How do I keep my floors shiny without continuous floor maintenance?
The next time you walk into a hospital, one of the first things you’ll likely notice is that the floors are really shiny. Shiny floors give the impression of clean. This is not necessarily true, but for hospitals, a shiny floor is the primary goal for making a good impression on clientele and visitors.
So how do hospitals or any organization, keep their floors looking shiny? There are a couple of ways to do this. Historically, the most common way is to apply multiple layers of acrylic floor finish, also known as waxing.
In the 1880’s, Samuel Curtis Johnson started using carnauba wax, harvested from carnauba palm trees, to protect, polish, and shine wood floors. Carnauba floor wax hasn’t been used for decades, but the term “waxing” stuck.
Acrylic finish is now used instead, but the method in which it is used is quite similar. First, apply 4-5 coats of acrylic finish (wax), after a few weeks, the shine will start to fade, which then requires the finish to be buffed or burnished, which is polishing. This leads to wax stripping, re-waxing, and starting over. Some hospitals must strip and re-wax their floors four times per year, plus weekly buffing to keep the shine.
The acrylic finish gets buffed or burnished because it is soft and dulls quickly from people walking on the floor. In a hospital or school, the shine will start to fade in days. This is bad news for a custodial team, infection control, and environmental services. All the big chemical companies market this type of floor care system. Low initial price but high long-term costs. A never-ending cycle of floor maintenance, chemicals, supplies, and downtime.
ETS Health has helped hospitals and schools across the U.S. change from 19th-century tiresome “waxing” to a 21st-century enduring and sustainable simplified floor care system. ETS 180® protective coating lasts several years, has no recurring maintenance, and cleans best with water.
Schedule a call or on-site visit today to learn more about never waxing again.