Archive for October, 2011
Acrylic Floor Cleaners, A Look Behind the Black Curtain
A hidden Look Behind the Black Curtain of Acrylic Floor Cleaners
Some of these acrylic floor cleaners are incredibly powerful, and unfortunately some of them even contain phosphates or alkalies. Some of the most common alkalies are sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, and ammonia, all of which are difficult to work with. Other alkalies are sodium carbonate, sodium metasilicate and sodium hydroxide. Some contain acids, such as sulphuric acid and nitric acid. As unfortunate as it is, none of us are deeply into chemicals enough to realize what we are utilizing to clean our floors. The majority of our floor cleaners have some sort of surfactant which serves to not only loosen but suspend soil. What acrylic floor cleaners and finishers have in them is a chemical residue byproduct that remains on the floor to give it that extra shine.
Now, some acrylic floor cleaners leave the acrylic on the floor but chances are that it is not removed the next time the floor is cleaned. But, then another coating of acrylic goes on the floor because the same acrylic floor cleaner was utilized. What follows next is what many people responsible for cleaning floors refer to as the yellowing or build-up on the floor. This unfortunately will have to be removed by stripping the floor, which no one likes to have to do as it can more times than not be a lengthy, tedious, and messy process. Even attempting to place another new piece of linoleum over the old will not suffice as the acrylic byproduct will prevent the new from adhering to the old.
One should also realize that if one utilizes high quality acrylic floor cleaners that also have a polymer added, then that floor will have tremendous resistance against heel markings, scuffing, dirt and such, but again there is that build up. There is however an answer to this puzzling problem of low maintenance flooring that can still weather the effects of time.
Acrylic floor resins are the answer, which have been impregnated throughout the flooring such as concrete. Silikal is considered the world’s best acrylic floor resins. You see, they use MMA reactive resin coatings for floors. This kind of flooring never needs stripping, never needs polishing, and more importantly it is totally water resistant, and it can even be applied so that it is also slip resistant.
Many designers as well as architects dearly love designing using Silikal. You see, those floors can mimic even the “in” floors one sees today, such as a natural pebble stone look. Very posh indeed, and as aesthetically an artistic floor as anyone would desire. Finally consider the fact that a Silikal floor can be laid and utilized a short hour later. It also is completely free of VOCs. None at all, thus this means that it can even be laid while there are other people in the building too!