Breaking a pattern
‘Heavy pressure or incorrect maintenance can cause the top layer of a floor to wear. People often use polymers or mopping wax for periodic maintenance, but regular use of polymers often leads to differences in the gloss of the top layer. Footstep marks then become visible and dirt can pile up faster between the applied coats.’
‘Applying polymers to Marmoleum and linoleum floors means applying three coats of wax on top of each other, which then have to dry for a few hours in the meantime. You can expect that to take from 10 to 12 hours. Those coats of wax are then stripped once or twice a year using an alkaline agent to soften and remove the coats of wax, whilst the waste water goes down the drain and you discharge millions of litres of chemical waste. The day will certainly come when governments make it obligatory to take the coats of wax and waste water to a waste disposal station. To break this pattern and give floors better and longer protection, several leading floor coating companies have developed waterborne UV lacquers for flexible floors.’

Farewell to the unecological and old fashioned method
Arjan Maatkamp continues: ‘This new UV maintenance really is a joint effort. In Europe, for flexible floors, we’re talking about firms like Dr. Schutz and Arboritec. Moreover, since last year, the world’s biggest producer of Marmoleum floors also has a high-quality and ecological alternative, namely 326 UV Care Shield from Forbo. This protects Marmoleum floors permanently through the application of a waterborne UV lacquer with one component and no solvents. This puts paid to the unecological and old fashioned method of polymer floor maintenance. First of all, you remove the old, soiled, and discoloured coats of polymer. You then apply two coats of 326 UV Care Shield diagonally across each other to the bare linoleum using a roller. That’s followed by the drying with a portable UV light. The result is a floor which looks “as good as new” and is much more durable. The floor can last for three to five years simply with frequent dry-cleaning and/or damp mopping.’
The DecoRad UV equipment is suitable for drying: Forbo 326 UV-Care Shield, Dr. Schutz UV PU Sealer, and Arboritec UV Elite for flexible floors.

A floor as good as new
‘This new top coat with a dazzling silky gloss look dries instantly and can be walked on at once. This method saves huge amounts of time as compared to other lacquering methods, so it is attractive for floors which need to be used again quickly, such as in schools, shops, hospitals, care homes, and other public buildings. Another benefit is the less frequent moving of furniture in the room for floor maintenance. Those costs are often forgotten.’
‘In this age of sustainability with solar panels, energy windmills, and electric cars, it’s logical for us to say farewell to a number of unecological and old fashioned techniques such as the use of polymers. That benefits everyone and the environment at the same time.’

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