Why Stripping, Buffing & Waxing Hard Surfaces is Important

Chances are, your commercial facility contains several different types of flooring, such as laminate, carpet, concrete, and natural stone. Cleaning these floors generally falls into two categories: carpet and all other surfaces. However, every flooring type is unique and needs to be cleaned according to that surface’s specifications.

When it comes to hard surfaces, this type of flooring needs more care than soap and water. At Angie’s Custom Cleaning, we can scrub or pressure wash your vinyl floor, durex floor, or tile and grout and remove all the ground in dirt to make your surfaces look like new. However, if you have a porous floor or one made of a softer material that lacks a factory urethane coating, like vinyl composition tile (VCT), linoleum, vinyl sheet flooring, and asphalt tile, these surfaces need to be stripped, buffed, and waxed regularly.

In this blog, Angie will explain the importance of stripping, buffing, and waxing hard flooring surfaces and the benefits of performing these three steps.

Stripping

After performing a commercial cleaning on hard surfaces, most professionals will apply wax to create a protective barrier against wear and tear and to hide minor scratches. This practice also enhances a floor’s natural shine. However, over time, it is important to strip the floor to remove these layers.

By letting Angie’s Custom Cleaning perform floor stripping on your hard surface flooring, we can remove layers of wax, dirt, scuff marks, and stains. Since stripping also removes a floor’s finish and buildup, it’s important to apply a new, fresh protective coating immediately after this step.

Waxing or Polishing

In addition to traditional wax, flooring professionals also use floor finish or polish to provide a protective coating to floors. Putting wax or polish on a hard surface creates a shielding layer that protects the surface. Visitors and employees in your facility will eventually wear through the wax layer, causing stains, discoloration, and pitting.

There are many benefits to waxing or polishing hard surfaces regularly. Performing this step will help prevent scratches and scuffs, protect against moisture and spills, reduce wear from foot traffic, and extend the life of your flooring materials.

Here are three basic types of floor waxing or finishes used on commercial surfaces:

• Acrylic Floor Finish: Best for VCT, linoleum, and most hard commercial surfaces.
• Paste Wax: Best for hardwood floors and some concrete and cork floors.
• Liquid Wax: Best for hardwood, cork, and some specialty floors.

Buffing

Once your commercial flooring has been cleaned and stripped and the wax or polish is completely dry, it’s time to buff. Buffing a floor polishes the finish that has been applied to bring out you floor’s shine. A floor can be buffed by hand with a soft cloth, preferably a towel or a mopper, using a circular motion, or you can hire Angie, and one of her team members will use a buffing machine.

Angie’s Custom Cleaning staff members are highly-trained and ready to take on any size floor buffing project. We also continuously work with equipment and chemical supply vendors to offer the latest and greatest innovations in floor buffing technology for our customers.

Benefits

Once you have stripped, waxed, and buffed the hard surfaces in your commercial space, your business will realize several benefits. By bringing back a floor’s shine, the surfaces will have a clean, professional appearance that improves light reflection and makes your commercial space look brighter.

A second benefit of stripping, waxing, and buffing your surfaces regularly is that this process will improve safety. A well-maintained floor is easier to keep clean and can be less slippery than a damaged or dirty floor. By removing uneven wax buildup, you will also help your floor to maintain proper traction. This process also makes spills and debris easier to spot and clean.

The third benefit of stripping, waxing, and buffing your hard surfaces is that it will save your company money. Regular maintenance is much less expensive than replacing damaged flooring. This three step process will extend the life of your floor, reduce repair and replacement costs, and help to maintain the value and appearance of your facility.

Angie Custom Cleaning’s special process of stripping and waxing and buffing floors has helped many businesses in Lancaster County. This includes schools, department stores, restaurants, car dealerships, medical offices, churches, and financial institutions. Contact us to get a free estimate.