Industrial floors are notoriously hard to keep clean. They can get dirty quickly, and they have a lot of places where dust, dirt, and grime can hide. This means that it takes a lot of effort to ensure that your industrial floor looks good and feels clean.
Hence, to clean an industrial floor is a difficult job. You want to ensure your work is done as efficiently and quickly as possible so you can get on to the next project. But when you’re cleaning a floor with a lot of grease, oil, dirt, and grime, you can never be too careful.
In addition, cleaning an industrial floor takes a lot of time and resources – a lot more compared to a regular residential floor, not only because of the space, but also because of the way the floor is used.
Heavy machinery, huge furniture, and hundreds of employees performing all sorts of activities take a toll even on industrial floors of the highest quality, so regular maintenance is an absolute must.
In this guide, we will take a look at how to clean an industrial floor in 10 steps. However, it’s important to keep in mind that in many cases, you may not have the right equipment to achieve the results of professionals – in which case, you can also consider professional floor care specialists.
1. Work in stages to clean an industrial floor
There are two stages to the cleaning process: the preparation stage and the actual cleaning process itself. To do the job right, it’s important to prepare yourself properly so you don’t ruin anything.
First, you must remove everything from the industrial floor, including any obstacles like cables, equipment, or machines. This is important to ensure that you have reached every centimeter of your floor – otherwise, dirt and dust will keep accumulating over time.
In addition, heavy equipment will not only make the cleaning process more difficult, but may also cause potential harm if not handled the right way.
Then, you’ll need to make sure the room is empty. You must remove everything that could come into contact with the floor while cleaning. Finally, you’ll need to sweep and vacuum the floor.
2. Use the right equipment
The first thing you need to do to clean an industrial floor is to make sure you have all the right equipment for the job. You don’t want to be stuck trying to scrape away at the grime without the right tools for each step of the process.
If you don’t have the right equipment, you won’t have a very successful cleaning experience. A vacuum cleaner is the most important equipment to clean an industrial floor. You need one that has the power to lift and pull up dirt, debris, and other nasty things from the floor.
Unfortunately, a regular vacuum cleaner that you use at home may not be enough to do the job. Depending on the state of your floor, you may need to use an industrial vacuum cleaner – they are usually with higher quality and better engineering.
Industrial vacuum cleaners are designed to meet the demands of large areas and commercial buildings as they require a lot more power and durability than household models. In fact, they can be up to 10 times more powerful than regular vacuums, making sure that they have the capability to properly clean the whole space.
Using the right tools is key to any successful DIY cleaning job. Hence, the best way to clean an industrial floor is making sure that you have what it’s needed to actually get the job done.
You can use a variety of tools, but you should make sure to choose a couple of different tools for your work. You can consider some of these for the cleaning process:
- Power Washer
- Air Compressor
- Vacuum
- Floor Scraper
- Dust mop
- Cleaning Brush
- Sponge
If you want to make the job go faster, you can even try buying some of these tools.
3. Try pressure cleaning for the best results
When cleaning a floor in an industrial environment, you need to apply pressure to all the surfaces you clean. This allows you to make sure that you really get all of the debris off of the floor.
The more pressure you apply, the easier it is to get rid of the dirt and grime that can be found on the floor.
Apply pressure to the floor while using a scrubbing brush or mop. Doing this will help loosen any dirt or residue that’s been sitting on the surface.
Most people are familiar with the concept of applying a pressure release foam to a grease spill. These foams are available in most hardware stores or big box retailers.
But the thing is, not all pressure-release foams are equal. Some will leave a sticky residue on the floor. Others will soak up grease very well. And some won’t do either.
It’s important to choose one that’s right for the job. And that means reading the instructions that come with it. There should be some kind of symbol on the top of the container to indicate what type of surface it works best on.
Again, we should not forget that we are talking about industrial floors, and not residential. Industrial floors, especially the ones in larger spaces and building areas, might require features that tools for residential work simply don’t have, or are not powerful enough.
4. Sanitize and disinfect
One of the most important things is sanitizing your industrial floor. If you’ve been keeping the area well cleaned and maintained, you should sanitize it for a few hours or a day.
Sanitizing and disinfecting an industrial floor helps prevent bacteria from growing and makes sure that it’s safe to walk on. It also gets rid of the odor and smells that come with bacteria.
It’s also essential to disinfect your industrial floor regularly if many people are walking through the space and your employees frequently touch objects on the floor.
Disinfecting your workplace is one of the most important steps you can take to keep workers healthy. This includes disinfecting the floors as well. You can use household disinfectants like household bleach, but it’s also possible to use commercial-grade disinfectants in this case.
For example, you may need a chlorine disinfectant in the case of an office, whereas a cleaning agent with an iodine or bromine base would be more effective for a greasy industrial floor.
You should also know that while disinfectants will clean your floors, they don’t actually prevent dirt or grime from building up over time. Instead, you need to clean them regularly to ensure they look and feel clean.
5. Don’t forget the corners and crevices
Corners and crevices must be cleaned thoroughly. Your best tool for cleaning these areas is a floor brush or cleaning brush.
If you don’t own one, don’t worry. You can also use a plastic bucket with a spout in it or even a simple rag and bucket of water. Just ensure you’ve got plenty of lukewarm water and a little soap.
6. Pick the right cleaning solutions to clean an industrial floor
Choosing the right cleaning solution is important. Industrial floor cleaners must be highly effective at removing stains from the floor.
The problem is that cleaning solutions for industrial floors don’t always perform very well. They often lack the right chemicals to remove all the stains on industrial floors.
You should avoid using anything too weak because they won’t be able to do their job properly. Instead, you should use strong, specially formulated cleaners to clean an industrial floor.
They come with many active ingredients specifically designed to remove stains and grime on your industrial floor.
Make sure that it doesn’t contain toxic chemicals. Instead, you should look for a product with the right concentration and type of cleaning agents for the job.
7. Remove spills immediately
The important rule of any floor cleaning job is immediately removing all spills. If you don’t do this, they can become permanent fixtures on your floor.
That is why you must always use an industrial cleaner with strong anti-bacterial properties to clean an industrial floor.
In addition to that, it is important to note that spills must be cleaned immediately. It is one of those things that you just can’t leave for long.
As soon as you notice that a spill is there, take the time to remove it. You should clean up spills as soon as you notice them. Doing otherwise is just asking for trouble.
Industrial floors often have a lot of places that are prone to spills. These include pipes, drains, electrical outlets, and other large equipment.
You can get these things out of the way by using a shop vac to vacuum them up before you begin any cleaning. This will remove any dust or dirt in the pipes and drain and prevent it from building up over time.
8. Place mats at entryways
If you have a small factory, place mats at the entrance, and the steps can help keep the floor tidy. Placemats are cheap and easy to use.
These mats will prevent anyone from walking on your floor without causing dirt. It is easier to clean these mats occasionally than to sweep the floor or clean underneath the door.
Hence, try placing mats there instead of sweeping. This way, you can ensure that you get all the dirt from the mats before wiping the floor.
9. Train employees on proper cleaning procedures
Having a well-trained staff is one of the most important things to clean an industrial floor. It is not enough for someone to know how to clean a floor; they also need to know how to clean it properly.
If they don’t know how to do their job correctly, they will only make things worse. This is why you must train your staff on what you expect from them. Also, ensure that there is a system in place that allows them to report any problems they encounter while working.
So, if you train your staff, you’ll have fewer problems. You can easily prevent accidents, such as falling over in a grease trap or getting caught up in machinery.
10. Clean an industrial floor with professional help
Even with years of experience under your belt, cleaning a new industrial floor might be a little bit daunting.
Hence, when you feel overwhelmed by the task, or you simply don’t have the right tools to get the job done properly, you should consider taking help from a professional company to clean an industrial floor.
TCS Floors is a team of floor care specialists with more than 30 years of experience in the industry. We provide floor cleaning services for retail companies, schools, hospitals, warehouses, storage facilities, office spaces, churches, city and state buildings, and more. Contact us to get your quote right away.
Employ these tips to clean an industrial floor for the best results.
