During the winter season, ice melt issues are a common problem in many commercial spaces. Learn the proper way to clean carpet and resilient areas where ice melt re-soiling is a frequent problem.
Case Studies
Degrease Restaurant Walk-Off Matting Case Study
Soiled with grease, the fibers of the walk-off tiles at a St. Paul pizza restaurant were nearly unrecognizable. In this XLN case study, Mike Becker, Operations Manager with CFS Interiors & Flooring, describes how using two XL North Products – XL Grease & Oil Remover & XL Nylon Pre-Spray Advanced – helped his team to […]
Tags
Case Studies
Dining Facility Carpet Case Study
Unhappy with the appearance of relatively new carpet, the staff at a dining facility in Chicago reached out to Steve Starcher and the Timco team for assistance. Steve and his crew performed an impressive demo to show how easily and effectively carpet can be cleaned and maintained when equipped with the proper chemistry and floor […]
Tags
Discover the Difference that Foam Makes When Cleaning Carpet
XL North is always on the lookout for new advancements in the commercial floor care industry that can help our customers achieve better results. While using foam detergent as a cleaning method has been around for quite some time, the chemistry and process used to create foam has changed greatly over the decades. Recent improvements […]
Tags
Discover why the FCICA is an Invaluable Resource for Flooring Contractors
At the recent FCICA Annual Convention in Tucson, we spoke with members about their experiences in the association. They offered their takeaways from the event and explained the benefits of an FCICA membership. What are some of your takeaways from the recent convention? Larry Chandler, Director of Commercial Sales and Bird Pro Supplies, William M […]
Tags
Do You Know The Facts About Vital Oxide?
More than ever during this uncertain time, you need to arm yourself with the facts so you can make the best choices to protect you, your staff, your customers, and their employees.
Tags
During a Pandemic, Where are New Opportunities for Commercial Floor Care Business Growth?
For commercial flooring service providers, this past spring brought a lot of uncertainty when many businesses were either fully or partially closed down for an unprecedented period of time. “What do we do now?” is a question I heard on multiple occasions from our customers. Many of you either started or stepped up your disinfection/sanitization […]
Tags
Education is Key in Keeping Restaurant Floors Clean
Customers often depend on flooring professionals to properly educate them on how to clean their floors in between routine service visits. In most facilities or buildings, janitorial staff maintains the floors and teaching them proper care and maintenance procedures is standard practice. Restaurants, however, tend to be an exception as kitchen and serving staff are […]
Tags
Case Studies
Efflorescence on Grout Case Study
In this case study, Bob Deweese describes how one of his Rite Rug techs made an unusual discovery on what seemed to be an everyday grout cleaning job. The grout being cleaning was actually a few shades darker than it appeared. What had lightened the grout? A coating of salt formed during a process called […]
Tags
Empower Your Team with On-Site IICRC Certification & Training from XL Academy
XL Academy recently had the privilege of facilitating on-site IICRC Commercial Carpet Maintenance Technician (CCMT) certification courses and exams for two of our customers and the feedback from their team members who participated in these sessions has been nothing short of exceptional. Instructor Bill Luallen’s expertise and teaching style made a significant impact, leaving a […]
Tags
White Papers
Extractor Terminology
Get the basics on extractors and extraction! In this white paper, we review extractor terminology – common words, abbreviations, and phrases used when discussing the extraction process.
Tags
Floor Care in Focus: A Follow Up to The Ramifications of Specifications
A few years ago, I wrote an article titled The Ramifications of Specifications, which struck a chord across the flooring industry. The article highlighted how great flooring products often fail when installed in the wrong environments. This problem persists because crucial voices—those of floor care professionals—are too often left out of the decision-making process. Since […]
Tags
Floor Maintenance Professionals: Prepare Your Techs for the Hard Questions
If you are a floor maintenance service technician, supervisor, manager, director or contractor, then you have been asked questions that may go beyond your scope of knowledge. It has been my experience that when someone hires you in any capacity, they are not just hiring you to do the job, they are hiring you to […]
Tags
Guides & Checklists
Flooring Pre-Maintenance Checklist
Job site evaluations are crucial before beginning any floor care project. By getting answers to as many questions as possible, your team’s effectiveness and efficiency will improve, positively impacting overall job performance. The answers can determine the chemicals used, the cleaning procedures, and/or how many technicians are needed for the job. Do not ever assume […]
Tags
Floors Maintained with Bleach
It’s still common (even in this day and age) to have custodial personal take it upon themselves to do what they think is right. We often see this phenomena when a company goes to do a strip and finish for a new client or even an existing one. Mopping with bleach will leave the “salt” […]
Tags
From the Field: Talking Shop with Commercial Floor Care Pros
The new year is always a good time to pause and think about where we’ve been and where we’re headed. I reached out to some folks I know—managers and operations leaders in the commercial floor care industry—to hear their thoughts on navigating today’s challenges. From shifting customer dynamics to workforce pressures and team training, their […]