When it comes to keeping floors clean and properly maintained in office space, one often ignored practice is the tile floor sealing. If floor sealing is neglected, not only will the floor’s appearance deteriorate, but the life and performance of the floors will suffer. In some cases, neglect will cause potential health hazards that could affect building occupants.
Maintaining the appearance and functionality of an office space is of utmost importance. You will never have a second chance for a first impression! Employers rely on facility managers, purchase officers, office managers, property managers and other professionals to maintain their office buildings. These professionals in turn may rely on a building maintenance service to execute.
If you are responsible for ensuring the proper maintenance of a facility, and in particular the floor maintenance, keeping the floors glossy and clean for the best possible appearance and the safety of workers and guests should be of interest to you. Floors are the most noticeable item of a maintenance program.
Floor Types to Consider for Sealing
To seal or not to seal?
This question is answered when you know the floor type you are walking on!
Most floors fall into one of three (3) categories:
- Hard
- Soft
- Resilient
They are further divided in the following types:
- Hardwood
- Laminate
- Marble
- Terrazzo
- Cork
- Bamboo
- Linoleum
- Concrete
- Stone
- Glass
- Brick
- Tile
Tile Flooring
The most popular Tile flooring are as follows:
- Vinyl
- Ceramic
- Quarry
- Porcelain
- Encaustic
- Mosaic
- Cement
- Natural Stone
- Terracotta
Depending on the manufacturer of these flooring materials, they may or may not require sealers to provide optimum appearance, performance, and durability. It depends on the porosity of the floor material installed.
Common Flooring Types in Offices
The two most common types of tile flooring used in office settings are Vinyl Composition Tile (VCT) and Ceramic. VCT is normally installed with twelve-inch squares. Ceramic tiles come in a larger variety of shapes and sizes. It is most recognizable by the grout lines in between the tiles.
Key Reasons for Floor Sealing
As a facility manager or a purchase officer, it is a part of your responsibility to make enduring and budget-friendly decisions, right? If you have any type of flooring containing porous spaces on the surface, it needs to be sealed, period. This includes VCT, grout lines for Ceramic Tile, concrete, natural stones, and some types of linoleum. If you are still on the fence whether you should go for sealing of the hard or resilient floors in your office space, read on… The straight answer is “Yes, you should”. But let’s delve into the “Whys?”.
Floor Sealing Prevents Stains
Your office space where you must ensure decorum and cleanliness. This helps keep your employees happy and clients attracted to visit. How can you ensure decorum and cleanliness with a stained floor? Sealing ensures the pores of the flooring or grout are sealed to prevent staining on the floor caused from soils and liquids and other material that gets tracked in or spilled. The timely cleaning of spills also plays a vital part in keeping tiles stain free.
Sealing Prolongs Floor’s Life
Periodic sealing of Ceramic Tile grout, VCT and other porous floor surfaces will increase the durability and performance of the floor. The sealant provides a resilient protective layer to the floor’s surface serving to guard against micro scratches caused from foot traffic soils. Maintaining a good seal on floor surfaces helps to reduce wear of the actual grout or flooring material, thus, prolonging the life of the floor. Floor sealing also may help to avoid or postpone costly repairs caused from excessive wear and tear.
Floor Sealing Makes Cleaning More Effective
Protective sealing makes daily mopping more effective. It can reduce floor cleaning labor and time up to 50% and enables a more effective result. Sealing helps maintain a floor’s appearance for as long as the sealer is there.
Floor Sealing Promotes Hygiene and a Clean Working Environment
When porous floors are properly sealed, any spills (including urine in restroom areas) will not penetrate the pores of the floor or grout. When pours are sealed, these surfaces can be thoroughly cleaned without any residue left behind. As a result, there is less chance of bacteria growth and subsequent odor and potentially, pest infestations. Overall, sealing porous floors will promote good hygiene in your workspace. Sealing is particularly recommended for optimum hygiene in the following use:
- Medical
- Food processing factories
- Restrooms and kitchens in restaurants, offices, and other public spaces
Floor Sealing Prevents Mold and Any Other Growths
Another threat to hygiene is the growth of mold. Mold can grow anywhere, especially in moist areas, when the conditions are right. The Environmental Protection Agency has more information on this here. Restrooms and breakrooms are ideal places for mold growth in porous floor tiles or grout lines. Mold is an issue of health as well as aesthetics, since it causes unsightly staining on the floor, and usually affects walls too. Seal porous tile flooring and grout to prevent unwanted moisture and potential mold issues.
If mold has already infested your place, the only effective solution for mold removal is hiring a remediation expert.
Upshot
IN summary, sealing not only gives your floors a better appearance, it also can potentially avoid premature wear and tear on floors. It will help to prevent staining, extend the floor’s useful life, and promote healthier hygiene for any workspace. Floors are subject to a lot of “abuse” in commercial settings. Overall, it is prudent for you as a facility manager or property manager to ensure porous floors are properly sealed.
Square Feat is Here to Handle all your Flooring and Janitorial Needs!
Ask your janitorial service provider to handle any cleaning issues you may have promptly and efficiently. If this is not happening, it might be time to look for another janitorial service. Does your cleaning service get back to you in a timely fashion if not the same day? They should be.
Square Feat has been serving commercial clients in the Phoenix metropolitan area for more than two decades with basic janitorial services, carpet cleaning, floor refinishing, sealing and other specialized services.
Please, visit this page to learn more about the cleaning services they provide or to obtain a free no obligation quote for your facility. contact us here or call 480-777-0605 to schedule an appointment to survey your facility.
