Cleaning & Janitorial Supplies

Jangro Member

Cleaning Techniques & Procedures

An Introduction to Floors and Floor Coverings

Floors are usually divided into three categories for maintenance purposes.

• RESILIENT FLOORS (or floors which "give" underfoot), including Linoleum, Thermoplastic, vinyl, rubber, wood, and cork.
• HARD FLOORS Including stone, concrete, granolithic, terrazzo, marble, quarry tiles etc.
• SOFT FLOORS Which includes all types of carpeting

This latter category "SOFT", is some times used in American terminology to include most of the RESILIENT range of floors, but for our purposes the "SOFT" group refer to carpets.

Resilient Floors
These can again be divided into two categories "NATURAL" floors which are made from living plants, and include wood, (in various forms), linoleum and cork. Rubber is also a natural product but it differs drastically from the other in maintenance procedures, and is treated separately for this reason. "SYNTHETIC" floors are "man made" or manufactured from materials other than natural. It would appear at first glance that Linoleum is in the wrong company, as it is obviously a manufactured material, however it is composed practically entirely of natural products.

It is interesting to note that the invention of linoleum was brought about in the latter half of the nineteenth century through experiments to find some use for the tough pliable skin that forms on top of oil-paint when it is exposed to the air. This film was skimmed off, dried and used initially as a wall covering, later by mixing it with cork granule or sawdust and pressing it onto a jute backing it became the material we know today. It remained unchallenged for many years as the almost universal alternative to bare wood or stone floors.

The first of the synthetic floor coverings in sheet and tile form did not appear until the 1930's and the earliest of these was the asphalt tile, which was a development of the road building industry. The asphalt tile was followed by the thermoplastic, vinyl asbestos, vinyl. Between they very soon captured the major portion of the flooring market.

Nowadays there is a very wide range of these floorings to choose from, and all sorts of combinations of materials being used to give the flooring specific qualities to meet the demands of the traffic conditions which they are likely to be subjected to. For instance, some are backed with a layer of foam rubber to give them added "springiness" and to make them quiet underfoot - this is ideal for hospitals, corridors, libraries and old peoples homes. A special type which was developed during the fashion period when stiletto heels were desecrating floors was designed on the principle of the trampoline - it has a jute webbing, stretched tight, sandwiched between an upper layer of vinyl and a lower layer of cork, hence it recovered quickly from heavy pressure on a small area - in fact it "bounced" back as it were to normal, leaving very little marking ideal for department stores, etc. Then there is the standard asphalt tile, which is the least resilient of these smooth floors, it can be recognised by the smaller size of tile and harder feel underfoot.

Resilient floors in the form of tiles are normally cut square for ease of laying, but other more expensive tiles are indexed. These are cut to conform with the pattern, much the same as a jig-saw puzzle and when laid no joins or seams can be detected. Others are made in sheet form, and obviously this offers big economies in the price of laying and some can be welded so that the seams are practically invisible and impervious to water, comparable with the seamless floors.

Resilient floors are available in a very wide range of colours and designs and among some modern types can be found those which have been made to imitate the old types of floors which they have now replaced; such as ceramic tiles, marble, wood and even rough hewn stone, thus combining the decorative qualities of the old materials with the convenience and ease of maintenance of the new - indeed, it could be said that the trend of fashion in flooring has now turned a full circle.

A special type of seamless floor which is often found in hospital operating theatre areas is the conductive type or as it is sometimes erroneously called "anti-static" flooring. This is installed to remove the danger of a spark caused by static electricity igniting the explosive gases used in anaesthetics.

This is effected by incorporating in the floor metal or carbon particles which act in the same way as the earth wire in an electrical appliance, and allows any potentially dangerous static to leak away harmlessly into the ground. Often they are laid in panels, "in situ" with earthing separating rods in between.

Another specialist resilient floor is "Altro" safety floor again commonly found in hospitals, kitchens, schools etc, It has the appearance of sheet vinyl but has a rough finish which is achieved by adding grit to the surface, thus giving excellent grip when used on gradients or other areas where there is a danger of slipping. As with anti static flooring this floor must not have a seal or dressing applied, as this will counteract the purpose for which it is intended. Both floors should be scrubbed and suction dried only.

Hard Floors
It would be impossible to itemise every floor falling into this category, but as with resilient floors, only general type groups will be dealt with. The most common type is concrete which is a mixture of cement and sand and water, it is laid wet, trowelled to a finish then left to dry-out. The major draw-back with concrete floors is their tendency to create a dust problem, because all their life they will shed dust to some extent, and this is aggravated by the fact that once the concrete dust is produced it becomes self-generating. The dust is abrasive and all movement of traffic be it foot or wheeled, grinds off a little of the floor with each movement and therefore creates more dust. However, this problem can be solved by sealing the concrete.

Granolithic

Is a term describing special types of concrete finish which have had granite dust or other special products added to the mix to give a superior grade of floor with a smooth surface.

Marble and Terrazzo

Marble is natural stone cut from the quarry face and is mostly imported from Italy. It is laid in slabs or tiles in a cement bed and then honed or polished to a high finish, and the various grades are described as Florentine, Travertine etc. Terrazzo is composed of marble chips mixed with cement and is laid either as a continuous screed or in the form of tiles or slabs by inserting dividing strips of brass or similar material to divide the screed into the required size of section. The final polish is then obtained by wet grinding using a special polishing machine fitted with carborundum blocks to smooth off the surface

Terrazzo tiles are also available for quicker results in laying floors but once again the final polish has to be obtained with the machine after the tiles have been laid. This flooring is widely used in shopping malls and supermarkets

Quarry tiles

Are a popular choice of floor for kitchens, food preparation areas, butchery departments, etc. Their very hard wearing qualities and comparative ease of maintenance makes them suitable for such areas where there is a high degree of food spillage. These tiles are made from a clay mix which is fired in moulds in a kiln at very high temperature, which makes them stone hard.

Ceramic tiles

Are characterised by their glazed or matt surface and are used for flooring in kitchens, supermarkets, swimming pool surrounds, and changing rooms, where a high degree of cleanliness is essential.

Slate Slabs

This long abandoned flooring is once again finding favour with some architects, particularly in the university type of building. The most popular being imported from Scandinavia and laid in slabs about two feet square in a cement bed and left semi-rough for maximum slip resistance. There is also a variety of man-made substitutes for these hard floors - one looks like wood blocks but wears like stone, another looks like terrazzo but is really plastic and no doubt the range will increase as new products are developed.

Soft Floors
The use of soft flooring (carpeting) has increased dramatically over the years, this is because carpet has the advantage of being quieter under foot and can cost less to maintain than a resilient floor. Also it provides a more "homely" or up-market image to hospitals, offices, retail stores, etc. This would not have been possible but for the production of carpets which are harder wearing, easier to clean and maintain, and less liable to shrink or colour bleed. Carpeting comes in a multitude of colours, materials, (man-made and natural) and types of construction (woven, tufted, needle punch etc). It can be loose laid in tile form, perimeter fixed or glued to the sub floor in sheet form up to 4 metre wide. Not to be confused with conventional carpeting is a product called "Flotex" which is manufactured by creating a elecro-magnetic charge in the nylon fibres to fix them in the latex backing, when this floor covering is glued to the sub floor it can be flooded with water with no detrimental affect to the "Flotex" or sub floor. It is widely used in hospitals.

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