s a maths lesson I actually enjoyed.

Preparing for the future

We recently learned that our school district would be opening several more buildings, bringing our school building count to 13, our student count to more than 11,000, and the total square footage of floors to be cleaned to more than 1.7 million.

Can you imagine cleaning that much floor surface with mops and buckets? I can’t. So I’ve now ordered four automated foam scrubbing systems that are riding machines. If I thought my staff’s productivity increased using a walk-behind foam scrubbing system, I can’t imagine how much more productive they’ll be when I bring in the four new riding scrubbers. Actually, I can. And I, for one, can’t wait for school to start.

There are a number of steps and considerations to take if you desire to give your in-filled field a winning appearance, including:

• knowing the hazards of debris;
• implementing a consistent and comprehensive cleaning program;
• properly training your maintenance crews; and
• budgeting for maintenance upfront.

Dangers of debris

Grit, sand, mud, salt, and even tiny pieces of glass can all make their way onto your artificial turf. This foreign debris can create obvious safety hazards for those using the field. It can also break down and decay, causing bacteria to grow in the turf and increasing the risk of staff infections. Additionally, if fine matter isn’t kept from clogging the pores in the surface’s drainage system, water can pool on the surface of the turf and cause early deterioration.

Treat your turf like carpet

Synthetic surfaces require a systematic maintenance program—much like a comprehensive carpet care program. Such a program can be implemented with the use of just one all-inclusive mechanical sweeper that incorporates:

• adjustable brushes
• a front rake brush
• a perforated hopper
• a drag broom; and
• a filter system

Train your crews

Because today’s artificial turf is more specialized than older versions, it’s important that your maintenance crew be properly trained on how to care for it. Training should focus on the proper care of your specific brand of turf, use of the maintenance equipment, and cleaning frequency.