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Warehouse Floor Cleaner and How to Maintain Your Warehouse Floor

warehouse floor cleaner how to maintain warehouses clean floors

Of all lost workdays in America each year, a whopping 95 million are the result of slip and fall accidents in warehouses across the country. No doubt, many of these accidents happen because the warehouse floors are either dirty or in poor condition.

Your warehouse floor takes a considerable amount of abuse. Remember that the floor is the substrate that supports every activity that takes place within the space every day. Unfortunately, warehouse floors tend to be overlooked until they eventually fail. 

Interestingly, warehouse cleaning is a relatively straightforward affair, as long as you're using the right warehouse floor cleaner and equipment. Other maintenance tasks are equally manageable if you do them regularly. 

Taking good care of your warehouse floor can help it last longer. Floors that are neglected, on the other hand, tend to have a much shorter lifespan and will frequently give you safety problems.

So how do you clean the floor of your warehouse and make sure you’re maintaining it properly? Read on to find out about warehouse floor cleaning. 


Make Sure the Flooring Is Right for Your Business

In case you’re considering replacing your current flooring, it’s best to go for flooring that makes sense for your company’s operations. Which areas of your warehouse require anti-slip protection? Make sure you install it. On Direct Flooring Online you can find a lot of different flooring options suitable for various areas and places.

Is there a chance that there’ll be grease and oil spills that could stain a regular floor coating? Then opt for warehouse epoxy coating, which is much easier to clean than regular cement.


Sweep the Floors Daily

Perhaps the easiest and most effective way to keep your warehouse floor clean is by giving it a good sweep every day. Even if you have a solid, reliable floor that isn't displaying any wear and tear, you still need to observe this daily cleaning ritual.

When you neglect dust and abrasives on the surface, forklifts driving over the mess will start to inflict damage to the floor. It’s a problem that can surface rapidly, but sweeping the floor daily can avert it. 


Pick up Large Debris as the Day Goes On

A smart way to maintain a clean warehouse is to pick up shrinkwrap and packaging straps throughout the day. Be sure to place garbage receptacles in strategic areas in your facility so employees have a place to put garbage generated during their work.

Large debris should always be removed before any other type of warehouse floor cleaning takes place. That’s because such waste can easily cause damage to the rollers on your scrubbers and sweepers. Packaging straps, for instance, can create so much friction that they cut through the rollers.


Use the Right Warehouse Floor Cleaner

The kind of product you need to use when cleaning warehouse floors depends on what exactly you’re cleaning. Often, warehouse floors get black tire marks as well as oil and grease stains. These marks are not attractive, so you need to remove them.

Using chemicals to clean your warehouse floor may only bear marginal results. Sometimes, the chemicals even prove destructive rather than helpful. Hydrochloric acid, for instance, is highly corrosive and will most likely damage your warehouse floor.

Some cleaners may even cause respiratory problems to those using them and your plant employees. Additionally, many chemicals are environmentally toxic. 

So which cleaner should you opt for? 

Well, if you’re dealing with black tire marks, use diamond abrasives and water. Where you’re removing grease from the sealer, opt for citrus together with a soy oil-based stripper. If the grease is on concrete, then look for a suitable solvent to remove it.


Make Use of the Appropriate Equipment When Cleaning

Using the right equipment makes a task easier. To keep your warehouse floor tidy, start by purchasing enough garbage cans and recycling bins. Make sure that your staff empties the bins regularly so they don't overflow.

To tackle dust, grit, and sand that blows into your warehouse whenever you open the doors, invest in mechanical sweepers and auto scrubbers. You could also opt for an AutoVac, which sweeps and cleans the door, leaving it both clean and dry in a single pass. Floor buffers are also essential pieces of equipment for warehouse floor cleaning.


Take Care of the Salt

This warehouse floor maintenance tip is particularly essential if your warehouse is located in an area with a cold climate. During winter, salt is one of the most destructive intruders. It can cause significant damage to unsealed concrete.  

Given that your forklifts will frequently be going in and out of your warehouse for loading and unloading trucks, they'll inevitably drag salt into the warehouse with them. The effects are hardly reversible.

So how do you deal with this problem?

Adopt a proactive approach by using the right floor sealant on your concrete. Additionally, sweep out any salt that you find in your warehouse right away.


Ask for Expert Help When Unsure

What if you don’t know for sure whether you’re using the right equipment or cleaners for your warehouse floor? Well, you should never hesitate to talk to somebody who knows about warehouse floor cleaning. The last thing you want is to use a product that damages your investment.

Generally, you should opt for cleaners with a neutral pH. Beware acidic-based products because they can eat away at your warehouse floor’s surface. Products that are too harsh could cause your floor to fade or even cause physical damage to it.

For the ideal instructions regarding how to clean your floor, you can consult the manufacturer, the installer, or the contractor. Skip this step, and you may wind up damaging your warehouse floor prematurely.


Keep Your Warehouse Floor at Its Best

Keeping your warehouse floor clean and in top shape is one of the best ways to keep things running smoothly in your business. As a warehouse manager, you already know how dirty it can get, which is why you need to have the right warehouse floor cleaner and equipment at all times so you can keep things from getting out of control. Don’t forget to implement the right floor maintenance tasks to prevent unnecessary damage to the floor.