The covering decides which stripping method is permissible, not the machine: what is right on a design floor covering destroys linoleum.
Deep cleaning returns a floor covering to its raw state: it strips old care films, encrusted soil and traffic lanes, extracts the loosened slurry wet and neutralises the surface. Only then can a new care film follow. Which method is permissible is decided by the covering alone: alkaline strippers destroy linoleum, rubber and calcareous natural stone. The area stays closed off while it dries.
The trigger is almost always a visible finding that the running cleaning has no explanation for: the floor looks dull rather than even after mopping, because surfactant-based maintenance cleaners build up a care film layer by layer – a sacrificial polymer layer that is meant to wear away instead of the covering itself. Traffic lanes are back within a few days – a sign of missing stripping, not of cleaning that is too infrequent. The surface has greyed because fine sand particles from the entrance zone act like an abrasive; the covering is then not dirty but mechanically attacked. And often a site inspection has raised the question of slipping hazards without it being clear whether cleaning is the right answer at all. The common denominator: this is not about cleanliness but about the condition of the covering.
It starts with the diagnosis: the covering and its wear layer are determined, joint proportion, pre-existing damage, discolouration and existing coating layers are recorded. Chemistry, mechanics and pressure follow from that – not the other way round. A fixed sequence then applies: stripping the old layers with a dwell time, wet extraction of the soiled solution before it dries, neutralisation and clear rinsing, drying and only then a new care film. Every step is named in the schedule of services as an item of its own, because each one decides the result.
Tailored to this service – aligned with site and industry.
Alkaline strippers destroy linoleum, rubber and calcareous natural stone. Anyone who uses the same cleaning agent on PVC, linoleum and rubber causes damage in one of the three cases that no second pass will put right.
A coating does not adhere permanently to an alkaline surface. It flakes off or forms blisters, often only after weeks – by then the connection remains hidden and it looks like a product defect.
The protective film is preparatory work for daily routine cleaning: an intact film extends the interval to the next stripping and keeps abrasive particles away from the covering. How the care film should look therefore belongs in the tender.
Process
The covering and its wear layer, joint proportion, pre-existing damage, discolouration and existing coating layers are determined. The result is the decision on chemistry, mechanics and pressure.
A material-compatible deep-cleaning agent is applied and left to act; mechanical treatment with a single-disc machine, pad or brush roller follows – depending on the covering and the layer thickness.
The loosened slurry is extracted wet before it dries. If it dries in, the polymer that was stripped off is deposited on the surface again and the work step was ineffective.
Alkaline residues are removed and the surface is brought back into the neutral range. This is the step most often left out, and it is the precondition for any care film holding at all.
A new care film only adheres to a dry covering; residual moisture in joints and at transitions leads to inclusions. Whether a coating follows has to be settled beforehand as an item of its own. At the joint acceptance the point is agreed from which the area may be fully used again.
This service sits within a framework of statutory duties, technical rulebooks and operational practice. The distinction matters because it determines who is responsible for what.
The rulebooks named here describe requirements for how the work is carried out – they are not a certification held by BREREI. VDI and DIN normative texts are chargeable and were not available in full; where a statement touches the normative detail, this is noted in place.
These references describe the requirements the work is performed against. They are not a certification, inspection or approval held by BREREI.
Short answers to help you assess whether this service fits your site.
From four findings that mostly occur together: the floor looks dull rather than even after cleaning; traffic lanes show up again within a few days; the surface feels sticky or attracts soil noticeably fast; and there is a visible build-up of layers, often at edges, transitions and in corners. All four point to the same thing: there is a film on the surface that the running cleaning no longer removes.
That cannot be said across the board, because three times add up: the cleaning time itself, the drying time of the covering and, if a care film is applied, the flash-off and curing time of the coating. The total depends on the covering, on the product and above all on the room climate. The critical figure is therefore not the cleaning duration but the window in which the area has to stay closed off. That is exactly what weekends, holidays and shutdown periods are used for.
No. Stripping removes the existing care film; whether a new care film follows is decided by the covering and the demands made on it. Rubber coverings, for instance, are treated vapour-permeable and do not receive a closed film, linoleum can be given a satin care film but does not have to be, while heavily used PVC and design coverings benefit clearly. The order matters: first ask what the covering needs. What you should set out in the tender: whether the care film is part of the order or a separate item, and which product information has to be submitted for it.
The most sensitive are linoleum, a natural product made of linseed oil, wood flour and jute, and rubber, as well as calcareous natural stone such as marble. Linoleum reacts to strongly alkaline cleaners with irreversible discolouration and embrittlement, rubber is impaired in its vapour-permeable structure, and calcareous stone is attacked by acidic agents while cement joints positively need acid to remove limescale. That is why every deep cleaning starts with the diagnosis of the covering and not with the choice of machine.
Yes, and often that is the only realistic route. The area is then divided into sections that are worked one after another and released individually. That takes more time than working straight through, because machines and staff have to be moved several times and interim arrangements are needed for the routes people take. The advantage: operations do not have to stop entirely. It makes sense on large, subdivided areas, not on a continuous corridor that cannot be closed off halfway.
Here two requirements meet that can rule each other out. Cement joints and limescale deposits on ceramic coverings are usually treated with acid, while calcareous natural stone such as marble or travertine is attacked by exactly that acid and loses its surface. In properties where both occur, work therefore has to be done section by section with different chemistry and clearly separated working agents. What you should set out in the tender: whether a joint treatment is also wanted that delays soiling again – it is an item of its own and not an ancillary service.
The industry page sets out which requirements apply there.
Technical and legal classification of the topic — for operators preparing a decision.
The next sensible step is a site visit with a look at the floor: type of covering, existing coating layers, joint proportion, damaged areas and the time window in which the area can be closed off. That survey replaces any remote diagnosis.
Service, property and contact details – that is all we need.
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