Category: Articles
The winter poses many different situations than any other season. One major problem is the removal of ice melt and rock salt on hard-surface floors. Without the adequate amount of matting to hide, hold, trap and store these two compounds, floors will generally have a “white-haze”. This “white-haze” is caused from ice melt or rock salt being tracked into a facility and melting onto a hard-surface floor. Without proper removal, a few problems can occur: your floors will have an unclean look, serious damage to the floor’s finish if removed improperly, and most importantly – slip/fall hazard.
The best solution for this problem is to have a plan in place, which includes using the proper cleaning solution!
Betco makes a product called pHerfect. This product penetrates these “white-haze” spots, cleaning and neutralizing floors in one step! pHerfect is a neutral floor cleaner so it will not affect the finish on your floors. Using pHerfect daily will ensure your floors will look healthy and shiny in high trafficked areas during these long winter months.
Ask your RMS sale’s representative today about pHerfect! Let us help you find the correct cleaning solution for your facility!
Betco pHerfect Product Knowledge Sheet
For additional tips on ice melt removal, please take a look at this article from CleanLink:
After the changes and training that we saw before December 1 2013, OSHA is now moving forward and using the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) in the United States for standardizing the labeling and classifications of chemical hazards. Employees were trained and now the emphasis is on the actual labeling of the chemicals, as well as the creation of new Safety Data Sheets (SDS) by the manufacturers. These changes must be completed no later than June 1, 2015; although it’s expected to come much earlier than that.
Scott Warrington of Cleaning and Maintenance Management magazine wrote a very informative article for those that are interested in these changes, and provides details of what to look for in the new labeling of their chemicals: Following Up On GHS — What’s Next?
If you have any questions about GHS or any of the changes that will be made, contact a representative from RMS! We have all gone through the training multiple times and will be happy to answer your questions or help you with the new documents that you must have on site for safety purposes.
As we know, it is very difficult to categorize disinfectants as “green,” as they are killing microorganisms and may have a part in creating bacteria that is resistant to specific chemicals. The Environmental Protection Agency is looking to change this, as more disinfectants with “greener” active ingredients are being created and introduced to the market. These include products that use hydrogen peroxide as an active ingredient to clean and disinfect.
Design for the Environment (DfE) Disinfectant Changes
As the industry moves forward and technology changes, we should see many new products that will meet the EPA’s guidelines to be considered as “green” disinfectants. As your RMS representative about hydrogen peroxide based disinfectants today!
Cleanlink.com recently conducted a study on how to prevent slip-and-fall accidents in the winter months. According to the study, job-related accidents occur 133% more from November to January. The majority of these accidents can be prevented by having a slip-and-fall checklist to ensure entrance ways are properly covered with ice melt and sufficient coverage of matting.
A few of these tips are commonly over-looked when it comes to having a proper slip-and-fall plan in place.
- Having a systematic plan for snow removal and an effective ice melt program. Using not enough ice melt or not properly clearing walk-ways will increase the likely hood of a slip-and-fall.
- Using signs to designate whether or not the floor is slippery, wet or soiled. In this case, having the proper signage to indicate problem areas will significantly lower the number of slip-and-falls.
- One of the most overlooked aspects of properly maintaining a facility to safely prevent slip-and-falls is to have sufficient matting. Having a proper matting system to: trap, hold, hide and store moisture, debris, and excess ice melt, will not only prevent slip-and-falls, but it will help keep your facilities floors looking healthy during the winter months.
If you have any questions in regards to having a proper matting system in place, ice melt, or questions about maintaining floors during winter, please contact a Riley Maintenance Systems representative today! We have the proper tools available to help prevent slip-and-falls and to keep your floors looking healthy throughout winter!
A USA Today investigation was released today in their newspaper and website shows that the very dangerous MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria has been expanding into communities very quickly. The antibiotic resistant bacteria was mainly found in hospitals and other health care facilities, but is now spreading and being found in many other facilities. One such area is NFL locker rooms, as three players on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were found to have the potentially deadly staph infection.
MRSA can also strike hard during flu season, which we have approached here in these winter months. Careful cleaning and disinfecting with the correct chemicals, allowing proper dwell time, can greatly decrease the chances of a MRSA outbreak at a given facility.
If you have any questions about disinfectants that kill this bacteria, please contact a Riley Maintenance Systems representative. We have some very effective chemicals that will eliminate this bacteria if used properly and would be happy to stop over to your facility to demonstrate.
Well, our physical inventory is over and we hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
Here is an interesting article from Cleaning and Maintenance Magazine about optimizing your facility’s cleaning operations to reduce your labor costs. Labor is the most expensive aspect of cleaning and when the correct products are used for certain applications, it can make these jobs easier to complete and allows employees to be more productive with their time. Take a minute and check out the article. The author makes some very good points and easy recommendations that will increase productivity.
With winter approaching, we all know that it’s difficult to keep your floors clean. Many people focus mainly on hard floors, but keeping your carpets clean is just as important. Here is an article from CleanFax Online with some tips to keep your carpets clean:
Winter Carpet Care – CleanFax Online
Preventative maintenance is important in increasing the life span of your carpets. Effective matting systems can cut down soil and moisture that is being brought into your facility by 95%. Please contact a local RMS representative to receive some more information on effective matting systems!