Mechanical wet cleaning of parquet floors Pros and cons

Wooden floors are very popular. They are laid in the most varied buildings, and increasingly on large areas. The cleaning and maintenance of such flooring, however, constantly presents service providers with new challenges. One example is the mechanical wet cleaning process that has been used in sports halls for some time now. However, to prevent damage to these floors, various important points must be considered.This year, over 20 million square meters of parquet flooring will probably be laid in Germany alone – and the trend is rising. 20 years ago, wooden floors were found almost exclusively in private households. For decades, elastic flooring such as linoleum or vinyl, and even stone surfaces, were preferred in large objects. Currently, though, the use of parquet flooring in the contract sector is increasing. Wooden flooring can be found in retail stores, doctors’ offices and in the large showrooms of automobile dealerships, to name only a few examples. Even municipalities have rediscovered their taste for these surfaces. Schools and sports halls increasingly use them as well. This explains the large areas in the contract sector that are already laid with wooden flooring. Manufacturers of parquet floors, in cooperation with varnish and oil suppliers, have developed numerous surface-treatment systems that meet the requirements for appearance, cleaning and maintenance. Surface treatment ranging from soaping to two-component oiling all the way to sealing are available for parquet floors. Wood and its propertiesAll surface-treatment systems for parquet floors have an important task – protecting the wood from moisture, dirt and premature wear. But surface-treatment systems can only do this when floors are cleaned and maintained regularly according to the cleaning and care instructions in DIN 18356, or as needed (e.g. before demands on the treated flooring from a dance event). Service providers are also obliged to clean and treat flooring as economically and quickly as possible. In many objects, large areas already have parquet flooring, and it is more and more difficult to clean these surfaces manually yet economically. The hydrophilic characteristics of wood and the retention of water in its cell structure must be considered when cleaning such floors. The wood swells from the intake of water and increases in volume. When the moisture evaporates again, the wood shrinks again and its volume decreases. Repeated contact with water, e.g. when using cleaning solutions on parquet floors, causes repeated swelling and shrinkage. The water-retention capacity of wood is frequently used as justification that parquet floors shouldn’t be wet-cleaned. For a long time, damp or damp-fog cleaning was recommended. But damp cleaning parquet floors removes only non-sticky, i.e. loose dirt. The term “damp wiping” is incorrect here, too, because this method also only eliminates loose dirt (like dust); thus, the surface cannot be treated. The cleaning textiles used for damp cleaning are so dry that no moisture can get onto the floor. Manual cleaning sometimes almost impossibleIn many objects, the service provider is required by contract to wet-mop the floor in one step. This cleaning process ensures the removal of both dry and sticky soiling. Here, this also applies to parquet floors. Please note that DIN 77400 (“Cleaning Services in School Buildings”) recommends that school gyms be wet-cleaned five times weekly. The reason for this is to remove sticky and dry dirt as well as larger debris. Wet cleaning is also necessary to ensure permanent slip resistance in accordance with DIN 18032. But how much time is needed to manually clean a triple gym? In such cases, mechanical floor cleaning is the method of choice. Cleaning machines: How and when to useAutomated cleaning is an economical procedure for large parquet floor areas such as triple gyms or large hallways. Thus, various interested parties asked manufacturers of automatic cleaning machines to develop equipment that would clean parquet floors. At first, larger machines were offered and used. Now, smaller machines that can be used economically for surfaces starting with approximately 150 square meters are also available. One important point must be noted when using automatic floor cleaning machines on parquet – they need a great deal of cleaning solution (water and detergent) to clean the surface completely and attain a flawless appearance. Cleaning machines apply the cleaning solution to the floor via the brush or pad and distribute it mechanically on the surface. The applied solution can penetrate the parquet floor through the seams and lead to swelling and/or discoloration of the wood. This is why manufacturers of wet cleaning machines do not recommend using their products for parquet floors! When floors are aggressively wet-cleaned, the cleaning solution can even penetrate through to the adhesive bed and cause damage by softening the adhesive. This can go so far as to loosen parts of the surface, e.g. boards or parquet elements, from the area. In the case of double or blind flooring, the cleaning solution can penetrate the seams through to the undersurface. This may lead to mold or rot. Normally, cleaning machines are designed to reabsorb the used cleaning solution from the surface. This is not the case with seamed wooden floors that water has penetrated. This means that longer exposure of moisture to parquet floors via the seams cannot be ruled out. If cleaning machines are used despite the problems described above, it is crucial that the suction performance of the equipment develops completely and the wiping strips are fully functional. Another fundamental point to consider is the point load of the wheels when the machine is full of solution. This is also true when using machines on parquet floors. It is vital to examine the construction of the underfloor to see whether it is stable enough to permit the use of cleaning machines. Sports gyms are usually built with sprung floors that may quickly reach the limits for the use of cleaning machines. Additionally, when parquet flooring is cleaned, only pad discs or non-abrasive brushes can be used. The current state of the surface-treatment systems is also decisive when deploying cleaning machines. A parquet floor with an intact treatment system takes up much less moisture than a floor with a ruined and open surface. Naturally, before automatic equipment can come into the picture, all coarse debris like stones, gravel or glass splinters must be removed. If these remain on the surface, the existing treatment systems could be damaged by the rubbing of the floor. Ongoing after-care reduces the penetration of moisture. Cleaning chemicals: Properties and useSuitable cleaning and maintenance products are necessary for parquet floors. This is true both for manual as well as machine cleaning. Unsuitable cleaning agents can damage the machines, the maintenance system or the wood. Ultra-wetting cleaners should not be used because these products greatly reduce the surface tension of the water and allow moisture to easily penetrate every seam and get into the wood. Special automatic cleaners for parquet floors are the first choice. For some time now, a product for the mechanical cleaning of parquet floors has been on the market. Its special properties ensure that no water can get into the seams. This product works via a foaming process. Foaming cleaners have already established themselves in the carpet- and upholstery-cleaning branch. They allow very little moisture to reach the surface being cleaned. In addition, the dirty foam is vacuumed up again before liquefaction can take place. This principle is also used for the mechanical cleaning of parquet flooring. Foam cleaners for machine-cleaning parquet floors are applied as a cleaning solution on the brush aggregates and directly foamed onto the surface with shampooing brushes. The advantage of this procedure is that surface dirt begins to swell and is subsequently picked up by the gentle mechanism of the soft brushes and vacuumed into the cleaning machine. The foam collapses only after returning to the cleaning machine. Larger dirt particles remain encased in the foam and cannot damage the surface-treatment system. Another advantage of foam is that it gets into both narrow and wide seams. This prevents moisture from penetrating them because the foam keeps the water on the surface during the complete cleaning process. A large volume of surface foam weighs very little. This makes it easy to vacuum up from the surface. The product’s functionality was examined during a project at the Sigmaringen Technical College. A six-month long field test also produced clear results. An oiled and impregnated test area of beech parquet flooring was used for the test. Additional lab results clearly showed that less moisture remained on the surface after mechanical wet cleaning with foam than with manual one-step damp mopping. The automatic foam cleaner for parquet also passed the expert examination for functionality. Mechanical parquet cleaning is possibleIf the necessary conditions are fulfilled, nothing stands in the way of mechanically cleaning parquet floors. Surfaces should be subsequently treated according to the cleaning and care instructions. The cleaning machine must be suitable in regard to the point load for parquet floors. In this context, its weight must be checked. Data on the quantity of water discharge and the suction capacity must be known. The pads or brushes and the cleaning chemicals must be coordinated to the machine and the parquet floor. When possible, special foaming cleaners greatly simplify work with wooden flooring. This is the only way to ensure that the cleaning machine leaves as little cleaning solution on the floor surface to act on the wood. If all these conditions are met, nothing speaks against mechanical parquet cleaning. Thomas Vetter, Dipl.-Ing. (FH) for wood technology | Alexandra Rode, Dipl.-Oecotrophologin (FH) | peter.hartmann@holzmann-medien.de

Mechanical wet cleaning of parquet floors Pros and cons

Bleiben Sie auf dem aktuellen Stand

Sie wollen schon gehen? Das ist schade.