Identifying your floor and cleaning it properly: a guide for professional buyers

Most floor damage in commercial buildings is not caused by dirt. It is caused by using the wrong product on the wrong surface. An acidic descaler on marble, an aggressive alkaline stripper on a sealed vinyl, a crystalliser on vitrified porcelain: each of those mistakes costs money that no cleaning schedule will ever recover.

This guide does two things. First, it helps you identify what you are actually standing on, using the three classifications that matter commercially: surface finish, resistance to chemicals, and physical nature. Second, it turns that identification into a buying and maintenance decision: which detergent, which protection, which machine speed, and what frequency.

Before you buy anything: three classifications that decide everything

Floor products are sold as if every hard surface were the same. It is not. Three questions sort any floor into the right product family.

By surface finish

• Smooth floors: marble, terrazzo, glazed tiles, polished cement. Cleaning is about keeping the film off, not about aggression. Smooth surfaces show every streak, so the risk is over-dosing detergent and leaving residue.
• Textured floors: slate, rustic stoneware, clay, porous cement. Soil sits inside the texture, so cleaning depends on mechanical action plus a detergent that releases the film, not on a stronger chemical.

By resistance to external agents

• Hard floors: terrazzo, granite, marble. They tolerate machines and most chemistry, but several of them are sensitive to acid.
• Soft floors: PVC and vinyl, linoleum, rubber, parquet, laminate, cork, carpet. Here the enemy is water and aggressive alkalinity, not dirt.

By physical nature

Hard floors, part one: the crystallisable group

Crystallisable hard floors contain calcite. That is the essential condition for the chemical reaction with fluosilicates that hardens and polishes the surface. It is also the reason they are sensitive to acid: the same calcite that lets you crystallise the floor is what an acidic descaler dissolves.

Marble

Natural limestone blocks, composed mainly of calcium carbonate and metallic oxides that give the veining and colour. Long-lived and visually premium, resistant to abrasion but easy to scratch. Sensitive to acid, tolerant of water. There are also artificial marbles (marmolina) made from marble dust and fragments bound with cement: same appearance, lower quality, same treatment logic.

Limestone

Natural blocks similar to marble but of different origin and formation, more heavily veined. Similar properties, usually lower hardness, and therefore more sensitive to specific cleaning operations. Salt efflorescence is common on the surface, which is a moisture problem first and a cleaning problem second.

Terrazzo

A cement base of some thickness, topped with an agglomerate containing marble fragments, onto which the fluosilicate is fixed when crystallised. Durable and cheap to keep, which is why it dominates schools, hospitals and retail.

Watch out for terrazzo-look porcelain. It is not terrazzo and it cannot be crystallised. The chemical reaction will blacken the surface permanently. This is one of the most expensive mistakes in the category, and it happens because the two surfaces are visually indistinguishable in a specification drawing.

Hard floors, part two: the non-crystallisable group

These do not contain calcite, so they do not react with fluosilicates. Buying a crystalliser for them is money thrown away.

Granite

Natural blocks of quartz, feldspar and mica, usually grey but also pink or green. Very hard, highly resistant to mechanical and chemical action, non-porous and therefore very water-resistant. By nature it is very difficult to polish chemically: only abrasion or mechanical polishing improves its appearance, which makes the abrasive (diamond) and the machine the decisive factors, not the chemical.

Ceramics and stoneware

A broad family made from clay with other elements and fired to different degrees, which produces a wide range of finishes. Very resistant to detergents, but acidic products attack the cement grout lines that hold the tiles together. In practice, grout is where a ceramic floor fails.

• Tiles: wear-resistant with some porosity, moulded into shapes and reliefs, sometimes varnished.
• Glazed wall and floor tiles: a vitrified, glass-like surface. Fully impermeable, but fragile to impact.
• Fired clay tiles: lower quality, less resistant, more porous. In damp environments they bloom with salts as whitish stains.
• Stoneware: clay, sand and silicates pressed and fired above 900 °C, producing a very hard tile, highly resistant to abrasion and corrosion.
• Hydraulic mosaic: a cement-and-sand base with a second cement layer and a glazed top layer in various tones and patterns. Resistant to wear and chemicals, but porous and sensitive to chemical attack.
• Vitrified stoneware: fired to produce a crystalline surface layer, giving a very smooth glossy finish. The trade-off is poor impact resistance and a surface that resists a genuinely good mop finish.

Slate

A fine-grained natural stone of mica, chlorite, quartz and clay, formed in layers that separate easily. Usually blue-grey or black, installed rustic or polished. It cannot be crystallised, but acrylic emulsions and specific slate varnishes exist, and mineral oils can be applied by hand. Never clean slate with abrasives, strongly alkaline products above pH 9, or solvents: neutral detergents only.

Soft floors, part one: the resilient group

Resilient floors are synthetic, sometimes factory-sealed, and highly resistant to foot traffic. They come as tiles or rolls and are bonded with adhesives. The commercial point is this: when the protective layer wears through with use, the floor becomes porous, soil accumulates heavily, hygiene drops, service life shortens and appearance collapses. Protection is not cosmetic maintenance, it is asset protection.

PVC and vinyl

Mostly polyvinyl chloride, also called thermoplastic because tiles and rolls can be joined by heat welding. Available in a wide range of tones, patterns and reliefs. It marks under heat or mechanical aggression, such as an impact or dragging a heavy object.

• Unsealed factory PVC is very porous. To stop it absorbing liquids and soil, seal it with synthetic emulsions, acrylic or metallic.
• Very resistant to foot traffic and chemicals. It does not resist organic solvents.
• Clean with neutral detergents by hand, or with red or green pads on high-speed machines. Polish with the spray method or dry with UHS machines. Remove old emulsion with alkaline strippers.
• Flexible, impermeable, and limited resistance to certain products. Some grades dissipate static and are used in rooms where electricity is a hazard.
• Vinyl sheeting is under half a centimetre thick, and the lower and upper faces are distinguishable by sheen and texture. Its main use is floor covering. Flexible enough to be folded around corners and wall-floor junctions.

Saipolan

A tile floor similar to PVC but harder and more resistant: it takes traffic better, and stains and marks clean off more easily. Non-porous and very low maintenance, with heat-welded joints guaranteeing impermeability. Protected and cleaned exactly like PVC. It is barely installed any more: despite the benefits it is less flexible than standard PVC, and because it comes as tiles the corners eventually break as the material becomes brittle.

Soft floors, part two: the maintenance cycle that keeps them economical

A resilient floor is not cleaned once. It runs a cycle, and the cost of the cycle is decided at the point of purchase.

1. Initial sealing. Apply synthetic emulsion to porous or unsealed floors before they take traffic. Skipping this step is what turns a cheap floor into an expensive one.
2. Daily cleaning. Neutral detergent, correct dilution, minimal water. More detergent does not mean cleaner: it means residue, streaks and a faster film build-up.
3. Periodic deep clean. Pads and machine speed matched to the finish. Red or green pads on high-speed machines for standard resilient floors, spray polish or dry UHS for high-gloss areas.
4. Stripping. When emulsion layers are too thick or yellowed, remove them with an alkaline stripper and reseal. This is a planned task, not an emergency.
5. Protection. Entrance matting, correct frequency and the right dilution rate extend the interval between strippings, which is where the real saving sits.

Frequency: what to set for each type of building

Where the money goes: this is a procurement decision, not a cleaning detail

In any building, floors are simultaneously the largest surface area, the most visible and the most chemically sensitive. Get the identification wrong and the cost shows up in three places: premature replacement, extra labour spent correcting damage, and product spend that delivers nothing.

• Wrong chemistry destroys capital. Acid on marble, crystalliser on porcelain, solvent on vinyl: all three are irreversible.
• Wrong dilution destroys appearance. Over-dosed detergent leaves film, which dulls the floor and forces more frequent stripping.
• Missing protection destroys the schedule. Unsealed porous floors absorb soil and demand more hours to look halfway decent.
• Right product mix reduces labour. Matching detergent, protection and machine to the floor is the single biggest lever on hours per square metre.

What to ask your supplier for

• Technical data sheet stating the pH and the materials the product is compatible with, and explicitly what it must not be used on.
• Safety data sheet for every chemical, as required under REACH and for your own risk assessment.
• Dilution rates in clear ratios and the yield per container, so you can compare cost per square metre rather than cost per litre.
• Confirmation of whether the product is a cleaner, a protector or a stripper, because the three are often sold under nearly identical descriptions.
• Recommended pad or disc grade and machine speed for the floor you actually have.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my floor is crystallisable?

If it contains calcite, it crystallises. Marble, limestone and terrazzo do. Granite, slate, ceramics and all resilient floors do not. If you are unsure, test a small hidden area: a crystalliser on the wrong surface will darken it immediately, and a test patch is far cheaper than a full floor.

Can I use one detergent for the whole building?

Rarely. A neutral detergent covers most resilient floors and smooth hard surfaces, which is often the majority of the area. But stone, timber, rubber and grout each have specific requirements, so a single-product approach is a compromise that shows up as damage somewhere. The practical answer is a small, well-chosen range rather than one universal product.

Why does my vinyl look dull after cleaning?

Almost always residue from over-dosing, or worn-out emulsion that has yellowed. Clean with the correct dilution first; if the dullness remains, the protective layer has reached the end of its life and the floor needs stripping and resealing.

How often should floors be stripped and resealed?

On standard commercial traffic, once or twice a year, less if entrance matting and correct daily dilution are in place, more in high-traffic or poorly protected areas. Frequency should be driven by measured appearance, not by a fixed calendar.

Is a stronger product always better?

No. Strength without a match to the surface is how floors get destroyed. The correct sequence is always: identify the floor, choose the chemistry, then choose the dose and the machine.

Buying floors and floor care at LimpialoTodo.com

We supply professional floor care to businesses across Spain and Portugal: neutral and alkaline detergents, crystallisers, alkaline strippers, floor protectors, discs and pads, scrubber dryers and rotary machines. If you are not sure what your floor is, send us a photo and the approximate surface area, and we will tell you which combination to buy and in what format.

Start from the floor care category, or look at floor strippers and floor protection for the periodic side of the cycle. General cleaning chemistry sits in general cleaners, and the machines and tools in cleaning equipment and janitorial supplies. For consumables alongside floor care, see cleaning cloths and industrial mops.

Check how to buy for ordering conditions, deliveries and secure payment. For volume pricing or a mixed floor-care programme, write to [email protected].