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We have a gym floor that is very slippery. Is there anything we can apply to the floor to make it playing safe? Some sort of cleaning solution and if so what do you recommend?

When Gym floors become slipery it is usually because of some foren substance on the floor. Most times it is because of improper dust moping. If the dust mops are treated the same day as used they will leave a residue on the floor that over time will be slipery. Contact your maintenance supplier for a NON WATER BASE cleaner to remove the foren substance. Sika corp. makes a Water less cleaner just for this purpose. If after cleaning the dlooe doesn.t cure the problem then it is likely someone applied the wrong finish.

Typically a slippery gym floor is a cleanliness issue. The first step in resolving this issue is to determine the type of coating which is on the floor. If the floor has been coated using a Moisture Cured Urethane (MCU)or a Water Bourne Urethane (WBU) then you can use a Waterbased Cleaner which includes a solvent such as isopropanol which will flash off quickly. When cleaning ensure that you don't allow the cleaner to 'puddle', particularly near the walls. Try not to use an autoscrubber as this tends to leave a puddle as it turns. If the floor is coated using an Oil Modified Varnish or similar type of finish then it is okay to use a Waterless, Mineral Spirits based, cleaner as it will be emulsified into the coating.

Your custodial staff should be advised to never use treated dustmops to sweep the gym floor as they will leave a residue, particularly on MCU and WBU type coatings. Another thing to be aware of is that a slipperiness problem is not always caused by residues left on the surface. If the floor finish is an acrylic modified WBU then the acrylic will often come out of the finish in the form of a whitish "dust" on the surface. Also check any overhead ducts which may be dusty and dropping the dust on the floor as they shake when the HVAC cycles on. Finally remember that in a school where the students are wearing their street shoes coming in to the gym from outside all kinds of dirt, gravel, rocks, water and mud is being tracked in, and is deposited on the floor.

Set up a cleaning schedule with the custodian and after he's cleaned the floor, before anyone has used, it get a clean white terry towel and wipe it over the floor, the colour of the towel when you lift it up will tell you alot about how well it is being cleaned.

You may want to try micro fiber dry mops on your gym floor.We have recently purchased these and it is amazing how great they work. You do not use any mop treatment but the amount of dust that is removed from the surface is outstanding.

Our campus has also been trying to more "Green" and the micro fiber mops fulfill this requirement.

Five Steps For Proper Daily Maintenance:

• Sweep the floor daily with a properly treated dust mop. If the floor is used heavily, sweep it up to three times per day.
• Wipe up spills and any moisture on the floor.
• Remove heel marks using an approved floor cleaner applied with a soft cloth or dusting mop. Contact your floor finish manufacturer for approved cleaning products.
• Make sure the heating/ventilating/air conditioning system is functioning properly, and set to maintain indoor relative humidities between 35 percent and 50 percent year round. In areas of consistently high or low outside humidity, a 15 percent fluctuation will not adversely affect the maple.
• Inspect floor for tightening or shrinkage.
• During wet weather, check for water leakage around doors and windows.
• Remove debris from expansion voids.

• NEVER shut down the ventilating system in your facility for a prolonged period of time.
• NEVER use household cleaning products or procedures. They can be harmful to the floor finish and to the wood and may also leave floors sticky or slippery, and potentially harmful to athletes. Your MFMA contractor will recommend the right cleaning and maintenance materials for your MFMA sports floor.
• NEVER clean your MFMA floor using scrubbing machinery or power scrubbers which use water. Water is your floor's worst enemy!
• NEVER attempt to modify or repair your MFMA sports floor without first consulting your MFMA contractor.

It is a little different along the gulf coast as the humidity plays tricks on gym floors. When we have a problem with that we usually turn the tempurature down by using the A/C, even in winter. The gym is cold but the floor is safer. This past year we ended up having to go so far as to recoat the floor before we could get it under control.

There is also a product by Hillyard that sometimes helps with this by making the floor a little "tackier", I believe. You might check with them. Best of luck!

If you have a Wood Gym Floor you may look at the last time you had your floor re-finished. When the finish on the floor wears off your floor becomes slippery. Most organizations suggest that you re-finish your floor every year and do a complete sand and re-finish every 10 years. This problem is one reason why many people are going to Linoleum or Vinyl basketball courts, the slip coefficient remains constant and you never have to refinish your floor which is expensive and costs you down time.

When I was in elelmentary, Jr High and High School the floors were not slippery. However we also had seperate shoes for gym class that we wore only in gym and kept in small shoe lockers and in HS of course we had gym lockers for clothes. We never walked on the gym floor in street shoes.

Now it seems kids have only one pair of shoes, granted with rubber soles and so they don't change shoes for gym classes. This brings in dirt and scuffs the varnish on the floor with is part of it having good traction. Allowing students to wear the same shoes in gym that they wear outside, regardless of a rubber sole ruins a varnished floor and makes it slippery and will require you to damp mop the floor after a couple of classes.

Sir, I receive this same question many times a week. The answer is very simple. You are not slipping on the floor! You are slipping on the dust, dirt, perspiration, body oils and debris that are on the floor/finish.

Most gym floors are high use areas. Thus, the daily build up of tracked in dirt and debris create a slippery surface that can pose a potential threat to those who play on it. In addition, they can damage the floor finish and create costly refinishing.

To maintain your floor in the optimum condition, I recommend starting a daily maintenance program. Clean the floor first thing every morning, perhaps after school lunch and then just before practice or game time.

Properly cleaning your hardwood floor on a daily basis will help you avoid many problems. Slippery floors can cause injuries to athletes, standing water could damage the wood floor, and a host of other problems could go undetected because there is not a daily inspection.

Remember, you’re cleaning the dirt and oil that’s on the finish, not the wood. I believe the best way to keep the finish in top-notch condition is with a daily cleaning. The most effective way to pick up dirt and dust is by using a cleaning system that picks up the debris from the floor and removes it. This is usually best accomplished with a damp mopping system. One system that has proven to be the simplest and most effective method is the Courtclean® Damp Mop System (www.courtclean.com). Used in conjunction with a neutral based cleaner such as Hillyard’s Super Shine All (www.hillyard.com), will clean and protect your floor.

Courtclean® was specially designed for coaches who wanted to have a safe and clean floor to play on. For example, a basketball court can be damp mopped in five minutes with the eight or six foot models and play can start immediately after the cleaning.

There are no secrets, daily maintenance is the answer. Dirt collects on your floor constantly.

Some other areas to consider are how the dirt & debris is getting on the floor:

1. Ventilation- Dust is circulated constantly though the air handling units. Have your Maintenance Dept. checking and replacing the filters as needed.
2. Tracking onto floor from outside- Close all your doors in the gym and with the lights off, look around the doors. If you see light coming in, so is dust & dirt. Then fill out a maintenance request to have the weather-stripping repaired or replaced. Also, walk-on and walk-off mats are very important. Place them in front of entries. I recommend that the mats be large enough to take “3 steps” on. Also the type of mat is important. “High-low” mats are the most effective. They are the ones with diamonds/squares in the pattern. This allows the dirt to fall into the cracks and not be carried onto the floor by the person behind them.

You should try the Tac-Tite Speed Mop after using a microfiber gym dust mop.