[ISM_CLEANING]

Hi all,

I have been asked to clean an old school gym floor, it has been out of use for about fifteen years and as you can imagine is knee deep in dust and dirt and various other marks.

It is an old wooden floor which does not look like it was ever sealed or if it was it is now non existent.

They do not want it sanded and sealed, they basically want it clean and dust free.

I was thinking of vacuuming, removing raised marks with floor scraper,
then using rotary machine to scrub, then removing slurry with wet and dry and finishing off with damp mop.

I am a bit worried about using to much water incase of swelling etc.

Has anyone done this sort of clean before, and any other ideas on how to tackle it would be apprecieted.

Also I remember seeing in a copy of cleaning and maintinence magazine a type of granular substance that you sprinkle on dusty floors and sweep and it basically holds the dust instead of rising , I cannot find it now, but has anyone heard of it .

Many thanks

Ian

[Keith_Robertson]

Hi Ian,

What you say makes sense.  You can use water without problem as long as you do it sensibly.  Don't flood too big an area and don't leave water down too long.

It would be unusual to find an old gym that had never been sealed although multi use of these floors can wear the bulk of the seal off.   It would be a good idea to suggest that it would be in everyones interest to seal the floor when clean.

Regards,

Keith

[ISM_CLEANING]

Hi Keith,

Thanks for your reply, I agree with you about sealing when clean .

it is a darkwood flooring and I think no matter how well I do the job the floor is still going to have small amounts of dust and grime clinging to it.

All they want is for the kids to be able to play in it without coming out with black hands and clothes.

Is there a general sealant for all types of wood flooring you can recommend.

regards

Ian