The 6 Best Practices for Restaurant Floor Cleaning & Maintenance

The kitchen floor is one of the parts of an establishment that is most vulnerable to dirt and grime. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get as much attention as kitchen counters, which could mean bad news for both your restaurant sanitation and the longevity of your polished concrete floor.

To make sure you’re taking care of it the right way, we at Equipaint have compiled a list of the six best practices in floor cleaning and maintenance specifically designed to help restaurant owners.

1. Conduct regular deep cleaning.

Cleanliness is a must for eating establishments. This means that the kitchen floor needs to be cleaned once or twice every day. This can be split into the usual hours of operation (right around lunch and dinner).

But even if your staff is cleaning daily, you still need to conduct more serious cleaning measures periodically. This will help ensure that your kitchen floor stays dirt-, grime-, and germ-free.

Deep cleaning should be performed once or twice a week (or every four to seven days). This entails floor buffering using a cleaning device with a 20-inch scrub pad that can run at 175 rotations per minute (rpm).

This special (and more intense) cleaning ritual helps loosen stickier and harder-to-remove gunk that may accumulate even with daily sweeping and mopping.

When choosing a cleaning tool, make sure that it is long enough to help you move with ease and narrow enough for those hard-to-reach spots that regular mops and squeegees can’t access.

2. Follow the two-pronged concrete floor cleaning process.

Painted concrete floors require a two-pronged cleaning process: sweeping and wet cleaning.

To make sure you’re doing it properly, follow the steps below:

Sweeping

  • Using a soft-bristle broom, sweep away all large pieces of debris and dust from your concrete kitchen floor.
  • After that, go over the surface using a microfiber cloth or any dust-catching cloth material to get any stray dust or hair you may have missed while sweeping with your broom.
  • Run a vacuum over the entire surface to get smaller particles that cannot be seen easily.

After dry sweeping, you also need to wet-clean your painted concrete floor. (You can read more about what cleaning products you should use in a bit.)

Wet cleaning

  • Soak a mop in a cleaning solution. Wring out any excess liquid until the mop is damp.
  • Run it over the concrete floor. Make sure you don’t let moisture pool on any part of the floor surface.
  • Using clean water, rinse the floor and let it dry thoroughly. Check the corners for any liquid that may have pooled and mop them dry.

3. Pay attention to your cleaning supplies.

Painted, stained, or polished concrete floors present a unique set of maintenance challenges compared to other types of floors.

While the sealing these kinds of floors undergo during installation helps prevent cracking and chipping, it requires the use of a special kind of floor cleaner that prevents damage to the sealant and cement paint.

To be safe, stick to what your floor installer recommends. But in case you need to substitute, the general rule is to avoid anything that contains highly acidic ingredients, such as ammonia or bleach, as they can leave unsightly etches on the paint job.

DIY Tip: Some floor experts recommend cleaning concrete flooring with diluted vinegar. Aside from cleaning and disinfecting surfaces, this useful kitchen ingredient also helps prevent mildew growth.

Don’t forget to keep a running checklist of all the cleaning supplies you need for your kitchen floor. Take note of the items that are already at half-capacity or less and order them from your trusted supplier before they run out.

4. Keep the cleaning tools properly stored and designated.

Besides the cleaners, you also need to pay attention to the tools you’re using in maintaining your restaurant floor.

Make sure they are clean and properly stored to remove any lingering dirt and fluid odors that can spread to other places in your restaurant (i.e., food preparation area).

To be safe, keep your cleaning implements in a closet, backroom, or anywhere away from your cooking devices and ingredients.

You must also assign a specific mop or set of mops reserved for kitchen use exclusively. Keep them in a specific rack used for kitchen cleaning equipment to avoid mixing them up with other mops. Or better yet, practice color-coding or other labeling methods to make it easier for your staff to distinguish them.

5. Reseal painted concrete floors every few years.

Whether you have a painted or stained concrete flooring, you need to make sure that it is resealed every few years to prevent the paint from fading, chipping, or dissolving.

Although the concrete itself is quite durable, the paint may chip from the weight of heavy furniture and constant foot traffic it is subjected to daily. Because of this, we recommend resealing or repainting the floor every few years.

6. Clean up spills and crumbs immediately.

While it is essential, many restaurant staff members sometimes forget key floor-care habits, like picking up food particles or wiping away spills as soon as possible. These are crucial in restaurant kitchen floor maintenance, so make sure everyone remembers to do them.

Moreover, don’t forget to train everyone in the proper cleanup procedures in case these accidents occur.

For instance, beverage or condiment spills need to be soaked up with a towel. Clean and disinfect afterwards using products made explicitly for the kitchen floor.

In case of food particles, remind your restaurant staff to pick them up as soon as possible. Then, spray and wipe the spot where they landed.
For a Spick-and-Span Restaurant Floor

Because they serve food to customers, restaurants need to be the epitome of cleanliness. Of course, cleaning and maintaining your kitchen floor properly also ensures its longevity and beauty.

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