Maintaining commercial floors can be a full-time job. Some companies have entire maintenance departments with a maintenance supervisor and several personnel working to maintain the property on a regular basis. One aspect that these employees have to deal with on a regular basis is inspecting the floors for any potential signs of damage.
A smaller company that might not have an independent maintenance personnel (they may only have an employee who is responsible for upkeep and maintenance, and once in a while mops, washes, and waxes or buffs the floor) may not have anybody paying attention to potential signs of damage that begin to develop gradually over time.
It’s a good idea to give it a visual inspection at least once a week. The more foot traffic that goes in and out of any commercial building will be exposed to more potential damage. This is also true of any carts, dollies, or other vehicles that run with wheels that could be brought in and out, delivering packages and other items to businesses within the facility.
The first sign of potential damage to any commercial floor will certainly depend on the type of floor itself. For the purposes of this article, we are referring to linoleum tile flooring.
The lines between certain tiles begin to appear darker. This is usually a good indicator that dust and dirt is beginning to penetrate in between the tiles. This could be caused by a number of factors, including poor installation or just excessive use. When the dust begins to infiltrate in between the tiles, it will eventually get underneath the tiles and loosen them up.
Yellowing of tiles. The more use the floor gets, the more likely it will experience wear patterns and paths Keeping the floors waxed, buffed, and polished on a regular basis helps to reduce wear paths.
Raised tiles. Even a slightly raised commercial floor tile could lead to damage to other tiles before long, especially if there is a lot of foot traffic.
Any potential damage that is spotted should be addressed, cleaned, and repaired as soon as possible. If the commercial facility receives a lot of foot traffic on a regular basis, then washing, waxing, buffing, and polishing should be done on a consistent basis.