Office Floor Cleaning: Carpet, Tile, Vinyl Plank and Entry Mats

That Cleaning Girl · Office Cleaning

Floors are the first thing to show dirt and the last thing people think to clean properly. They also take the most abuse, from rolling chairs to muddy boots. If you've got the desks and touch points sorted out after Cleaning Desks, Keyboards and Shared Surfaces in a Small Office, the floors come next.

Here's what works for small offices around Waxahachie, Midlothian and the rest of south DFW.

Why floors go last

Floors are always the last step in a cleaning visit. Dusting, wiping and emptying trash knock crumbs and dust down. If you do floors first, you'll end up doing them twice. The order is simple: top to bottom, back of the building to the front door.

Carpet

Most small offices have at least some carpet, often in offices and conference rooms. Carpet traps dust, crumbs and dirt deep in the fibers, so regular vacuuming matters more than people think.

• Vacuum the whole carpeted area on every visit, not just the walkways.
• Get along the edges and baseboards with an attachment.
• Vacuum under desks where chairs can be rolled out of the way.
• Treat fresh spills quickly by blotting, not rubbing.

Chair mats help protect carpet under desks. They also need to be cleaned and vacuumed under now and then, because dirt gets trapped beneath them.

Deep carpet shampooing or extraction is a separate job, usually done once or twice a year by a carpet specialist.

Tile and grout

Tile is common in restrooms, break rooms and entryways. It's durable, but grout lines hold dirt and can turn dark over time.

• Sweep or vacuum first to get grit off the surface.
• Mop with a cleaner suited to your tile.
• Change mop water often so you're not just spreading dirty water around.
• Pay attention to the corners and the edges along walls.

If grout is looking dingy, a periodic scrub with a grout brush helps. That's a great rotating extra rather than an every-visit task.

Vinyl plank, laminate and concrete

Luxury vinyl plank has become very popular in offices, especially in newer buildings around Waxahachie, Midlothian and Red Oak. It looks like wood but handles water much better.

• Sweep or dust mop first.
• Use a damp mop, not a soaking wet one.
• Use a cleaner that doesn't leave a residue. Some products make vinyl look cloudy.
• Avoid steam mops unless the flooring manufacturer says they're fine.

Laminate is more sensitive to water than vinyl, so it needs an even lighter touch with the mop.

Some offices, studios and converted spaces have polished or sealed concrete. It's easy to keep clean with regular dust mopping and a damp mop with a neutral cleaner. Avoid harsh chemicals that can dull the finish. Concrete hides dirt better than you would expect, so a quick test is to run a white cloth across it near the door. If it comes up gray, the floor needs more attention than it looks like it does.

Entry mats: your first line of defense

A good entry mat catches a large share of the dirt that would otherwise end up on your floors. That's especially true in North Texas, where we have:

• Red clay mud after rain.
• Oak and cedar pollen in spring.
• Dust all summer long.
• Grass clippings and leaves in fall.

Put a mat outside and another inside the door if you can. Vacuum or shake them out on every visit, and clean the floor underneath too. Dirt collects under mats and can scratch the floor when people walk on it.

Handling North Texas weather

After a big rain, the entry and the first stretch of hallway take a beating. A muddy week might call for an extra floor clean, or at least an extra mat. During pollen season, you'll see a yellow film on hard floors near doors. Regular mopping keeps it from being tracked through the whole office. In summer, the problem flips to fine dust and dried grass, which is less dramatic than mud but ends up ground into carpet just the same.

How often to clean office floors

• Carpet: vacuum every visit.
• Hard floors: sweep and mop every visit.
• Entry mats: every visit, and more often on rainy days.
• Grout scrubbing: monthly or quarterly as a rotating extra.
• Carpet deep cleaning: once or twice a year, by a carpet specialist.

Spills are the exception to any schedule. Coffee on carpet, soda on tile or a tracked-in puddle should be handled the same day. Blot, don't rub, and let us know about anything that didn't come up so it can get extra attention on the next visit.

A clean floor changes everything

When the floors are clean, the whole office looks better, even if nothing else changed. Regular vacuuming, mopping and mat care go a long way. To have your floors handled along with the rest of your space, see our office cleaning services.