Using look-alike aftermarket suppliers for replacement parts can significantly diminish the performance of equipment. Look for low-odor: Though they include the power and convenience of traditional floor strippers, new low-odor stripper formula-tions eliminate the strong, unpleasant odors, says Curtis Gregg, brand manager with Na-tional Chemical Laboratories Inc. The absence of odors makes these strip-pers more user-friendly for educational and healthcare environments. Here, students, staff, patients and facility guests will all benefit from this newer prod-uct, Gregg notes. Follow dwell times: When floor stripping is necessary, dwell time proves to be pivotal — especially with these low-odor strippers. According to Kaufold, new low-odor strip-pers have better solvency than low-odor strippers of the past. The low odor means the stripper can dwell longer in facilities without disrupting building occupants in the vicinity of the floor crew. “Allowing proper dwell time eliminates re-peat strips by ensuring a thorough strip on the first pass,” Kaufold notes. No-rinse stripper options: Finally, Gregg states that new innovations in floorcare prod-ucts often are met with some skepticism. “That was the case when it came to high performance, no-rinse floor strippers,” he recalls. “While not having to dedicate time to rinsing was a positive, their quick dry-ing nature and strong objectionable odors were negatives that at times offset the positives.” According to Gregg, the new category of high-performance, low-rinse and low-odor speed strippers which are appearing on the janitorial market achieve the positive at-tributes of no-rinse technology without the negative aspects. Yet, it is not a case of sacrificing power for increased convenience. A mixture of specialized surfactants, sol-vents and alcohols means these strippers can deliver the results that managers and contractors may be accustomed to with added benefits. “The specialized surfactants slow down the evaporation process to reduce dry spots, while the fast penetrating action at-tacks the entire surface area,” Gregg con-cludes. “These specialty free rinsing surfac-tants remove from the floor easily, leave no damaging residue behind, and quickly get the floor ready for refinishing.” As these tips show, vendors in the clean-ing market are always creating new equip-ment and formulas to address the needs of the hard floor care professional. For operations and staff performing daily floorcare tasks, find more valuable tips like these in this month’s Tech Tip pages and the following hard floor care spotlight fea-tures. CM FREE INFO: Reader Service 212 or CMMOnline.com/freeinfo www.CMMOnline.com Image courtesy of hxdbzxy/iStock/Thinkstock 23
CMM – Archives April 2014: 23
