Top Tips for Cleaning Safety Floors
- On November 5, 2015
- altro, HSE, Safety Floor Cleaning
Slips and trips are the most common cause of major injuries at work. Around 90% of these are broken bones. Cleaning floors is a routine procedure and if not done correctly could lead to specialist surfaces, such as safety flooring, not performing to expected standards in helping reduce slips, trips and falls.
Some HSE Facts to start with
- A clean and dry, smooth floor is rarely slippery.
- A well-wrung mop will not leave a floor dry. Clean, well- maintained squeegees and dry mops will speed up drying time on many floors.
- Dirty or greasy dry mops and squeegees spread contamination over clean floors.
- Mopping alone will not be effective on rough or profile floors, a manual or mechanical brush can improve cleaning.
- Warning cones will not stop people entering a wet area.
HSE Quick Tips for:
Spot Cleaning for Small Spills
Even small a small spill can be a slip hazard
- Clean up spills immediately.
- Avoid wet mopping, as it increases the size of the spill and the slip risk area.
- Use absorbent material to soak up the spill (eg paper towel, cloth).
- For greasy spills, use a cleaning solution.
- Dry the floor well.
- Remove warning signs as soon as the spill is gone.
Wet Cleaning
- Sweep the floor and ensure equipment is clean.
- Prevent people from walking on wet smooth floors until they are totally dry.
- Close area, use barriers, clean in sections, as last resort use cones.
- Warn wet cleaning in progress, remove signs as soon as floor is dry.
- Use the right balance of cleaning solution to water.
- Keep an eye on the bucket solution and change when dirty.
- After use, rinse cleaning equipment thoroughly.
- Do not dispose of dirty fluid in food and hand sinks.
The surface profile of a safety floor ensures that foot and floor connect even when surface contaminants are present. Kept clean, the surface aggregates are of sufficient size and number to break through the contaminants thereby reducing the risk of a slip to one in a million. If incorrect cleaning procedures are followed, a hazardous level of dirt and contaminant build-up can accumulate on the surface of the flooring, potentially increasing the risk of a slip to as high as one in two.
Altro have developed some great tips in the form of downloadable guides to help you ascertain your own cleaning programme.
ALTRO SAFETY FLOOR CLEANING GUIDES
