Facility Type Vs. Level of Clean

For the past few weeks, we have been talking about what “clean” really means, how it is defined and what components make up a cleaning program. Regardless of these factors, the type of facility ultimately defines the standard of “clean,” and can vary between using water-only cleaning or different detergent solution strengths.

Most facilities’ standards of “clean” for porous floor materials would require that the cleaning solution be able to penetrate the small spaces where soil accumulates. Water alone, because of its surface tension, actually sits on top of porous flooring. Porous flooring types—which include grouted tile, terrazzo, vinyl composition tile (VCT), concrete and rubberized track surface—require a cleaning agent called a surfactant that breaks the surface tension of the water, allowing it to get into cracks and crevices.

Let’s visualize this. Healthcare facilities or food processing and preparation areas require bacteria to be reduced to a safe level. This sanitizing level of cleaning requires a chemical disinfectant such as a phenolic or carbolic that gets into cracks and crevices where viruses reside.

On the other hand, facilities with an emphasis on cleaning for appearance, such as retail stores and grocery stores, might choose water-only cleaning methods for frequent cleaning procedures. However, it should also be noted that if the local water supply delivers mineral-laden water, these minerals can leave deposits that make floors look dull over time—perhaps even worse than they looked before cleaning.

The bottom line? Assess your facility’s cleaning needs before you define your level of “clean.”

Maximize Productivity With a Cost-Efficient Cleaning Program

Studies show that labor represents 90% or more of the total cost of floor cleaning—meaning that workers are the largest share of the total cost to clean. What can you do to increase worker productivity, but still keeps cost low? The answer: employ a cost-efficient cleaning program. But what does that really mean? What makes a floor-cleaning machine “productive,” and how do you evaluate floor-cleaning machines for productivity?

Today's automated floor-cleaning equipment includes efficiency features that can lead to greater productivity, such as longer cleaning times between dump-and-fill cycles, faster ride-on and self-propelled equipment, wider cleaning paths, and the ability to perform multiple operations with one machine, to list just a few. Determining which floor-cleaning equipment will deliver the highest productivity per application and, in turn, decrease overall cleaning time and costs, requires careful consideration.

The following two posts will delve further into equipment features that contribute to cleaning productivity, and ultimately, decrease overall cleaning time and reduce the total cost to clean. Stay tuned!