THE HISTORY OF HARD FLOOR CARE
FROM DIRT TO MODERN SYSTEMS
Types of floor surfacesThe evolution of floor coatings
The timeline of developments
Types of equipment used to maintain hard floors
WE WILL COVER:
Prehistoric
Mid-evil 19th Century 20th Century
Through the Years
New technology
The 21st Century
DIRT!Since the beginning
of time
STONE!Earliest discovery
was 5000 years B.C.
MOSAIC DATES TO
3000 B.C.
Next Was….
Ceramic TileSomewhere around
1500 B.C.
Then came…..
MARBLE
PORCELAIN FOLLOWED
NEXT
Around 500 B.C.
TERRAZZO WAS NEXT!
DATES FROM THEVENETIANS
SLATE!!Widely used for
roofs but also for floors
WOOD!!!Let’s not forget
WOOD
Been used since the Med-Evil times Most widely used form of flooring by the
colonists There are varying degrees of hardness Pine is the softest Oak is amongst the hardest
Wood Floors
The Butcher polish CompanyFounded in 1880 Their first product was
PASTE WAX
The First Coatings were made by
Founded in 1886One of the largest manufacturer’s of
cleaning products today Their first product was:
WOODEN PARQUET FLOORING
S.C. Johnson
Modern coatings weren’t developed until many decades
later!
The Evolution of Floor Tile
1925 Asphalt Tile
1954 Vinyl Asbestos Tile
1976-77Vinyl
Composition Tile
What’s Next?
The Evolution of Coatings
1946 The first synthetic
coating
1968Johnson Wax
IntroducesCOMPLETE
1975Johnson Wax
IntroducesSHOWPLACE
1985Butcher Polish
IntoducesIRONSTONE
Richard “Dick” Gable
The Inventor of Modern Synthetic Coatings
In the mid 1960’s, S.C. Johnson invented:
COMPLETE
Further Developments
Drawback
Styrene “yellows” in a relatively short period of time.
Further Developments
Buffers
Wet Vacuums
Auto Scrubbers
Polishers
Cleaning Equipment
Introduced in the 1930’s The motor turned at 150 RPM’s Speed upgraded to 175 RPM’s around 1950 Two-speed machines were introduced by
Advance in 1974 300 RPM’s (high-speed) intoduced in 1975
Buffers (AKA) Floor Machines
First appeared in the 1960’s
Wet Vacuums
Invented by American Lincoln Clarke soon followed Advance introduced their early scrubbers in
1970 By 1974 the Auto-Scrubber was saving labor
throughout the U.S.A.
Auto-Scrubbers
In 1975 the first polisher was the NSS propane buffer – you needed a mechanic with each machine to tighten the screws!
In 1977 NSS developed the first (burnisher) as we know them today – 1050 RPM’s
In 1979 Pullman-Holt had 1080 RPM’s
Polishers
THE RACE WAS ON!!Who will win the RPM
contest?
NSS was up to 1500 RPM’s with the Charger (still the only burnisher with the patented, tilted deck to run on less than 12 amps)
2000 RPM machines were in every manufacturer’s line by 1980.
3000 RPM came in the mid 1980’s 2500 RPM is still available
THE RACE WAS ON!!
3000 RPM’s turned out to be (too fast) for the floor finishes
THE RACE WAS ON!!
(1.) not “yellow” anymore
(2.) keep from powdering at the tremendous speeds generated by the burnishing equipment
Ultra High Speed Floor Finishes
The Earliest finishes had 14% solids (the Carnuba wax)
Complete was (about 16%) and set up very hard
18% floor finishes hit the market in the late 1970’s
20% was introduced in 1982
SOLIDS – SOLIDS - SOLIDS
S.C. Johnson, Spartan, Butcher and a few other manufacturers thought 25% would work well
Some manufacturers backed down to 22% Still others went to 30 – 35% only to find
they didn’t work Finally, around the turn of the 21st century 30% finishes were refined and worked!
Solids – solids - solids
Is more better??
Solids – solids - solids
Floor pads were developed in the early 1970’s
Does anyone remember having to buff with steel wool pads??? Bassine Brushes???
THAT’S ALL WE HAD!!!
Floor pads
ETC of Henderson, NC introduced
The “GORILLA” pad in 1981
Floor Pads
Beautiful shine it creates
You can tell when a “Gorilla” pad is being used by what
other phenomenon?
Gorilla Pad
3M Introduced the “Eraser” pad in the late
1990’s
Floor Pads
Modern Tile
Asphalt Tile This tile was colorful
Red Green Brown Blue
9” x 9”
Asphalt Tile Though this tile is durable it
is also quite rigid and therefore, subject to
cracking
Vinyl Asbestos Tile (VAT)
Developed in 1954. Either 9” x 9” or 12” x 12”
By 1970 it was all 12” x 12”
Vinyl Composition Tile (VCT)
(VCT) was developed in the mid 1970’s
MAINTENANCE!!MAINTENANCE!!MAINTENANCE!!
Strip off the factory coating when new Rinse and apply either a sealer or
combination sealer/floor finish Clean regularly Buff to maintain the shine When the floor finish shows wear either
scrub and apply more finish or strip and recoat
Normal Procedures
STRIP – APPLY FLOOR FINISH, CLEAN, BUFF
REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT,
REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT
Inorganic Coating
Introduced in 2005
A paradigmShift.
BenefitsThe coating’s high pH remainsNo microbial activityNever needs strippingIncreases the lumminsResists scratching
EpoxyUrethane
Other coatings
Concrete Ceramic Tile Porcelain Tile Asphalt Tile Vinyl Tile Vinyl Composition Tile (VCT)
REVIEW - Substrates
Natural base – Carnuba Wax Synthetic finishes Inorganic coating Epoxy urethane
Review - Coatings
Floor Machines Wet/Dry Vacuums High Speed Burnishers (Propane and Electric) Automatic Scrubbers
Review - equipment
The variety of substrates, coatings and maintenance equipment available offer the institution many options when creating the right program for their facility.
Programs
Depending on the program selected labor can account for between 80% to 90% of the total custodial budget.
Labor
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