Designing a Sustainable(Green) Stone Floor Maintenance Program

Designing a Sustainable (Green) Stone Floor Maintenance Program
By Frederick M. Hueston PhD



Walk into any stone, terrazzo or janitorial chemical supplier and you will find an endless selection of cleaners, sealers, restorers, etc to keep you terrazzo and stone floors looking new. The problem is many of these chemicals can be harmful to the user, occupants and the environment. How does one design a program that is not only sustainable and safe but to also keep your terrazzo and stone flooring in like new condition?

Fortunately there is an effective way to not only maintain these surfaces but also to keep them looking new. The following guideline will show you how to develop a sustainable maintenance program. This is especially important for schools, hospitals and other buildings were children and people sensitive to these harmful chemicals are present everyday.

The dangers of floor strippers, finishes etc have been studied by many organizations including universities, etc. Here is a partial list of those studies

- Green Seal Report
Floor Care Products: Finishes and Strippers
www.greenseal.org/resources/reports/CGR_floorcare.pdf

-Safe and Effective Use of Floor Finish Strippers
Janitorial Products. Pollution Prevention Project
Sponsored by US EPA
www.wrppn.org/janitorial/factsheet/floor.htm

-Health Hazard Evaluation Report 95-0313-2589, University of Michigan Hospitals, Ann Arbor, Michigan

-NIOSH [1990]. NIOSH criteria for a
recommended standard: occupational exposure to
ethylene glycol monobutyl ether and ethylene
glycol monobutyl ether acetate. Cincinnati, OH:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Public Health Service, Centers for Disease
Control, National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication
No. 90–118.

-Ruth JH [1986]. Odor thresholds and irritation
levels of several chemical substances: a review.
Am Ind Hyg Assoc J 47:A142–A151.
WHO [1983]. Indoor air pollutants: exposure
and health effects. World Health Organization
Regional Office for Europe. WHO–EURO report
and studies no. 78, Copenhagen, Denmark.



Program Guidelines

Step 1. A good sustainable maintenance program starts with proper identification of the stone. Is it granite, marble, terrazzo or limestone? If it’s marble is it soft or hard? What type of finish does it have? Polished, honed, flamed, etc.? Is the type of stone the proper material for the traffic it is to receive? If not maintenance costs will be higher. If the answer to these questions are unknown, I suggest you contact a reputable stone supplier or restoration company to find out. A complete understanding of your particular stones characteristics is an absolute must for designing a sustainable maintenance program.

Step 2. Once the stone’s characteristics are identified determine the quality of the installation. Are the tiles flat and even? Do they contain lippage (uneven tiles). If so, proper maintenance may prove difficult. The floor should be ground flat, honed and polished using sustainable restoration procedures that utilize non-chemical methods. Are there any cracked tiles? Dirt will have a tendency to accumulate in these cracks. These tiles should be replaced or if replacements are not available at least repaired.

Step 3. What is the present condition of the stone? Has it been coated with waxes, acrylics, urethane or other coatings? If so these coatings need to be ground off to determine the condition of the stone as well as eliminate any toxic and unsafe properties. I have seen stone floors that appear to be in great shape until the coatings are removed to unveil a pitted, scratched mess. If a poor condition is found, complete restoration is necessary before a successful sustainable maintenance program can begin.

Step 4. Once the stone is restored to like new condition, then and only then will a sustainable maintenance program provide good results. This applies not only to the following program but any program. If the stone will be exposed to water, coffee, spills etc, an application of a an approved Green impregnator is recommended. These impregnators are designed to penetrate into the stone, without leaving coatings on the surface and still allowing the stone to transpire(breathe). They contain no harmful vapors or off gases when cured.


Step 5. Daily Maintenance

The three most important tasks that can be done on a daily basis to keep the stone looking new and extending the time before restoration is required are: Dust Mop, Dust Mop and Dust Mop. The most destructive material to most stone is sand, dirt and miscellaneous grit. If these substances could be eliminated, maintenance of the stone would be almost non-existent. A stone floor can never be dust mopped too often. Use a clean, non-treated, dry dust mop at least two to three times a day in high traffic areas and less often in low traffic areas. Walk off mats placed outside and inside an entrance will also eliminate a good portion of sand, dirt and grit. It takes approximately seven steps to remove all loose dirt from the bottom of ones shoes. Walk off mats also need to be removed and cleaned daily. Keep this in mind when purchasing walk off mats. Remember if sand, dirt and grit are eliminated there will be nothing left behind to scratch and dull the stone.

Note: Coatings in addition to potentially being hazardous contribute to accelerate wearing of the stone or terrazzo surface by acting as a magnet for dirt and debri. It has been shown in studies that a stone or terrazzo floor without any coating will be easier to maintain as well as more cost effective.


Step 6. Cleaning

All natural stone, both polished and unpolished should be cleaned daily in high traffic areas and less often in lower traffic areas. A clean rayon or cotton string mop should be used with cold to warm water with the addition of a quality Green Approved neutral cleaner or stone soap. Approved Green Neutral cleaners are defined as surfactant type detergents that have a Ph of 7. Acidic and alkaline cleaners should not be used. Be sure to follow the directions very carefully.






Why Does Stone Shine?

All stone is taken from the earth in a raw block form. This block is cut into slices that we call slabs. The slabs are then cut further to a smaller size such as a tile or countertop. It is then polished using a series of abrasive materials. The mechanics are relatively simple. A piece of stone is rubbed with a series of abrasives starting with a course grit size followed by
Finer and finer grit sizes. The scratch pattern left behind from one grit is removed by the next grit creating finer and finer scratches. This process is continued until the scratch pattern becomes microscopic. The process is similar to refinishing a piece of wood, starting with a course sandpaper and ending with a fine sandpaper. The shine is placed on the stone by continuing this abrading process using very fine powders. With sustainable(Green) restoration methods no chemicals are used.



Restoration

Periodically the stone will need to be restored. Perhaps you have not followed a proper maintenance program or the type of stone you have is not suited to the conditions it receives or for what ever other reason it is not responding to maintenance, then restoration is required. How often this will need to be done is difficult to determine. Generally if all the precautions above are followed, restoration may only be needed as often as once per year or as little as once every five years or so. The restoration process re-hones the stone to remove deep scratches and is then re-polished. Do not attempt the re-honing process yourself, this requires a great degree of skill and experience, please call a reputable restoration company who specializes in sustainable methods for this task.

Natural stone was the first building material used by man. Its care and maintenance is one of the oldest tasks performed by our ancestors and was maintained without any of today’s modern chemical products. The above guidelines were developed by our years of experience with this beautiful material and with the addition of sustainable practices will provide many years of beauty.


Written by

Frederick M. Hueston, PhD
Stone University
E-Mail: Fhueston@aol.com
Web Site: www.stoneuniversity.org

Are Floor Strippers Safe?

Are Floor Strippers Safe

By Frederick M. Hueston

Almost all schools systems and public buildings apply acrylic finishes to there , terrazzo and stone flooring to keep them shiny and looking clean. Often these finishes have to be striped off and a new finish applied. The strippers that are used to remove these acrylic coatings often contain hazardous chemicals that are harmful to humans, animals and the environment. The following information will explore how dangerous these strippers are and offer an alternative.

I examined the Material Safety Data Sheets(MSDS) of over 20 popular strippers used to remove acrylic floor coatings. I found that there are several common ingredients found which are the following:

Monoethanolamine
Butoxyethanol
Ethanolamine
Ethylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether
Sodium Hydroxide

I next examined the dangerous of these ingredients

Butoxyethanol

Butoxyethanol goes by several names including ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylene glycol butyl either, ethylene glycol n-butyl ether, Butyl Cellosolve, butyl glycol, butyl oxitol,glycol butyl ether, Dowanol EB, Gafcol EB, poly-solv EB, and Ektasolve EB. If you see any of these ingredients on an MSDS for the stripper you are using you are dealing with Butoyethanol.

Butoxyethanol is used in many products other that floor strippers, including paints, varnishes, lacquers, paint thinners, agricultural products, herbicides, silicon caulks, cutting oils, fabric dyes and inks and household cleaners and even in some floor cleaners.

Butoyethanol is a dangerous chemical in many ways. It can pass into the air from water and soil as a vapor. This means that the vapors are emitted when you mix your strippers in water and apply them to the floor.

Butoxyethanol is very harmful to humans and has been shown in laboratory testing to cause the following:
Irritation of the nose and eyes
Headaches
A metallic Taste
Vomiting
Breathing problems
Low blood pressure
Lowered levels of hemoglobin
Blood in the urine
Metabolic acidosis
Birth Defects
Kidney and liver damage

Butoxyethanol and the Environment

Butoxyethanol can be absorbed by soil and can make its way into the water supply.


The warnings on many labels of floor stripper containing Butoxyethanol say the following:

Avoid breathing vapor or mist.Avoid contact with eyes, skin and clothing.Keep container closed.Use only with adequate ventilation.Wash thoroughly after handling.Keep away from heat and flame.

Do you want this harmful chemical used in your school or building?


Monoethanolamine

Monoethanolamine is another common chemical found in strippers.

Monoethanolamine also goes by several names such as Colamine, Glycinol, Olamine, Ethanolamine, 2-Aminoethanol, 2-Hydroxyethylamine, beta-Ethanolamine and beta-Hydroxyethylamine.

Some of the potential health effects include the following:

Extremely harmful to the eyes.
Harmful to lungs, skin.
Tissue damage can occur around mucus membranes
Can cause burns on the skin
Maybe toxic to Kidneys, Lungs, liver and central nervous system.

Monoethanolamine in also combustible.and corrosive

Harmful to animals and the environment.

Monoethanolamine can produce very harmful byproducts due to degradation in the environment.

Sodium Hydroxide

Another chemical found in many strippers is Sodium Hydroxide. Sodium Hydroxide
Is commonly known as lye. Any one who has ever worked with this knows it can easily burn you skin, not to mention what it can due to your eyes and mouth. It is classified as a poison and is very corrosive.

Since it is a poison it is harmful to animals and fish.


Conclusions and Alternatives

As you can see the common chemicals found in numerous stripper formulas are not safe for humans or the environment and cannot be classified as a sustainable practice if using them.

The good news is there are alternatives to these chemicals.

Acrylic coating on terrazzo and stone flooring can be removed mechanically with abrasives using no chemicals other than water.

Many Chemical companies are manufacturing strippers that are safe to work with and are Green Certified.

Fred Hueston is the founder of The National Training Center for Stone and Masonry Trades and Stone University. http://www.stoneuniversity.org/