Common Flooring Mistakes By Maintenance Workers

Most companies have some kind of maintenance worker on staff, and their job is to keep the building safe and in good shape. Part of a flooring inspector’s job is to talk to everyone that participates or has a role in the company’s floor safety plan. Of course, this includes the business owner and the cleaning crew, but often, the most important interview is with the building maintenance workers.

Maintenance workers are in charge of taking physical care of and ensuring the physical condition of the flooring. When trained properly and given the authority to make repairs or replacements as needed, building workers can be the first line of defense when it comes to floor safety and keeping walkways safe. However, maintenance workers can also be the ones to enhance floor problems or even outright cause them.

Here are 3 of the most common errors that maintenance workers make when it comes to floor care:

1. Failure to follow the manufacturer’s specifications.

While maintenance workers may be doing the best job they can, if they haven’t been trained in the manufacturer’s recommendations for care and repair, they could be doing more harm than good. Whether it’s failing to follow the guidelines for maintenance or ignoring the maintenance schedule, these workers may be introducing problems with flooring that don’t need to happen.

2. Using the wrong cleaning agents.

Maintenance and cleaning crews can introduce problems to hard flooring surfaces when they use cleaning agents that the manufacturer has specifically warned against. Whether the cleaning chemicals are too harsh or not doing a good enough job, poor cleaning practices can leave flooring slippery or sticky, opening the door for problems.

3. Too much water.

Depending on the flooring material, using too much water can introduce big problems with moisture, swelling, mold and more. The working and cleaning teams should only use enough water to get the floor clean. Excess water can cause problems when it seeps between floor boards, tile or linoleum and cause water damage underneath.

There’s a real benefit to training workers and cleaning crews on the proper way to take care of flooring at the workplace. Business owners can use the services of a flooring inspector to create a floor care and safety plan that will not only lengthen the life of the flooring but reduce the risk of slip and fall accidents.

To get more information on how a flooring inspector can help reverse problems caused by maintenance workers, please contact Rob McNealy at Flooristics.