Care & Maintenance Guide
The manufacturing facility is a dynamic interaction of people, vehicles, machineries and materials and the common platform is the floor, an area that is still generally misunderstood and neglected. Hence, taking care of your floors is the sine qua non a facility’s quality programme. The wide array of floor coatings available in the market make it arduous to choose what is good for your requirements. The main parameters are cost, performance, appearance and life expectancy. Look at the flooring systems that meet your expectations as well as fulfil performance parameters. Dr.Cipy assists you in choosing the right flooring system, from the miscellany of Cipy flooring systems, to suit to your site conditions as well as to withstand mechanical, chemical and thermal abuses your floors undergo every day. All installed Cipy floorings need adequate cleaning and maintenance at frequent intervals. Failure in maintaining Cipy floors properly often results in failures in performance as well as in aesthetics, as uncleaned dirt and dust always act as abrasive agents.
One should formulate the cleaning regime in an organized manner and then train all the members of the cleaning crew, from supervisor to cleaners on all aspects of the Cipy Floor Care including the cleaning frequencies. When your company puts a lot of value to aesthetics, you need to understand the limitations of man-made floor coatings, as no material is totally immune to all sorts of physical and chemical abuses. Too often, the flooring performs below the standards due to misapplication of the cleaning and maintenance guidelines.
Floor Coatings Maintenance Guidelines
Proper maintenance will increase the life and appearance of your Cipy floorings. The frequency of maintenance will depend on your work environment and the amount of dirt and soilage that accumulates on your floors. Dirt and dust are abrasive and will quickly dull the finish and decrease the life of your flooring. Liquids can stain and damage the finish. The greater the accumulation of soilage, the more frequently you will need to clean your floorings. Therefore, we suggest you develop a regular floor care maintenance program with the following maintenance tips:
Sweep your floor each day with a mechanized cleaning equipment.
Scrub your floor at least twice a week using the correct brush and detergent.
Clean up spills immediately before they have a chance to soften the coating and damage the finish.
Place mats near entryways to minimize dirt and moisture in the facility.
Don’t slide heavy machinery or materials across the floor without protection. This will scratch and gouge the floor coating.
Repair any large scratch as soon as possible.
Don’t drop heavy or pointed items on the floor.
Don’t use stiff bristle brushes or brushes that contain wire.
No cleaining with caustic soda solutions or solvents, which will dull the flooring.
Dragging of any objects should be avoided.
Falling of sharp-edged objects should be avoided.
Iron filings and turnings should be collected from the floor and kept in storage bins. The plastic trolley wheels carrying these iron shavings will cause deep scratches on the topcoats. These scratches, then develop into slits and the oil and water are then penetrated into floors, causing de-lamination.
Storage bins should have rubber mounted bases.
Sweeping, Washing & Scrubbing
Sweeping
Sweep floors daily with mechanized sweeping equipment to prevent dust and dirt from accumulating. If using a mechanized sweeper, be sure to use a soft bristle brush. Stiff brushes may scratch the flooring, causing to lose its gloss.
Washing & Scrubbing
Use mild detergents recommended for floor cleaning. In very soiled areas, allow the cleaning liquids to penetrate into floor for five minutes or in accordance with product instructions before rinsing. Highly contaminated areas may require several passes. The frequency of scrubbing depends on the amount and type of soilage, however, all floors should be scrubbed at least once a week. High traffic areas such as aisle-ways should be scrubbed daily with a mechanized scrubber. The mechanized floor machine should be equipped with soft nylon brushes or white pads. The aggressive brushes and pads will dull the surface. Areas where oil and grease are frequently used will require daily scrubbing.
Liquid spills
Spills are safety hazards and spills of caustics, acids, and solvents should be cleaned up immediately so as to prevent damage to your floor coating. Harsh liquids that are allowed to remain on the floor may soften, discolour, or completely remove the flooring. As per international norms, discolouration is not termed as coating failures.
Scratches and Gouges
Avoid sliding heavy machinery, pallets, or sharp objects across the floor, as it will cut and gouge your flooring. Also, moisture can seep through the cuts and result in delamination. To repair damaged areas, call Cipy authorized applicators immediately. (Note: Patches will not merge completely with the main flooring due to the colour variation between aged and fresh flooring)
Stain prevention and removal
If stains occur, remove it with a mild solution, progressing to stronger removers until the stain disappears. Inks, dyes and stains, which are of absorbing nature, cannot be completely removed.
Dried spills and stubborn stains
A spill, which is not removed immediately, may dry and leave a hard residue or stain that will be difficult to remove.
a. If the spill has dried, use a plastic tool to remove any residue, taking adequate care not to scratch the flooring.
b. If stain persists, soak the area with a mild detergent. Allow 10 minutes for soaking before scrubbing and rinsing. If the stain is still there, soak the stain with a strong detergent, before scrubbing and rinsing.
c. If detergent does not remove the stain, wet a clean cloth with a household bleach and wipe the stained area to remove the stain.
d. If the stain still remains, sand the area lightly with steel wool.
Rubber marks and burns
Rubber marks are sediments of rubber deposited on the surface of the flooring, which can be removed by scrubbing with a strong concentration of detergent and water. However, rubber burns are carbon deposits on the flooring caused by heat and friction from spinning tyres when the vehicle abruptly stops and turns, which can’t be removed quite easily. In such areas, Dr.Cipy’s Polyaspartic floorings are recommended which have excellent hot tyre pick up resistance.
Above all, the Cipy FloorCare Culture is to be instilled amongst all, as we have to make them understand that floor is not a place of contempt, where anything is to be dumped and broomed. Clean, well-kept, well maintained, Cipy floorings represent the image, the outlook, the attitude of your organization.