Wendy’s BlogAre Your Clean Looking LVP & Wood Floors Really That Clean
Wendy’s Blog
Some LVP and hardwood floors mask soiling really well, but that doesn't mean they don't get dirty!
Recently while doing other work in one of the apartment buildings where we maintain the common areas and units in between tenants we noticed the ceramic tile and LVP looked dirty.
So as is customary we reached out to the property management team to suggest they have us clean them some time. Now these owners do have a proactive approach to their maintenance. And we knew our suggestion would be well received. Our hunch was correct. After reporting that we only cleaned their first building’s tile and LVP once, and never in their 2nd building they gave us the go ahead.
Our truck was scheduled and we sent a tech there to clean the tile.
Being a fairly easy project we sent our tech out by himself to clean the areas in both side by side buildings. And as he began to plow through he was noticing a distinct improvement. In fact, when he applied the pre-spray cleaner (like laundry ‘spray-n-wash’) the soil began to release which was very apparent!
Thinking quick on his feet he took a few pictures to share with the property manager to show her.
As soon as our tech started cleaning the dirt released off the floor is obvious!
This LVP floor looks clean, but steaming it tells us otherwise!
As it turns out she was on vacation, and checking in once a day. So I just communicated to her that it was done. But once she was back at work I sent a couple pictures to show her the work.
Her response, “wow- you would never know!” She is correct. This is a precise case where color and texture mask, or hide soil really, really well. And after seeing the pictures we concurred together that scheduling those floors 2x yearly would be helpful.
You might think this floor looks clean, but like the homeowner we didn't think so after 2 dogs for 8 years
Same situation, a client who keeps her home pristinely clean and well manicured, had us in to professionally clean her hardwood floors.
Same soap, different day (per se). A Moorestown homeowner reached out to discuss having us clean her hardwood floors.
Now for me trying to assess her real needs, I had a conversation with her to determine what level of service she did in fact need. With hardwood floor care we get wildly different scenarios that dictate whether cleaning is sufficient. Or, are there other things needed that run the gamet like:
are the hardwood floors merely dirty, so the cleaning is the appropriate solution?
is there a wax, shine or acrylic product that has been applied on top of the polyurethane which is failing and needs stripped off?
are the floors hammered with scratches or other blemishes, particularly if they violated the polyurethane coating.
do the floors have flaws like sun fade, worn poly, water damage, pet spots, or other damages that would instead requirie a full sand and refinish.
With these questions answered I determined that using our "zamboni for hardwood" floors was the best fit for her cleaning.
She comfortably answered that she had none of the situations that would deem deeper treatment. One by one I characterized the above examples and she affirmed she had none of that.
So I scheduled an appointment for Chris to assess the floors and give her an estimate. And I preset an appointment for the following Monday to do the cleaning for her.
And upon leaving Chris called me to report that her home was large, and so was the cleaning project. He commented that it is a stunningly gorgeous house, both inside and out. He further mentioned that she had lost 2 dogs in the recent past. Therefore, she wanted a good cleaning. As it turns out the floors are 8 years old and had never had much but what a maid service would provide.
Now again, here was the situation where the hardwood masked the dirt and soiling.
While the floors in the apartment building are LVP, these floors are wide planked-hand scraped floors. There is a blend of color from rich browns to almost black. And given the color you would almost never detect the dirt. Secondly, some of the deeper treatment options would remove the unique hand scraping detail that they paid a very pretty penny for.
So for her hardwood floors we used our hard surface floor machine, with air movers and mops for quick drying and blending.
This cleaning would be done differently than that of what was done at the above described project.
Instead, we had our “zamboni” for hardwood floors on board, a team of 4 people, some air movers, mops, buckets and rags that was all used to complete the job.
Working slowly and carefully we cleaned the floors. Just as a small amount of solution was laid down the machine scrubbed it, extracted it and had a squeegee to finish all in one pass. In tandem, we had a second tech working with the air movers to keep them constantly and closely atop the floor that was subtly still wet after the machine passed over the area. Then we had a third person manage the blending. With mop, bucket and rags he dry mopped the floors and removed any squeegee mark lines left by the machine.
Finally, our hardwood floor guy hand detailed the impressive stair case treads and risers.
Working around the spindles, Marvin carefully detailed the treads and risers. He was the perfect guy for that part of the job. Since he has a precise eye as a hardwood craftsman who sands and refinished, his was the best person for this detailing.
As all these efforts came to completion our client couldn’t be more happier. Knowing they worked several hours, and seeing the process she felt great relief that now her floors were clean. And, we concurred.
Now that we were done, the guys packed up and left, leaving only Chris to button things up with our client. With just the final walk through I arrived and we had a nice chat with our client, who was clearly very, very happy!
In closing, we prewarned her, and then shared a clip of what we removed while cleaning her hardwood floors.
During the cleaning Chris kept a close, watchful eye on the cleaning, which included dumping the waste water. And because this machine looks like a large upright vacuum, the small waste tank had to be dumped often.
As it was above, there was distinct obvious proof that the floors masked the dirt well. In fact, the waste water was black. Therefore, our clients hunch that they were dirty was correct. And showing her, although it was sobering, the satisfaction of having them cleaned outweighed things. She was and is very very happy!
Despite regular and proper cleaning, floors do mask soiling and deeper cleaning removes that!
Want deep cleaning or your hardwood floors or LVP, and peace of mind call us to discuss your project. Have questions or want a free estimate 609.953.0472. Or Contact Us online!
Some LVP and hardwood floors mask soiling really well, but that doesn't mean they don't get dirty!
Recently while doing other work in one of the apartment buildings where we maintain the common areas and units in between tenants we noticed the ceramic tile and LVP looked dirty.
So as is customary we reached out to the property management team to suggest they have us clean them some time. Now these owners do have a proactive approach to their maintenance. And we knew our suggestion would be well received. Our hunch was correct. After reporting that we only cleaned their first building’s tile and LVP once, and never in their 2nd building they gave us the go ahead.
Our truck was scheduled and we sent a tech there to clean the tile.
Being a fairly easy project we sent our tech out by himself to clean the areas in both side by side buildings. And as he began to plow through he was noticing a distinct improvement. In fact, when he applied the pre-spray cleaner (like laundry ‘spray-n-wash’) the soil began to release which was very apparent!
Thinking quick on his feet he took a few pictures to share with the property manager to show her.
As it turns out she was on vacation, and checking in once a day. So I just communicated to her that it was done. But once she was back at work I sent a couple pictures to show her the work.
Her response, “wow- you would never know!” She is correct. This is a precise case where color and texture mask, or hide soil really, really well. And after seeing the pictures we concurred together that scheduling those floors 2x yearly would be helpful.
Same situation, a client who keeps her home pristinely clean and well manicured, had us in to professionally clean her hardwood floors.
Same soap, different day (per se). A Moorestown homeowner reached out to discuss having us clean her hardwood floors.
Now for me trying to assess her real needs, I had a conversation with her to determine what level of service she did in fact need. With hardwood floor care we get wildly different scenarios that dictate whether cleaning is sufficient. Or, are there other things needed that run the gamet like:
With these questions answered I determined that using our "zamboni for hardwood" floors was the best fit for her cleaning.
She comfortably answered that she had none of the situations that would deem deeper treatment. One by one I characterized the above examples and she affirmed she had none of that.
So I scheduled an appointment for Chris to assess the floors and give her an estimate. And I preset an appointment for the following Monday to do the cleaning for her.
And upon leaving Chris called me to report that her home was large, and so was the cleaning project. He commented that it is a stunningly gorgeous house, both inside and out. He further mentioned that she had lost 2 dogs in the recent past. Therefore, she wanted a good cleaning. As it turns out the floors are 8 years old and had never had much but what a maid service would provide.
Now again, here was the situation where the hardwood masked the dirt and soiling.
While the floors in the apartment building are LVP, these floors are wide planked-hand scraped floors. There is a blend of color from rich browns to almost black. And given the color you would almost never detect the dirt. Secondly, some of the deeper treatment options would remove the unique hand scraping detail that they paid a very pretty penny for.
So for her hardwood floors we used our hard surface floor machine, with air movers and mops for quick drying and blending.
This cleaning would be done differently than that of what was done at the above described project.
Instead, we had our “zamboni” for hardwood floors on board, a team of 4 people, some air movers, mops, buckets and rags that was all used to complete the job.
Working slowly and carefully we cleaned the floors. Just as a small amount of solution was laid down the machine scrubbed it, extracted it and had a squeegee to finish all in one pass. In tandem, we had a second tech working with the air movers to keep them constantly and closely atop the floor that was subtly still wet after the machine passed over the area. Then we had a third person manage the blending. With mop, bucket and rags he dry mopped the floors and removed any squeegee mark lines left by the machine.
Finally, our hardwood floor guy hand detailed the impressive stair case treads and risers.
Working around the spindles, Marvin carefully detailed the treads and risers. He was the perfect guy for that part of the job. Since he has a precise eye as a hardwood craftsman who sands and refinished, his was the best person for this detailing.
As all these efforts came to completion our client couldn’t be more happier. Knowing they worked several hours, and seeing the process she felt great relief that now her floors were clean. And, we concurred.
Now that we were done, the guys packed up and left, leaving only Chris to button things up with our client. With just the final walk through I arrived and we had a nice chat with our client, who was clearly very, very happy!
In closing, we prewarned her, and then shared a clip of what we removed while cleaning her hardwood floors.
During the cleaning Chris kept a close, watchful eye on the cleaning, which included dumping the waste water. And because this machine looks like a large upright vacuum, the small waste tank had to be dumped often.
As it was above, there was distinct obvious proof that the floors masked the dirt well. In fact, the waste water was black. Therefore, our clients hunch that they were dirty was correct. And showing her, although it was sobering, the satisfaction of having them cleaned outweighed things. She was and is very very happy!
Despite regular and proper cleaning, floors do mask soiling and deeper cleaning removes that!
Want deep cleaning or your hardwood floors or LVP, and peace of mind call us to discuss your project. Have questions or want a free estimate 609.953.0472. Or Contact Us online!