Cleaning Dancefloor

[Liquid Nik]

Hi All

 

I'm wondering if any of you lovely people out there have any good tricks or products you know of for scrubbing harlequin dancefloor. I've just spent a happy saturday on my hands and knees with a bucket of hot water and "Cillet Bang" and a pan scourer trying to get all the marks off the grey side of my wife's dancefloor.

She runs her own dance school so my work is therefore "voluntary" so any suggestions of how to make the process easier on my 40yr old knees and my wifes sanity would be appreceiated. No I'm not considering child labour, even though my 4yr old is very good at it !!

[smeggie]

broom with soft bristles - and paint tray with solution used in it.

also remember to rinse off the cleaner or it leaves nasty green stuff on it when it finally dries.

 

hard luck. [done it also too many times to enjoy it]

[Bryson]

The real answer to this to be ruthless and mean about which shoes you permit on the Grey (or any, for that matter!) side of the Dancefloor. No trainers with black soles; no shoes that have been worn outdoors; no spiky heels (no matter how nice they look...).

 

Once you've got marks, I'm afraid housemaids knee it is.

 

The other solution is to insist that people use the black side. It's much nicer. :)

[paulears]

Hire an industrial polisher, make sure you get the bristle head. If the floor is really, really dirty then a couple of tins of vim/ajax and water. We had one that had been painted with emulsion, and this worked great. Harlequin actually sell a purpose designed cleaner, but you need to use it regularly. Back shoe marks are a sod, and need a little extra effort. The floor after this treatment was almost as new, no problems with the surface.

[bruce]

One way of aquiring use of an industrial polisher for minimal cost is to buy a large box of chocolates for the cleaners at your local school or council offices or similar...

[Grahame]

Don't use a pan scourer - it takes the surface off and you end up with lots of 'dull' patches on the floor.

A rotary floor scrubber used with non-slip cleaner will get most of the marks off without damaging the surface too much. More stubborn marks can sometimes be removed using a large eraser. alternatively a cloth and white spirit for really stubborn marks. Make sure to mop thoroughly after using white spirit as it can leave the floor a bit slippy.

[Liquid Nik]

We are pretty careful about what goes on the dancefloor, in regards of footwear anyway. We use the Black side for Tap and Modern and the Grey side for ballet exams only The problem being is we have no premises of our own so the floor is moved regularly after every session, so the grime on the grey side is acummulated dirt from the hall floors we use and also transferred muck from the black side. Thanks for all your suggestions so far I'll keep you posted on how the floor is and how my knees are in due course. :D

 

broom with soft bristles - and paint tray with solution used in it.

also remember to rinse off the cleaner or it leaves nasty green stuff on it when it finally dries.

 

Sorry Smeggie a solution of what ?

[smeggie]

the favoured cleaning fluid you use - I have found that cif/warm water makes a fairly good mix - make sure its dilute though.

 

or ye could use white spirits if you have lots to use [works a treat on the harder marks, but cost a few arms and so on]

 

in that case, the rinse is essential to remove the surface gloop.

 

have fun

[mikienorth]

A certain Eastern European touring Ballet used meths or white spirit, and lot of it, and that seemed to work.

 

Might I also suggest Kneepads....

[paulears]

One thing I forgot - my old college dance studio came up really well after the treatment, and the studio theatre did too (this was the one wityh emulsion paint on it) but somebody had tried to get the emulsion off with what the cleaners call 'stripper' - something used on the other hard floors. The stripper gets followed by a 'sealer'. Whatever this chemical was it reacted with the Vim I used and produced what smelt like amonia - made my eyes water! Worth making sure you have decent ventilation, just in case.

[martin stewart]

I have found that if you have an industrial "Buffer" and severel buckets of hot water and a dry mop, this works a treat. -- Honestly it does, just keep the machine moving. you can even do the reverse side too!!

[Just Some Bloke]

Hi All

 

I'm wondering if any of you lovely people out there have any good tricks or products you know of for scrubbing harlequin dancefloor.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

If you contact Harlequin on 01732 367666 they'll sell you the correct stuff.

 

JSB

[Bryson]

Strange... I've been talking to Harlequin all week (sorry Anita!) and the number I use is 01892 514888.

 

The stuff Harlequin will sell you is great if you use it from day one of owning the floor and follow the instructions to the letter. If the floor is already manky, it's too late for that.

[Frog Genius]

ajax works well but no matter how you look at it dance floors are a pain!!!