Warm weather is on the horizon, but winter’s not over just yet! With all the snow, ice, salt, and other mess that winter brings along, this season can be particularly damaging to your floors and dangerous to your space. Check out our 5 tips to make your floors last longer and keep your space safe!
1.) Keep the Salt and Debris OUT!
One of the most damaging things to your floors is “ice melt,” or salt, used commonly on exterior steps and walkways to get rid of snow and ice. While that’s helpful in preventing trips and falls, it unfortunately can be quite rough on your floors. Two of the most commonly used ice melt chemicals, sodium chloride and calcium chloride, are corrosive in nature and can cause damage to your floors over time, so it’s important to prevent ice melt from getting onto your floors and keep it outside where it should be!
An easy way to do this is to provide a…
2.) Walk-Off Space
Walk-off spaces are areas designed to keep the elements out, both protecting your floors and preventing slips and falls. Frequently, a large heavy-duty rug or carpet will be used in your walk-off area, trapping in the rain, slush, ice melt, etc. before it gets to your floors. A minimum of 8-10 feet in length is recommended to properly protect your floors as well as dry your guests’ shoes, preventing any slips!
3.) Up the Ante on Regular Cleanings
Harsh winter months are particular brutal on your space. During this time, it’s important to vacuum and sweep a little more than you might in the summer, getting rid of any ice melt, dirt, and debris that may otherwise sit on your floors and corrode/damage them. Keep your floors looking good and in good shape with a routine cleaning schedule, especially when weather turns messy.
4.) Wood and Weather: a Terrible Combination
Do you have wood flooring anywhere in your space? Beautiful as they are, wood floors are a particularly finicky material during the colder months. Since wood constricts in colder temperatures, make sure you maintain an even level of humidity and an even temperature in your space to prevent small spaces or gaps from forming in between the boards. Those gaps are the perfect place for salt and debris to get brushed into and trapped in, so keep your climate consistent and your floors clean to prevent any issues!
5.) Cover All Your Bases
Have you considered each and every entrance and exit within your space? Side doors, back doors, garage doors, etc.? Just because a door is not customer-facing doesn’t mean it’s any less important to maintain and keep safe! 23% of workplace injuries are slips and falls; prevent accidents in the workplace and keep all of your floors looking great for longer, no matter where they are in your space.
Time for fresh new floors in your space? See how we help countless organizations install beautiful new flooring in their spaces, and discover how our routine maintenance follows all 5 of these steps (and so much more) to keep those floors gleaming for a long, long time!
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