Floor Care

[Karen1515]

HELP!!!!
We have a black and white tile floor. What is some economical and easy wasys to care for the floor to keep it looking bright. A new floor is no in this years budget. Any suggestion will be appreciated.

[mhashley]

In our laundry we have beige tile floors. We go to Costco and buy the floor soap, stripper and wax.

Every day we wash the floors with the soap. About every 4-6 months we strip the old floor wax. We use a commercial buffer to aid in the process. Stripping wax gets the black marks off and keeps the floors looking good. We then apply the new wax using a mop,buff, then more wax.

This does take time, but beats a new floor.

Good luck.

[TKLaundry]

My brother-in-law is a janitor for the local school system. He came in with an ammonia based stripper and stripped the old wax off the floor, washed it with cold water, then put down one coat of wax and used a buffer to "burn" it in, then added two or three more coats of wax without buffing. It made the old gray Armstrong floor shine like it hadn't in years. We rewax a couple of times a year when it starts to get dull.

Dave

[LEEHUSTON]

I know you don't have the money to do it this year, but really consider ceramic tile when you replace that floor. I have two of them and there is no maintainence other than sweeping and wet moping. The best part is the floor will look like new in 10 years too. It is probably twice the cost of those asbestos tiles but it looks better longer and is a real headache saver.

[PeterH]

Lee:

Any increased liability with tile? I think it'd be more slippery than the tile, especially with all the liquid soap and softener around...

-ph

[LEEHUSTON]

Peter,

The floor we are using does not have a high gloss finish. It is just rough enough to give traction when wet. It seems really to do an excellent job. It is a commercial grade and I was told it is the same type of tile used in malls and airports. We bought tiles that were 2nd quality, direct from the manufacturer, just very minor defects, and saved alot of money.