Full steam ahead

THERE IS no doubt that steam cleaning produces excellent results, creating a great impression and maintaining flooring surfaces, and most people seem to like to see steam cleaning in action as it carries the perception that it does a better job.

In certain environments, there are particular advantages to using steam for floorcare. For instance, in healthcare, using steam can improve hygiene and deliver improved infection control as it will kill viruses and bacteria. The best steam scrubber-dryers will remove >99.99% of S. aureus, E. coli, P. aeruginosa and B. subtilis bacteria.

In kitchens and food preparation areas, steam cleaning is ideal as it is the best way to cut through the greasy soil build up on the floor. Meanwhile, it is also useful in leisure centres and gym changing rooms, or around swimming pools, where the cleaning challenges include bodily residues and limescale.

In these environments – and many more – steam helps to break down tough soil build-ups, and delivers better results than just using water.

Efficient floorcare using water and steam alone

The mechanical agitation generated through the counter-rotating brushes on a good scrubber-dryer will lift and remove the vast majority of soil in a single pass – and leave floors ready for your customers and staff to walk on in minutes. 

The combination of the correct brush choice and the weight of the machine will simply do the cleaning for you using only water. Adding steam to the mix helps to shift heavier soil deposits, and can save time as the steam also helps to remove stubborn marks and dirt.

Up to 99% of the time, the combination of water and mechanical agitation will clean by itself, but sometimes you may need to use specialised cleaning products to break down heavy soil deposits and enhance the results. For instance, in kitchens you might need to use a degreasing agent, or in bathrooms something to remove limescale. Where viruses or bacteria may be present, you may need to use a virucidal cleaning product.

If you’re using specialised cleaning products on hard floors or carpets, we recommend that you pre-spray with a fan-jet sprayer to get good, even coverage. Then let it dwell to give it adequate contact time to allow it time to work, before using a scrubber-dryer. There is no need to add products to the water tank on the machine and in fact using a good scrubber-dryer means that it removes dirt and soil, while also rinsing and removing all traces of the products used.

We always recommend that operatives receive the correct training and there are many courses available which focus on the best use of specialised cleaning products.

Slipping, sliding and squeaking

Using too much of any specialised cleaning agents can leave floors sticky or slippery, and that’s another reason why we recommend pre-spraying and using fresh water in a scrubber-dryer to rinse and remove all traces of those products, leaving the flooring in a neutral state, helping to prevent any rapid resoiling, and ready to walk on.

We’ve all walked into premises on a rainy day and noticed that the floors are sticky and squeaky, or that our feet slip, and that’s because the damp on our shoes has reactivated residual cleaning products. Using a scrubber-dryer to thoroughly rinse and remove everything from the floor with fresh water, resolves that issue and enhances safety.

For all flooring, particularly in high-traffic areas such as entrance lobbies, we recommend pre-sweeping and vacuuming the area before steam cleaning to remove dry particulate soil. This is particularly important for barrier matting and carpets. A good quality dual motor upright vacuum cleaner is easy to use and highly portable, so it is straightforward to use it before steam cleaning as part of the cleaning regime. A dual motor upright vacuum cleaner will give a better result on carpets than a tub-vac because it features a power assisted brush, removing the dry particulate soil before the cleaning process. For hard flooring we recommend using a flat-mop, or dust-mop to move any dry particulates to one localised area before removing these dry particulates with the correct vacuum type, preventing any possible damage to the hard floor during the cleaning process.

Talking of high traffic areas and entrance lobbies, and perhaps not focusing so much on steam, it is worth noting that we’ve just launched a new battery powered scrubber-dryer, which with no trailing cables, enhances health and safety by minimising the risk of trips and slips.

Since the pandemic cleaning has become more of a front-of-house activity. Gone are the days when cleaning was usually carried out only at night as if it was a secret. Places such as hotel receptions or supermarkets are open 24/7 so there is no choice other than to clean while people are around. Overtly visible cleaning reassures staff and visitors, so it is also important that facilities managers choose machines which look professional and which operatives feel proud to use.

The benefits of training

To help facilities managers choose the most appropriate machine or machines for floorcare in their premises, we offer a site visit. Taking into account the environment, the flooring type, the footfall traffic, and the required cleaning frequency, we can then recommend the right machines.

Once the machines have been specified and supplied, we can provide training for operatives, and that's supported by what's available on our website and on YouTube. All our machines are reliable, simple to use and easy to maintain. Our online training videos provided step by step guides on how to get the best from each of our machines, and we also have a training facility at our recently opened showroom in Southampton.

Experience and knowledge, saving time and money

One of the biggest challenges for facilities managers is allocating the correct staffing level for each contract. Choosing the right multi-purpose user-friendly machines can make a major difference and if they are simple to use and easy to maintain, it minimises down-time, and helps with staff retention. I certainly believe that investing in the right machinery can save time and money over the long term.

It is true to say that the necessary cleaning regime isn’t usually considered when flooring is specified or installed. Architects consider the aesthetics with beautiful and memorable design touches which frequently include complex shapes and joins between multiple flooring types. A good scrubber-dryer will work across all flooring, so problem solved.

If you’re going to use a cleaning machine or cleaning product for cleaning floors, you should always pre-test it in an inconspicuous area first, to ensure it is compatible with the flooring type.

As a leading global manufacturer and supplier of commercial and industrial floorcare machines, Truvox International has always listened to our customers and the constant development of our ranges is a direct result of customer input coupled with our own diligent push for innovation and technical excellence. One excellent example of this philosophy is demonstrated through the fact that we have recently expanded our popular Multiwash™ PRO range with the addition of the new Multiwash™ PRO Steam and soon to be launched Multiwash™ PRO Battery. 

We offer a wide range of floorcare machines to suit all circumstances and budgets, and all of them have the reputation of being simple to use and easy to maintain. But beyond that, we have decades of knowledge and experience in how best to maintain flooring, so that it always looks at its best and creates an excellent impression all day, every day.

Paul Robinson has been involved in the cleaning industry for more than 30 years and joined Truvox International 18 months ago as UK national sales manager

For more information, visit www.truvox.com