How is the Floor You Choose Maintained? - Consider these 4 points.

The maintenance of your commercial kitchen floor can determine how clean your kitchen will be, how safe it will be to walk on and its overall appearance. It is essential to understand precisely how the floor is maintained and what chemicals are used for cleaning. Do you have someone on staff who can maintain the floor to the right specifications?

Quarry Tile Floor

It is essential to maintain a Metropolitan Ceramics quarry tile floor correctly. Improper maintenance will affect the look, durability and slip resistance of the tile floor. Daily sweeping, damp mopping with hot water changed regularly and mop rinsing with clean water is recommended. Use a neutral cleaner. The tile floor should also be scrubbed weekly with hot water and a neutral cleaner using a deck brush. Pour water onto the floor and scrub. Excess water should be squeegeed into a drain. The floor should then be rinsed with clean water also squeegeed to a drain. A degreaser should be used (following the manufacturer’s instructions) when necessary.

Seamless Epoxy / Urethan Floor

Care must be taken when cleaning an epoxy coating floor. The floors can easily scratch, so any dirt or grit will need to be removed using a shop vac. You must be careful about moving any equipment across the floor to avoid scratching. Once the floor is free of grit and dirt, it can be cleaned with a mop and warm water. Avoid using soap-based cleaners, which can create a film. Never use citrus cleaners or vinegar to clean the floor, as these can break down the epoxy catalyst. Kitchen spills should be cleaned up immediately. A heavily soiled floor should be cleaned with a mix of ammonia and water. Be careful when using ammonia cleaners. Extreme care needs to be taken when using ammonia around food.

Stained Concrete Floor

Stained concrete should be cleaned using neutral cleaners. Avoid harsh cleaning products such as ammonia, citrus, bleach, or vinegar. The floor must be dust mopped or vacuumed with a shop vac to remove dirt and grit that might scratch the surface of the stained concrete floor. Kitchen spills should be cleaned up immediately. Degreasers and chemical stain removers should not be used on stained concrete. Since you’re primarily walking on the sealer, harsh chemicals can break down and sometimes remove the sealer, even after just one application. Making sure the cleaner and the sealer work with each other is key.

Vinyl Floor

Some Vinyl flooring is soft and can be easily scratched and dented. Care should be taken when moving any heavy equipment across these floors to clean. The vinyl floor should be swept or vacuumed to get rid of dirt and grit, which can scratch the floor. You can use a soft-bristle broom or non-oil treated mop. Use neutral cleaners to clean the floor. Change the water frequently or squeegee dirty water into a drain and rinse with clean water. You may be able to clean stubborn stains with harsher chemicals, but always follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. Avoid scrubbing along seams.

Quarry Tile

The only sealer recommended is a penetrating sealer. The added protection is beneficial in a commercial kitchen setting.  Never use wax or any “top coat” surfacing product. Shiny does not equal clean and safe. Low VOC penetrating sealers are available. If epoxy grout is used, no sealer is required for the grout.

Seamless Epoxy / Urethan Floor

A top coating of polyurethane or clear epoxy is sometimes applied to epoxy floors when used in commercial kitchen areas. The top layer is added to help protect the epoxy and is sometimes used as the medium to incorporate anti-slip additives. The top coating will begin to show wear with constant use and will need to be sanded and reapplied. Proper PPE and ventilation are required when sealing and re-sealing the floor.

Stained Concrete Floor

Stained concrete should be sealed when used in a commercial kitchen environment. Sealing will help protect the stain and the concrete. A variety of sealers are used for stained concrete, including solvent and acrylic-based, urethanes and even epoxies. Proper PPE and ventilation are required when sealing and re-sealing the floor with most sealers. A sealer will need to be reapplied as the floor begins to show wear. Reapplying sealer could be a regular occurrence, mainly depending on roller traffic.

Vinyl Floor

Vinyl floors may or may not need a top coating (sealer) when used in a commercial kitchen, but seams will need to be sealed. Seam care is dependent on whether they are chemically welded or heat welded. There are many vinyl flooring products available. Some vinyl products have a built-in protective layer. When a top coating is applied, there will need to be a regular maintenance schedule of sealing, stripping, and reapplying sealer. Proper PPE and ventilation are required when sealing and re-sealing the floor with most sealers.

Quarry Tile

You should perform daily maintenance on the floor by first sweeping then mopping with a neutral cleaner in hot water. Water should be changed regularly. Each week the floor should be scrubbed with a deck brush using a neutral cleaner in hot water. Squeegee the excess water to a drain. The floor should be rinsed with clean water and squeegeed to a drain. Depending on use, periodic professional maintenance (which may include steam cleaning, degreasing, hot water extracting, and agitation using a rotary brush) may be recommended. All of these systems can be used on quarry tile without concern. Following a scheduled maintenance routine will keep a Metropolitan Ceramics floor in excellent shape for many years.

Seamless Epoxy / Urethan Floor

Remove dirt and grit using a shop vac and clean with a sponge mop and warm water daily. Do not use soap-based cleaners, citrus cleaners, or vinegar to clean the floor. Acidic cleaners can break down the epoxy catalyst. Kitchen spills should be cleaned up immediately with a soft cloth — deep clean weekly with a mix of ammonia and water. You can also clean stains by scrubbing with ammonia and water. Be careful when using ammonia cleaners. The floor will likely need to be replaced every 2-5 years. Depending on use, periodic professional maintenance (which may include steam cleaning, degreasing, hot water extracting, and agitation using a rotary brush) may be recommended. Please be advised when using steam cleaning and rotary brushes. Their aggressive nature can harm epoxy or urethane floors.

Stained Concrete Floor

Stained concrete should be dust mopped or vacuumed and wet mopped daily using neutral cleaners. Change mop water often. Avoid harsh cleaning products such as ammonia, citrus, bleach, or vinegar. Immediately clean up Kitchen spills. Floors should be sealed fairly regularly to create a barrier between grime and the concrete. The floor must be dust mopped or vacuumed with a shop vac to remove dirt and grit that might scratch the surface of the stained concrete floor. Depending on use, periodic professional maintenance (which may include steam cleaning, degreasing, hot water extracting, and agitation using a rotary brush) may be recommended. When using professional maintenance, most often, the sealer will need to be reapplied because of the use of degreasers and steam cleaners.

Vinyl Floor

The maintenance schedule may vary based on the type of vinyl floor you have. Daily sweeping and mopping with warm water will be required. Mopping weekly with warm, clean water and a neutral cleaner will also be part of the maintenance routine. Vinyl floors that are sealed will require stripping and reapplication of sealer. Depending on use, periodic professional maintenance (which may include steam cleaning, degreasing, hot water extracting, and agitation using a rotary brush) may be recommended. Please be advised of using steam cleaners and rotary brushes, especially along seams. They may cause a failure in the floor.

Quarry Tile

A Metropolitan Ceramics quarry tile floor that is properly installed and maintained will not need many repairs. When a tile or two needs to be replaced, repairing the floor is simply a matter of removing the damaged tile(s), removing any loose grout and scraping away the old mortar. New tiles are then thin-set to the floor. Once the mortar has hardened, the new tiles are grouted and cleaned and a water-based penetrating sealer is applied to the repaired area. Most setting material manufacturers offer a “rapid set” or “quick set” product made for repair work. Repair time is reduced dramatically.

Seamless Epoxy / Urethan Floor

If installed incorrectly, repairing or recoating the floor may be necessary immediately after installation. Bubbles, delamination, and blistering in the epoxy can occur due to substrate and/ or prep work problems. In a commercial kitchen, these and other installation issues will need to be addressed immediately to avoid trapping food and debris in the floor. Other repairs like chipping, melting (blistering), and cracking can develop throughout the life of the epoxy floor. Small cracks may be filled with compound. For more extensive failures the epoxy will need to be ground away in the affected area. the floor re-prepped and new epoxy applied. In many cases, it may be better to resurface the entire floor. Sometimes this repair can be toxic, depending on the manufacturer. You can’t have toxic fumes around food service. Can you afford to close down your kitchen?

Stained Concrete Floor

If not installed properly, problems with stained concrete can occur soon after installation. Even installed correctly, with the heavy traffic of a commercial kitchen, wear patterns will likely show over time. Hot spills can easily damage a stained concrete floor. The concrete itself can chip and crack. Failures require grinding the concrete to remove existing stains and sealers, patching the concrete if needed and staining/sealing the concrete again. Repairs must be made to keep food from contaminating the exposed concrete. Be prepared to close the kitchen during repairs and resurfacing.

Vinyl Floor

Depending on the type of floor and how it is installed, repairs to a vinyl floor in a commercial kitchen environment may be a necessary part of floor maintenance. Vinyl can be susceptible to extreme heat and cold. Vinyl is also subject to chipping, cutting and cracking Some vinyl may have issues with delamination in wet and humid areas. Seams are often the first thing that needs to be repaired. And, yes, they will need to be repaired. If not, mold and bacteria can occur. This is not something you can throw a rubber mat over. A professional installer should make repairs. Some vinyl floors may not be able to be repaired and will need to be replaced.