The Boston area is famous for our wonderful hospitals, healthcare facilities, and laboratories—some of the best in the world. All those rooms mean a lot of cleaning.
You already know that keeping your floors at their best is vital to the health and safety of your facility. And we all know that one of the most expensive and disruptive services commercial cleaning companies offer is stripping and waxing VCT floors — and forget about the cost and headaches of replacing flooring.
What you want is a workable, healthy replacement for traditional wax for your floors.
Look for an environmentally friendly, non-yellowing polyurethane finish, which will pay for itself out of your floor stripping and waxing budget. You can find products in satin, matte, and high gloss finishes; some have additives to prevent marking or that provide slip resistance. Remember, it can cost $25,000 for every slip and fall, so use this to avoid lawsuits and lower your insurance liability.
The worst hassle and expense is, of course, VAT. No one wants to deal with the safety and health issues or the enormous headaches involved in removing and then disposing of any product containing asbestos. (A main reason some older floors resemble archeological digs, with layer on layer of tile.)
Today’s higher-quality polyurethane finishes allow the addition of opaque color to the formula — you can change the color of your floor to any color you want. Make sure your products are non-yellowing; some can be applied over VCT, VAT, sheet and luxury vinyl — and give ceramic, stone, wood, and concrete a beautiful, long-lasting, low-maintenance glow.
This solution saves money, time, and ensures continued excellent hygiene; because it does away with strip and wax it conserves energy and water; and the best polyurethanes have extremely low VOC release.
A great finish solves maintenance problems, and keeps your flooring clean and sanitary — with no more strip and wax.
Jay Marr is Regional Manager, Boston, a full-service flooring provider specializing in environmentally safe flooring solutions for commercial interiors. www.rdweis.com