5 Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Floors

Daylight saving time just began, and with the “extra” hour of daylight in the evening people are getting Spring fever. And you know what that means: Spring Cleaning! It doesn’t matter if you clean at an office, school or hospital, floors really take a beating over winter. Ice melt, salt and water tracked in from the outdoors not only make floors look dirty and hazy, but can cause real damage to floor surfaces. Even though you’ve been tackling it the entire winter, spring is the perfect time to really freshen your floors.

Vacuum and Sweep
The first step in deep cleaning floors is to remove as much loose dirt and debris from the surface as possible. Uncarpeted floors first need to be vacuumed or swept with an upright or push broom to remove the large dirt and debris. Second, it is recommended to go over the floors again with a fine microfiber dust mop to pick up all the remaining particles and dust. Doing both of these steps will best prepare hard floors for any other finishing.

Carpeted floors should to be thoroughly cleaned using a vacuum with a rotating brush roll to agitate the fibers and loosen dirt. Many of our single motor uprights and dual motor vacuums are lightweight and effective at cleaning around furniture and baseboards.

Shampoo Carpets
After a good vacuuming, carpets should be shampooed to remove the dirt stuck between the fibers. There are many types of carpet scrubbers on the market that can get the job done. The CleanFreak® Heated Carpet Spot Cleaner is a small yet powerful machine for home and small office carpet cleaning. Use it with an extractor shampoo solution such as our Bright Solutions® ‘Deep Extractor’ Carpet Extraction Cleaner formulated to clean soiled carpeting while safe for carpet fibers. For bigger carpet cleaning jobs, a larger self-contained carpet scrubber or box extractor could save you both time and money.

Scrub Tile Floors
It is important to use the right chemicals and equipment when Spring cleaning your tile floors. We recommend a cleaner designed specifically for grout and tile, like the Grout Scrubbing Floor Cleaning Solution. It will remove mold and mildew, restoring the grout naturally using hydrogen peroxide, and is Green Seal certified being both non-toxic and environmentally friendly. Use it with the Tennant® CS5 Micro-Scrubber to both apply the cleaning solution and then remove the dirty liquid to leave a clean, fresh-smelling tile floor.

Freshen Wood Flooring
The beauty of wood floors cannot be matched, but maintaining these floors takes a little extra care. There are products made just for cleaning hardwood floors, like the Brulin® TerraGreen Neutral Cleaner. This Green Seal Certified soap will remove dirt and grime, leaving a beautiful shine without requiring a rinse or polish afterwards. To remove tough, ground in dirt on varnished hardwood floors, the Mr. Clean Neutral Floor Cleaner used with an automatic walk behind scrubber will leave behind a clean floor with a fresh lemon scent. If your wood floor needs a little more revitalizing, you may also want give the floor a quick buff using the appropriate rotary floor scrubbing buffer with a wood floor buffing bonnet.

Wash Outdoor Rugs
Though they aren’t technically a floor, your outdoor rugs play a vital role in your indoor floor’s cleanliness. Outdoor rugs will have collected a large amount of dirt over the course of the winter, which is good since it prevents these contaminants from entering the building. It also means these heavy-duty rugs will need some heavy-duty cleaning. Since most outdoor rugs cannot be machine washed, Spring is the perfect time to bring out the hose and scrub brush to clean these rugs outside. First, rinse as much of the debris from the rugs as possible. Then, using a mild soap, scrub out all the remaining salt and dirt from between the fibers or bristles. Finally, give the rugs a final rinse, let them air dry, and your outdoor rugs can be returned to their original locations.

Maintaining your floors, especially after a harsh winter, will help ensure they last a long time. And just a reminder, when cleaning the floor could leave a slick surface (even when cleaning carpeting), it is always a good practice to put out wet floor signs for safety. For more floor cleaning instructions and tips, please visit our Resource Center.

NOTE: Remember to always verify with the manufacturer that you are using the right products and procedures to maintain your floor before beginning any project.