Executive Housekeeping Today - November 2008 - (Page 21)

Keeping Hard Floors Clean For the Holidays As travel increases for the holiday season, the appearance of high-traffic areas in hotels, restaurants, and other facilities becomes important as we try to make good impressions on our guests. Many facilities have begun examining their methods of cleaning to ensure the best impressions are made. This is especially important when it comes to cleaning lobbies and foyers, as these areas will help form a guest’s first impression of the property. When cleaning these areas, careful attention needs to be paid to the types of cleaning materials used, especially in the case of hard floors. Hard floor cleaning in hightraffic areas can be one of the most important things a cleaning professional can do to impress guests. The cleanliness of floors not only can enhance a building’s overall appearance, but it also affects the health of employees and occupants. Dirty floors in lobbies of hotels can cause patrons to second guess their decision to stay at your property, while dirty floors in restaurants and bars can lead to the spread of bacteria, germs, and negative reviews. To prevent these scenarios, floors should be cleaned twice daily, using the proper cleaning tools and chemicals. This is especially the case for high-traffic areas, which must be cleaned more often than other areas. a by Brian Alexson Soft or Hard Floors? A very common problem with the cleaning of hard floors is varying floor conditions. While many hard floors are easy to clean when surfaces are in a good condition, restoration becomes more difficult when the floors are damaged. However, depending on the actual surface, most hard floors are much more traffic resistant than soft floors, which makes them easier and faster to clean. Distributors are now seeing a greater push toward use of hard floors in high-traffic areas such as lobbies and foyers because of the ease of maintenance. Cleaning is similar for most hard floor types; however, the variety of methods and chemicals used for each floor must be then selected based on the mechanical and chemical resistance of the particular surface. crevices of floor surfaces to remove dirt better than traditional mops and have been proven to remove bacteria by up to 96 percent. The fibers also trap dirt and dust to keep it from spreading to other areas. In addition, microfiber mops are more absorbent than traditional mops, holding up to seven times their weight in water. However, they are lighter than regular mops, which can mean less strain and worker fatigue, increasing productivity. Many microfiber mops are colorcoded to assist in the prevention of cross contamination. Color-coded mops help prevent professional cleaners from cross contaminating different areas. For instance, a mop used in a restroom should not be used to clean hard floors in a lobby. Distributors offer a number of different microfiber mops for cleaning hard floor surfaces, including microfiber dust mops, microfiber string mops, and microfiber damp mops. Microfiber dust mops are used for easily picking up loose dust and dirt and are able to be used on all floor types, from concrete to marble. Microfiber string mops are a popular replacement for traditional string mops because they pick up liquid and dirt from hard floors while removing (continued on next page) Microfiber Leads the Way The most common tool for cleaning hard floors in hotels, restaurants, and other facilities are mops. While traditional mops can be used, many cleaning professionals have started using microfiber mops and discovered their many benefits. Microfiber mops are designed to make cleaning easier and safer. The microfiber strands are so thin that they can reach into nooks and November 2008/Executive Housekeeping Today 2

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Executive Housekeeping Today - November 2008

Executive Housekeeping Today - November 2008 Contents Executive Corner The Most Unwelcome Guests Good Housekeeping: Eliminating Pests from the Equation Frugal Housekeeper Director-at-Large Distribution Don’t Just Clean up After Birds—Get Rid of Them! Monday Night is Fly Night Green Pest Control Practices Executive Profile The Green Scene Keeping Hard Floors Clean For the Holidays Inside the Industry Product Highlights New Members Joint IEHA/ISSA Members Advertisers’ Index Calendar of Events Inside IEHA What IEHA has Done for Me

Executive Housekeeping Today - November 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.