Rubber Floor Care

Rubber floors can be tricky! Arm yourself with the best tools and solutions to care for rubber flooring.

1. Vacuum Surface Dirt

Like any other surface, vacuum prior to doing any wet scrubbing or cleaning. For rubber floors you won’t want a beater bar on your vacuum if possible – that’s why backpacks are perfect. Vacuums do a much better job of picking up and containing dust and contaminants from textured surfaces, like the studding found on a rubber floor, than sweeping and mopping do.

2. Spray with Neutral Cleanser

Cleaning solutions used will vary. In most cases, a neutral cleaner will do, but in healthcare or poolside situations you may need to use a sanitizing or disinfecting solution. When using anything other than neutral cleaners, be sure to read the label to ensure that they are safe for use on rubber floors.

3. Extract or Scrub Out the Dirt

Once the floor requires wet cleaning, you have a few choices. The preferred method is with dual surface extractors. The soils will get blasted away with pressurized water and the water and soils get picked up immediately with a squeegee wand, leaving the floor clean and dry. Many of these types of machines sell the wands separately, so you’ll want to be sure you get a hard floor wand that’s safe for use on rubber flooring.

You may also use auto scrubbers or rotary machines, provided they have soft, nylon brushes or soft pads (PHOTO 3). More aggressive brushes and pads can be damaging, so make sure you know what’s on your machine before you start scrubbing. The tough part when choosing auto scrubbers is that there are different weights, brush pressures & bristle stiffness out there, and rubber floors vary enough that you may have some trial and error to find the best set-up. With rotary machines, you’ll need to be sure that you recover the solution right away as rubber floors are very porous. A mop will work, but a wet vacuum is even better.

Why are rubber floors becoming so popular? Check out our article on the why and how of rubber flooring.