Terrazzo and concrete have been around for hundreds of years, but they’re gaining notoriety lately in the green and well building movement because of their low-maintenance appeal. Terrazzo and concrete floors don’t need to be sealed with a polymer coating, and never need to be stripped or refinished. However, there are some nuanced ways to take care of these types of floors, in conjunction with our award-winning line of Concrete and Terrazzo care.
A key part of this program is the use of specially designed diamond floor pads to prepare and polish the surface. We‘ve been hearing about diamond pads for a while in the floor care world, and they do sound glamorous. They’re also efficient and easy to adapt. Diamond pads are actually designed to polish floors without grinding the surface. Just as the name indicates, these pads are embedded with industrial diamonds. Many of the diamond pads on the market have a topical coating of industrial diamonds, but the ones Charlotte has developed are 100% diamond infused. That means the diamonds are actually woven into the pad. We’ve calculated that distinction will give you an increased labor savings of up to 60% because it gets the job one even quicker. Since our diamond pads are 100% infused versus topical coating pads, they last longer, which means less of them wind up in the landfill. This is a positive contribution to sustainable directives.
Diamond pads come in varying levels abrasiveness, measured by grit. The higher the grit, the more diamonds and thus, the more abrasive the pad. We recommend starting with a 200 grit pad for the initial preparation, then a 400 grit followed by an 800 grit pad for the final honing stage. From here, we recommend using our 1500 or 3000 grit pad for increasing and maintaining the shine. We always recommend that you use a grit pad with the same number or higher than what you have previously used. So, if you have used a 1500 grit pad to clean or burnish your floor in the past, then you should use pads with at least 1500 grit or higher on your auto scrubber to maintain the appearance.
Use Existing Equipment
One of the things about this program that makes it so easy and cost-efficient to adapt is that these diamond pads can be used with the autoscrubbers you already have. We do recommend double passes for each grit in opposite directions. Scrubbing in this pattern ensures that every point on the floor is scrubbed twice on each pass, contacting all points on the floor four times in total. Training should be relatively simple because there is no change to the equipment usage, other than the path we recommend. The floor care regimen for terrazzo and concrete floors requires significantly less steps than more traditional floor care programs. After you are done with them, your pads can be rinsed in hot water and hung to dry. Reuse them as needed.
Safety First
We spend so much time on floor care because we want our floors to shine, but well maintained floors are also a basic safety concern. Well maintained floors have better traction, reducing the risk of slips and falls and saving money related to lawsuits in the long run. Following this program allows you to eliminate the need to deep strip and refinish floors, which is the most risky period for slips and falls in a building. The key to making the most out of flooring substrates like terrazzo and concrete is knowing how best to care for them without damaging them. If you’re lucky enough to work in a building that is implementing lower maintenance flooring like terrazzo and concrete, you’ll be amazed to see how much time you free up by eliminating the costly, risky and labor intensive stripping and refinishing process.
Morale Boost
Doing your homework to understand the details behind our recommendations for diamond pads will go a very long way toward protecting those floors and keeping the process risk-free and efficient. Your workforce is going to love the painless transition using existing equipment and less chemicals. In fact, by eliminating stripping and refinishing alone from your team’s to-do list, you will create a healthier work environment, boosting worker morale. Make sure you let your team know how this type of change is better for their health so that they can understand how your value their work and safety.
For more information on terrazzo floor care, contact Charlotte Products at experts@charlotteproducts.com
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