If you don’t take measures to prepare your floors for winter, they’ll end up enduring a battle between salt, dirt, and moisture. Depending on your workplaces floor type, the end result will be distorted and warped hardwood floors, broken tiles, stained floors, and/or heavily stained carpets. Here’s how you can go about protecting your workplace for winter:
Guard Against Moisture
During winter, moisture is one of the biggest risks you should guard against. For laminate flooring, if the moisture in the tile assembly freezes, it can stress various tiles components, causing them to crack. Hardwood floors, when exposed to moisture seepage, end up warping and eventually, they lift. As winter approaches, making sure your drainage system is in tip-top condition will prevent waterlogging that can cause seepage into the floors.
Floor Mats
As winter approaches, you can never have too many floor mats. During winter, our shoes drag moisture and water indoors, and the longer water and salt sit on the floor, the more likely they are to damage them. To protect your floors you need to make sure mats are placed at all entrances. The water, dirt and grime will stay on the mat while your building stays dry and safe, all the while, decreasing the chances of slips and falls. The entranceway of your office will also be safeguarded from scuffs or scratches. The best mats to purchase are those that can be laundered or those that can be hosed off within minutes.
Increase Vacuuming
In winter, carpets soak up moisture, dust, and allergens. If your workplace floor is carpeted you need to increase vacuuming to prevent salt damage. A carpet that has already soaked up moisture will begin to smell bad if not vacuumed regularly. Unattended wet carpet is also prone to mould and mildew. Apart from causing allergies, mould and mildew can cause discolouration. Rather than waiting for the moisture and mould to permeate the carpet, call a cleaning company before the carpet becomes too damaged to restore.
Guard Against Temperatures
Fluctuations in temperature can adversely affect hardwood and laminate flooring. During winter we tend to shut all the doors and windows and increase the indoor temperatures, turning heaters on. This ends up reducing the indoor moisture levels. As a result, if your flooring is hardwood tiles, they suddenly begin to shrink and gaps appear between the tiles. On the other hand, if yours is laminate flooring, fluctuations in temperatures may result in tile curling, peeling, and other forms of damage. The solution is to try and maintain a consistent indoor temperature. To increase humidity in the air, you can install a humidifier. As long as you can maintain a humidity of between 40%-60%, your floors will survive well through the winters.
Regular Mopping
With winter’s wet weather, footwear carries a lot of dirt which ends up on the office floor. The build-up of mud dulls hardwood floors and salt debris will scratch polished floors leaving marks. This is where commercial cleaning services in Winnipeg come in handy. Professional cleaning will clear the sand and salt and keep the moisture at low levels to prevent people from slipping and falling. To remove all the salt and debris, a professional company will clean all the areas around your office including the most neglected areas like under the desks.
Floor maintenance before and during winter doesn’t just protect the floors against wear and tear but also promotes employee safety.