No matter what kind of gym you are maintaining, a clean floor is essential in keeping a healthy and hygienic environment for your employees and members. It’s also the key to keeping your floors in prime condition. However, many gym owners find the concept of cleaning their floors daunting, especially if they have specialty flooring, like rubber, which can be easy to damage. Fortunately, following a few essential tips on how to properly clean your gym floors can help you keep your floors in their best condition.
Or, if you’re tired of doing all the heavy lifting alone, turn to the professionals for help. If you think your gym could benefit from professional cleaning services, our team at 360Clean is ready to spot you! As leaders in the commercial cleaning industry, our specialized approach to cleaning protects your employees and clients from dangerous germs while also protecting your business’ bottom line. To learn more about our commercial cleaning services for gyms, contact us for a free quote today.
Cleaning Rubber Gym Floors
If your gym has a traditional rubber floor, you will need to gather these tools for a thorough cleaning:
- Vacuum
- Mop and bucket
- Dish soap
- Soft-bristled scrubbing brush
- Soft-bristled broom
- Neutral pH cleaner
- Rubber floor finish
Once you have assembled all of these materials, you’re ready to start cleaning.
Sweep and Vacuum
The first thing you’ll want to do is remove all the loose debris from the floor. This is best accomplished through a combination of sweeping and vacuuming. For this step, retrieve the soft-bristled broom and vacuum cleaner from your gathered materials. Use both in tandem to clean up any debris, including dust, dirt, and hair. While a vacuum can take care of most of this debris on its own, the broom will help with those pesky corners and any other compact spaces where debris may have accumulated that the vacuum cannot reach.
Identify and Treat
Once you are finished sweeping and vacuuming, it is time to identify the tough spots: the stained areas that are going to need some extra care. Look for these spots in high-traffic areas where people tend to walk with their outside shoes.
After you’ve identified all the stains, grab your soft-bristled brush and scrub them away. If you encounter stubborn stains, dip the brush in the pH cleaner and try again. This is usually enough to lift even the most difficult stains. In the unfortunate event that you are dealing with gum that has stuck to the floor, ice the gum and scrape it away. Be careful not to be too rough when scraping, as this could damage your floor.
Mop Your Floor
Now that the floor is free of debris, it is time to prepare the mopping solution. The first step is finding a product that is safe for use with rubber floors. Many cleaning experts recommend a mixture of pH-neutral cleaner, warm water, and lemon juice. This mixture is ideal for deep cleaning, as it naturally disinfects and dries rapidly.
If you don’t feel confident making your own mixture, you can try a store-bought rubber floor cleaner. These cleaners are great at removing grease, debris, and other residues from rubber gym floors. Many of them will also sanitize the floor. As always, make sure to check the label before using any store-bought chemicals. The last thing you want is to ruin your floor.
How to Mop Effectively
Once you have decided on what solution you are going to use, it is time to mop. When mopping a rubber gym floor, a sponge, nylon, or microfiber mop is recommended. It is good practice to refrain from soaking the floor. This could cause the solution to leak through the joints and damage the floor underneath.
When mapping your trajectory, it is best to start from one corner of the gym and work your way outward. You’ll have better results if you frequently rinse the mop in the solution. If the water becomes dirty at any point, change it. When you are finished, ensure the floor is dry before allowing anyone to walk on it.
Seal the Floor
If you want to add even more protection to your floor, you can seal it. This protective layer of wax allows the floor to maintain its integrity and prevents water damage. It also adds an attractive shine to the floor. Sealing will be a required step if your floor is made from virgin rubber. On the other hand, if your floor is made from recycled rubber, you do not need to seal it.
To seal your floor, soak your sponge mop in a rubber floor finish. You do not need to dilute the finish. Apply a thin layer of finish to the floor and let it dry. Repeat this up to four times to achieve your desired look, taking care to allow the floor to dry between each application. When finished, let the seal sit for at least a day before resuming maintenance.
Steam Clean
If you need a quick and easy disinfection method for your rubber gym floor, try steam cleaning. This method doesn’t damage the rubber and provides a natural disinfectant. Additionally, the steam is great for loosening any resistant stains.
Disinfect
For disinfecting, you can make your own homemade disinfecting solution. To do so, mix a gallon of hot water with one cup of vinegar. Additionally, you can use hydrogen peroxide or alcohol as a disinfectant; just make sure to mix either one as a half-and-half solution with water. This will dilute the mixture enough to ensure your floor is safe from any damage.
Common Mistakes
While rubber floors offer many benefits, they do require somewhat particular methods to clean them. When cleaning your rubber floors, it can be easy to make a mistake, and these mistakes can damage your floor and require repair or replacement. To avoid damaging your rubber floor, keep these common mistakes gym owners tend to make when attempting to clean their rubber gym floors in mind.
Too Much Water
Using too much water is never a good idea. This will cause excess water to seep through the floor and into the subfloor, where it could potentially cause mold or inflict other forms of damage.
Using Coarse Cleaning Pads
Coarse cleaning pads, such as steel wool and scouring pads, should be avoided completely. These can leave unsightly scratches and other damage on the floor.
Using Certain Chemicals
Refrain from using cleaners that contain bleach or solvents. These are harsh chemicals that can cause discoloration and degradation on rubber floors. More broadly, it is best to stay away from any chemicals that are not specifically recommended for rubber floors. When it comes to cleaning rubber floors, the most common culprits to stay away from are Pine-Sol, Lysol, WD40, paint thinner, and Murphy’s Oil Soap.
Using Bleach
Many people recommend using bleach for certain cleaning applications. However, it should never be used with rubber floors in large amounts. Undiluted bleach can discolor and destroy the rubber. Bleach can only be safe for use with rubber flooring in very small amounts. A mixture of one cup of bleach and one gallon of water is all you need to safely disinfect your rubber floor.
How Often You Should Clean?
A dirty floor presents a hazard to the health of your staff and customers. If you allow your floor to become too dirty, it will become slippery and ridden with bacteria. The only way to prevent this is by implementing a regular cleaning routine. How often should you clean? That depends on what tasks you include in your daily cleaning routine, or if anyone in your facility has reported being sick. For example, if you sweep and mop regularly, you may not need to deep clean as often as a gym that does not. If someone is sick, more frequent and more thorough cleaning may be necessary.
For most gyms, a daily cleaning routine along with one deep clean per month is enough.
Deep Cleaning Your Rubber Floor
If you can, invest in an automatic floor scrubber. These handy devices make deep cleaning rubber gym floors quick and easy. In addition to scrubbing the floor, they intake dirty water, which makes cleaning even faster. When selecting a machine, make sure to test the bristles. If they are too tough, they could damage your floor. If you have questions, consult the manufacturer’s documentation or the store where you made the purchase.
By keeping these tips and tricks for cleaning rubber floors in mind, you can not only safely clean your rubber floors without damaging them, but you can also keep them germ-free and in optimal condition.
360clean Is Here to Help
Keeping a gym clean can be overwhelming, especially when you have specialty floors that require particular attention. If you’re tired of doing all the heavy lifting alone, a professional cleaning service can take this responsibility off your shoulders and help ensure the best environment for your staff and club members.
The most important attributes of a clean facility cannot be seen, and germs live in every public place in the world! This is why we offer our JaniMed® Cleaning System and processes. The system consists of specialized training, hospital-grade disinfectants, touch surface disinfection, and state-of-the-art equipment, like micro-fiber technology and Hepa Vacuums with four levels of filtration. The best part is, many times, we can implement our JaniMed® system at the same price or even less than your current commercial cleaning service.
Let us focus on the cleaning so you can focus on your business. To learn more, contact us today to receive a free quote!