Keeping a warehouse floor clean is an essential element of warehouse maintenance. A dirty warehouse floor can impact safety, efficiency and productivity, worker health and wellbeing, warehouse reputation, and more. Using the proper equipment and techniques for warehouse floor cleaning, and creating a clear cleaning schedule helps to ensure that the floors are kept consistently clean and safe.
There are several reasons why keeping warehouse flooring clean should always be a high priority.
A dirty warehouse floor is a safety hazard. Trips, slips, and fall accidents can all happen because of dirty and slippery flooring.
A clean warehouse is a productive warehouse. Working in a clean environment improves your employees' morale, allowing them to get into a more efficient and focused workflow.
First impressions matter, and keeping your warehouse clean helps to provide an impression that demonstrates the organisation and standards of your facility.
Unclean warehouse floors can be a health hazard. For warehouses that handle bulk goods, dust and particles will build up, which can become airborne and cause respiratory health problems for your warehouse workers.
For warehouses that handle food, the danger comes in the form of bacterial growth, and for warehouses that handle chemicals, toxic fumes can be released into the air, which can cause a variety of health issues.
Accumulated dirt, grime, grease spills, and other contaminants can start to degrade the flooring material if left untreated.
Move away any obstacles that could get in the way of cleaning, and remove rubbish. Ensure that all of your cleaning supplies and equipment are in order.
Before any wet cleaning begins, you should always sweep or vacuum the warehouse floor. Dry particulate soils make up a large percentage of the material found on floors, and these should always be removed dry.
This is firstly more efficient. Adding water to dry dirt or soil will make it stick to the floor more, making cleaning more time-consuming.
Secondly, if you are using any motorised cleaning equipment, like floor scrubbing machines, these particles can get sucked into the equipment and cause damage. They can also work as an abrasive, scratching the floor itself and taking off some of its finish.
There are a variety of methods that can be used to clean warehouse floors, and each will be better suited for different environments and cleaning needs.
You will need cleaning products for a thorough cleaning, but the specific type will depend on your flooring and the sort of dirt and stains you will be dealing with.
This could be a detergent and degreaser. All-purpose cleaners work well for most hard surfaces, like tile, vinyl, and laminate. Degreasers are useful if you are likely to encounter grease and oil, as they contain ingredients that break down oil.
If you work with food, you will need a disinfectant to fully sanitise the floor.
Sensitive flooring like wood or laminate may require less harsh cleaners to protect them from damage.
Manual mopping can have its place, but it isn't useful in all situations. For smaller areas, and for cleaning up immediate spills, a mop can be a quick and easy method for cleaning it up.
If, however, you are cleaning a large area, manual mopping can be an inefficient and time-consuming way of covering the entire floor.
It is also less effective than other methods. Unless you rinse the mop and change the water frequently, it will result in dirt being moved around the floor, rather than removed entirely.
Mops don't have a scrubbing function, so are not as effective at cleaning heavily soiled areas or stubborn stains.
A pressure or power washer is more efficient than mopping for cleaning large floor areas, and is suitable for cleaning sealed and concrete floors.
It works by using high-pressure jets of water to remove dirt, grime, mould, oil, and other contaminants. A pressure washer uses room temperature water, while a power washer uses heated water and is more effective for stubborn stains and grease.
A pressure or power washer generally shouldn't be used on unsealed or porous floors. They can become saturated with water, and this can lead to degradation of the flooring material, as well as mould and mildew growth.
Care should also be taken if power or pressure washing in an environment that houses electrical machinery because of the risk of water damage or electrocution risk.
You will need a method for removing the water. If your warehouse has a drainage system, the water can be moved towards the drain, or you can use a wet-dry vacuum, or leave it to air dry.
Floor scrubbing machines consist of several elements that work together to efficiently and thoroughly clean warehouse floor areas. This includes:
Floor scrubbers can be walk-behind for smaller areas, or ride-on, which are more suitable for large warehouses.
They are superior to a traditional mop because they scrub in addition to using water, and because they vacuum up the dirty water instead of moving it around the floor.
Regardless of the exact cleaning method used, creating a cleaning schedule is one of the most effective steps you can take to ensure that your warehouse floors are kept clean.
Sweeping and vacuuming should happen daily, and warehouse bins should be emptied. A quick inspection to check for damage, and to look for any spills that need to be addressed should also be a daily task.
The warehouse floor should be cleaned weekly, focusing on high and moderate-traffic areas. Entrance mats should also be cleaned.
A more thorough flooring inspection should happen weekly.
Deep cleans should happen monthly, and should include moving any machinery or equipment to clean in harder-to-reach areas.
Heavy use areas should be degreased, and a thorough safety inspection should be conducted. The floors should also be resealed, depending on the floor type.
Any spills should be cleaned immediately, to prevent staining, slip hazards, and other potential issues.
If you need someone to clean your warehouse floors, we can help. Our team of professional cleaning technicians will use industry-standard and effective cleaning techniques to ensure that your warehouse floors are kept clean and that a safe working environment is maintained.
Whether you need a one-off deep clean, or you want to create a regular cleaning schedule, we can accommodate your needs. We understand that every business is different, which is why we tailor our cleaning plans to suit you and to prevent any operational disruption for your warehouse.
Warehouse floor cleaning is an important task that protects warehouse employees, prevents floor damage, and improves productivity. There are a variety of methods, cleaning materials, and cleaning equipment that can be used, and implementing a regular cleaning schedule is effective at maintaining cleanliness.
