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Keeping your floor clean is important in any workplace, but it’s particularly critical in industries where electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage static sensitive electronic components and devices. Using the wrong type of cleaning products or techniques can actually increase the risk of ESD, so it’s important to use the right ESD-safe cleaning products and techniques when cleaning your ESD floor. In this article, we’ll provide a guide to the types of ESD-safe cleaning products and techniques to use for cleaning your ESD floor as well as our top tips for maintaining your ESD floor.
ESD flooring is one of the most effective ways to prevent electrostatic discharge, providing it’s used in conjunction with other ESD equipment. When you install ESD flooring and employees wear ESD-safe footwear or heel straps, for example, this dissipates any static charge that has generated on the person’s body to ground, thus reducing the risk of electrostatic damage.
In addition to this, using ESD-safe furniture alongside ESD flooring reduces charge generation and helps to minimise the risk of static discharge in an electrostatic protected area (EPA).
Static discharge can be catastrophic in many environments, such as electronics manufacturing, chemical production or cleanrooms. Due to this, ESD flooring is an essential component of any EPA and can be relied upon to maintain a safe and static-free space.
Whether you’re using permanent ESD floor tiles, anti-fatigue ESD rubber matting or interlocking ESD floor tiles, it’s important to maintain the floor to ensure it retains its anti-static / static dissipative properties. Furthermore, you’ll need to make sure that the floor is cleaned regularly to maintain a safe and static-free electrostatic protected area.
However, ESD flooring differs from regular flooring and ESD-safe cleaning products should be used to keep it in optimal condition. By applying ESD control measures to your cleaning regime, you can ensure that the electrostatic discharge protection your ESD floor delivers isn’t diminished over time.
With this in mind, follow the manufacturer’s guidelines when cleaning and maintaining your ESD floor and ensure that all cleaning staff follow appropriate protocols when cleaning in an EPA.
Cleaning a floor might seem like a fairly simple and straightforward process but maintaining ESD flooring does require a specific approach. To understand how to care for your ESD floor and keep it clean and functional, follow these steps:
Sweeping away any dust, dirt and grime will prevent a build up of contaminants and ensure that your EPA remains free from debris. It’s also one of the most efficient ways to keep your ESD flooring in good condition.
However, it’s advisable to use an ESD-safe dustpan and broom for this task. Comprised of black ESD polypropylene (PP) produced from anti-static raw materials, our ESD-safe dustpan and broom features no additional coatings, so it will remain ESD-safe permanently.
As regular dustpans, brooms and mops tend to be made from highly insulative materials, they could cause static discharge to occur if used in an EPA. By using an ESD-safe dustpan and broom, however, you can remove dirt and debris from your ESD flooring safely and efficiently.
The composition of standard cleaners can damage the electrostatic discharge protection properties of ESD flooring, which is why they should never be used within your EPA. Instead, choose ESD-safe cleaning products that will maintain a clean and hygienic environment, without damaging your ESD-safe equipment.
Bondline’s ESD KillStat Floor Cleaner is a highly effective product that’s been made for cleaning ESD flooring. Specially formulated for ESD flooring, KillStat Floor Cleaner is safe to use with vinyl and rubber flooring and provides long-term static protection.
As our ESD Floor Cleaner is ready to use, with no dilution needed, it can simply be applied to the floor with an ESD-safe mop and used to remove contaminants from the flooring. Additionally, this specialist, water-based ESD Floor Cleaner will eliminate static and, therefore, increase the efficacy of your EPA.
If you’ve recently installed ESD flooring or you’re modifying your EPA cleaning regime, be sure to update your ESD Control Plan accordingly. This forms the basis of maintaining a functional EPA, so integrating your ESD flooring cleaning protocols will ensure that all staff adhere to the appropriate regulations and use ESD-safe products when maintaining the area.
Although your ESD Control Plan should be used by all relevant team members, don’t rely solely on your Control Plan to educate staff about EPA maintenance. Regular training will increase compliance with ESD control measures, improve ESD workstation safety and reduce the risk of damage caused by static discharge.
Even staff who have been working within your EPA for an extended period of time can benefit from regular training, so plan routine refresher sessions and notify employees if any changes are being made to your control measures or ESD Control Plan.
Similarly, make sure all staff members are aware of ESD floor cleaning protocols, even if they are not part of the cleaning team. Any employee may grab a broom to clean the floor, so educating all staff about the importance of using ESD-safe cleaning equipment and products is essential.
ESD flooring can play an integral role in any electrostatic protected area, but it must be properly maintained and cared for. Failing to do so could reduce the effectiveness of your ESD-safe floor and may even mean that you need to replace the flooring more frequently to maintain an ESD-safe environment.
With an ESD-safe maintenance routine, however, you can keep your ESD flooring functioning optimally and maintain a clean and safe working environment. Of course, ESD flooring isn’t the only part of an EPA that requires specialist cleaning. For advice on ESD workbench cleaning, see our article on Tips for Cleaning ESD Workstations.
Alternatively, contact our experienced team on +44 (0)1793 511000 or sales@bondline.co.uk to find out more about ESD flooring and maintenance.
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