Most of the time, building services contractors (BSCs) provide complimentary initial cleaning of facilities to win a contract. This is a very inviting offer for clients because it seems like they are saving a significant amount for facility maintenance. However, it must be noted that there are a few things that building services contractors miss when cleaning the facility. For instance, when it comes to floor maintenance, BSCs will mop, strip and refinish the floor to clean it and make it look good. What is often overlooked by BSCs is the condition of the baseboards
Baseboards are the narrow wooden boards that run along the base of the wall. Considerable amounts of soil and floor finishing are usually left on baseboards, which causes staining.
How should I clean my baseboards?
Before cleaning baseboards, it is important to first check what material it is made of. Baseboards are either made of wood, clay, vinyl, rubber, stone, concrete or a specialty material. This is a crucial step because using the wrong cleaning agent can cause discoloration or even strip off the coatings. To avoid a huge disaster and bigger costs, after checking the material, test the chemical in an unnoticeable area of the baseboard.
Expect that it will be a bit of a challenge to keep the cleaning agent on the surface long enough to get the soil and floor finishing off. The best method you can use to clean your baseboards is to focus on one small area first and keep reapplying the chemical until it takes effect. Aside from cleaning agents, cleaners also use agitation to loosen the soil and floor finishing stuck on baseboards.
For minimal buildups, scrubbing the baseboards using a terry cloth with a small amount of stripping solution will do the trick. For more extensive buildups, avoid creating scratches on the surface of the baseboards by using the least abrasive scrubbing pad.
Preventing Soiling
If you want to avoid all the work required to clean baseboards, the best thing to do is to prevent soiling in the first place.
Since baseboards are connected to the floor, these are often exposed to bumps from equipment and getting hit by wet mops and finish applicators. All these can damage baseboards and cause buildup. The best practice is for workers to stop and wipe the baseboards when it is hit by wet mops and finishing. You can also opt to clean the outer edges of the floor first or, when refinishing, apply the first coat of finishing on the edge first.
Other methods you can use to prevent soiling:
- Make use of splash guards
- Use machines that have optional side brushes, which are designed to clean baseboards and floor edges
Obviously, commercial cleaning services is labor-intensive and very time-consuming. If you don’t want to go through the hassle of doing it yourself, you can always hire the services of professional cleaners in NC. Companies like Blue Ribbon Maintenance are well-equipped with materials, tools and knowledge in keeping facilities clean and well-maintained.