Owner’s Guide

 

Owner’s Guide

Maintenance Precautions | Cleaning Procedures

MAINTENANCE PRECAUTIONS:

  • Harsh cleaners and sealers can damage Terrazzo; thus, only materials that are neutral with a PH Factor between 7 and 10 should be used when scrubbing or mopping floors. Avoid all-purpose cleaners or soaps containing water soluble, inorganic, or crystallizing salts, harmful alkali or acids.
  • Sweeping compounds contain oil, which is not only a fire hazard, but will penetrate and could permanently discolor your floor. Many of these compounds contain sand, which is hard to sweep, and can abrade your floor if not removed.
  • Most owners want to see a high sheen on their floors. Since safety in all buildings is a concern, use a water-based sealer in the acrylic family especially designed for Terrazzo use. The Underwriters Laboratories classification of this sealer should include a slip resistance with a coefficient of friction rating of minimum 0.5.
  • Solvent-based sealers have a tendency to discolor with age and pose a removal problem for the user, especially when wear patterns develop or discoloration dictates stripping the surface. This Association sells no product and uses generic terms in our suggestions. We do recommend acrylic water based sealers mopped on, in one or more coats, in accordance with the instructions of the manufacturer. This can also be followed by an acrylic water-based finish for daily or weekly buffing if a high sheen is desired.

 

 

CLEANING PROCEDURES:

Neutral cleaners are designed to react only in solution with clean water, mixed in accordance to the manufacturer instructions, and allowed to remain on the floor surface for several minutes. This provides the necessary time for the grime dissolving action to take place. Then rinse the dirt-laden solution from the surface by squeegee, vacuum, or mopping. Rinse with ample clean water. It is important to keep the floor wet during this entire cleaning process so the dirt does not reabsorb in the floor.

The frequently asked question, “How often must we sweep or scrub this floor?” is answered by the amount of traffic that moves across the floor daily. But, it is normal that daily dust mopping is a requirement in most public buildings. Daily dust mopping removes both the dust and the grit tracked into the building. The grit acts as an abrasive on your hard surface.