Slippery Rock Gazette

Bob Murrell 

M3 Technologies

Photos provided by Bob Murrell

Above: This casino entrance area paved  with serpentine is maintained with Stone Soap. Larger commercial properties often have their own building service contractors who subcontract out for the specialized knowledge needed to care for these expensive surfaces. That’s where your reputation as a capable restoration expert comes in.

Above: Applying Stone Polishing Compound on a large retail space, preparatory to using an auto-scrubber. Note the taped-off and drop cloth-protected areas.

Above: Using a walk-behind auto-scrubber with polishing compound keeps the flooring in this large retail space looking its best.

Above: This large space is a future showroom/retail space with a polished concrete floor. Polished concrete requires similar but specialized equipment to maintain, like the propane-powered Lavina 30G-X machine shown above.

We have covered the basics of maintenance for many types of hard surfaces in previous articles. In this article, we will focus on larger commercial spaces and several common varieties of flooring. Airports, casinos, hospitals, schools, malls, and large retail spaces all need specialized maintenance to help ensure that their hard surfaces look their best.

Larger commercial properties either have in-house personnel or subcontract out to a building service contractor. These BSC companies will typically provide services for many of the building maintenance requirements such as cleaning, restroom service, HVAC, security, grounds maintenance, and so on.

The BSC will either have a specific technical division for doing decorative floors such as marble, granite, terrazzo, etc. or will in turn subcontract that service out to a restoration specialty company. 

Big walk-behind or ride-on sweepers or vacuums are typically used to remove loose debris and soiling from flooring surfaces before wet cleaning. Of course, some still use large dust mops as well. It is extremely important to remove this loose grit and soiling as this is a major enemy of the floor’s finish (honed or polished, especially). These types of larger equipment can have production rates of upwards of 80,000 sq. ft./hour (ISSA Cleaning Times).

For cleaning the floors, auto-scrubbers or ride-on scrubbers are normally used in these large scale applications. The larger of these types of equipment can cover 20,000 sq. ft./hr easily (ISSA Cleaning Times).

In many cases, such as highly honed floors (you could also refer to these as a low polish), diamond impregnated pads can be used to maintain the polish or honed look of most floors. These pads are available in 3,000 grit, 6,000 grit and 12,000 grit for polished maintenance and 200 grit, 400 grit, 800 grit, and 1,500 grit for honed surfaces. 

However, for highly polished marble surfaces, nothing beats the look of being freshly polished with 5X, XXX Shine, or Stone Polishing Compound. Using these products with auto-scrubbers or ride-on scrubbers makes for high production polishing. It is essential to master this process to maintain these vast spaces of polished marble. 

So lets go over the procedure for some of these surfaces: 

 Honed or low polished floors

1. Vacuum, dust mop or sweep.
2. Auto-scrub using the appropriate diamond floor pads (400g-1,500g) and Stone Soap (cleaner & conditioner) at a dilution of 1 ounce per gallon of water. Always use a measuring cup for dilution rate accuracy. Fill the auto-scrubber tank half full and then pour in the Stone Soap slowly, while continuing to fill the tank with water, to ensure the finished solution is well mixed. Because the Stone Soap is denser than the water, it will simply sink to the bottom of the tank and be dispensed all at once, if it is not mixed thoroughly. 

This daily procedure should maintain the level of hone (whether matte, satin, or sheen) and cleanliness. The diamond impregnated pads will constantly hone the floor while the Stone Soap will both clean and condition. This conditioning effect renders the stone harder and more soil and stain resistant. Normal foot traffic can be equated to a grit level of between 220g and 400g. This means that normal foot traffic will naturally wear differently in the traffic lanes. Regular use of the pads will ensure that the level of hone remains consistent. Use of lower grit pads to make specific repairs of badly etched or stained areas may be required occasionally.

It is important to change the pads when they become worn or totally clogged (blinded). They should be changed no later than every 300,000 square feet.. This means that if a store location is 50,000 square feet, the pads should be changed at least every 6 days or less. The pad life will vary based on the particular surface material (softer material = less pad life). Keep the auto-scrubber clean and in good working condition. The vacuum squeegees should be replaced when they become worn or torn. They should leave the floor clean and dry when using the machine.

Polished Floors

1. Vacuum, dust mop or sweep.
2. When polishing marble or terrazzo (if highly polished), use the appropriate polishing powder or compound by diluting in water and/or simply spreading in the path of the scrubber set up with natural, white, or red non-woven pads. Leaving the vacuum off and the squeegee up make several passes (4-8) with the machine. If head pressure is adjustable, test to confirm best results. Once the appropriate number of passes have been completed, lower squeegee and turn on the vacuum. While flood rinsing, remove all polishing media. The addition of some neutral cleaner (1 ounce per gallon of water) in the solution tank will aid in slurry removal. 

Regular maintenance should be accomplished using natural pads and pH Neutral Cleaner (at about 1 ounce per gallon of water) or Stone Soap in the scrubber. Don’t forget to ensure the product is well mixed in the solution tank. Darker stones tend to respond better to pH Neutral Cleaner and lighter more porous stones do better with the Stone Soap. 

Be sure to have spills and other similar issues resolved as quickly as possible. Implementation of walk-off mats at the entrances will help assure that dirt and grit are trapped and not allowed to be dispersed throughout the store as easily.

By no means have I covered every situation on these large commercial maintenance projects. I have merely tried to discuss the main processes.
There are other specialty products available for specific purposes as well. 

Partnering with Braxton-Bragg and M3 Technologies ensures that you will receive superior technical support and products that no other company can match. This is essential to design a truly successful maintenance program, whether on a small scale or large. 

Bob Murrell has worked in the natural stone industry for over 40 years and is well known for his expertise in the restoration and maintenance of natural stone, terrazzo, ceramic tile, and decorative concretes. He helped develop some of the main products and processes which revolutionized the industry. He is currently the National Sales Manager for M3 Technologies based out of Cohasset, Massachusetts.