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3 Signs Your Restaurant Kitchen Floor Needs Replacing

Kitchens are intensely demanding environments and, as such, succumb to the rigours of daily activity. This means that all aspects of a kitchen should be checked frequently to ensure they’re:

• Performing at their best
• Fostering a safe environment for users
• Maintaining hygiene standards
• Looking Good

It stands to reason that, over time, a restaurant kitchen floor will be one of those elements that should be reviewed to ensure it meets the above requirements and is still performing as originally specified.

But how do you know that your kitchen flooring is failing?

In this blog, we will explore what to look out for in determining when your restaurant kitchen floor needs replacing, how traditional resin floors compare to Acrylicon and how an initial investment will save you thousands in the long run.

Read on to find out more…

What Are The 3 Signs Your Restaurant Kitchen Floor Needs Replacing?

1.     You Struggle To Clean Your Resin Kitchen Flooring

Polyurethane (PU) has been the most widely used resin flooring solution for decades, and it is likely that your restaurant kitchen floor has a PU coating.

Due to their compressive strength, PU coatings are resistant to scratches, which is why you’ll often find them in high-traffic areas. They also cope well in extreme temperature situations as the flooring can expand and contract, making them less susceptible to cracks.

However, as PU flooring cures, gas bubbles pass through the curing resin, resulting in what we call ‘pinholes’ being formed throughout the surface of the floor. These pinholes can be large enough for a toothpick to be pushed into them.

When these ‘pinholes’ get penetrated through general activity, bacteria and dirt can get into them, residing inside the floor.

This makes it practically impossible to clean the floor thoroughly and results in a restaurant kitchen floor that always looks dirty, even though you’ve scrubbed it to within an inch of its life.

Of course, this massively impacts the hygiene of your kitchen floor, as it will become a breeding ground for bacteria and dirt.

2.     Constant Kitchen Floor Repairs

Sadly, it’s an expectation that PU floors will fail after a few years, so when the time comes to part way with cash in order to repair it, some do so obligingly.

If you find yourself constantly having to repair your kitchen floor, it may be time to re-think the type of resin flooring you opt for.

Before we discuss the benefits of Acrylicon resin flooring, we’ll explain what happens to your PU flooring when it gets repaired:

PU comes from the Thermo-Set family of plastics and as such only ever achieves a mechanical bond between layers and the rest of the floor. As such, stresses can cause delamination, resulting in new places for the liquid to penetrate and damage the floor.

An Acrylicon Floor does not have this issue as, being from the Thermo-Plast family of plastics, its layers solve into each other, creating a monolithic floor. It also has no plasticiser loss, so does not become brittle with age like the PU.

That’s why we regularly remind our clients of the 10-year performance warranty, but in reality, a well-looked after Acrylicon resin floor can last many times longer.

3.     Slip Resistance Has Been Worn Away

In a restaurant kitchen, slip resistance is a must. With spillage being a common occurrence, whether it’s water, dressings, or any type of food substance. Ensuring employee safety is a must in these environments and something that should be considered by those involved in the design or specification of a restaurant kitchen floor.

Depending on the use of the floor, your slip-resistant finish can wear away. This may be down to:

• Heavy application of weight
• Frequent use
• Even in your routine cleaning process*

*Abrasive cleaning apparatus can actually wear down the floor, as it quite literally rubs the slip resistance away.

Although slip resistance can and will wear away on some floors over time, Acrylicon will advise you on the best cleaning solution for your Acrylicon resin floors, to ensure longevity. We take your needs into consideration and can tailor a solution to you, recommending the best way to maintain your floor. Also, should an Acrylicon floor need maintenance on the slip resistance, due to its chemical bond the refreshed layer will become part of the existing floor and have no risk of delamination.

How Often Should My Restaurant Kitchen Floor Be Changed?

The simple answer to this, is how long does it take for a floor to fail? It can’t be answered as each case is different from the next.

The easy way to decide if your floor needs replacing is to ask yourself, what did I want my floor to do?

Once the floor doesn’t meet any one of your requirements, it has failed.

To give you a general idea of how long this could last, Acrylicon offer a 10-year warranty as standard with all their floors, however, we have had some cases where our floors have lasted up to 40 years.

Conclusion

When it comes to replacing your restaurant kitchen floor, only you can decide when the right time is, but looking out for these 3 simple signs may help you replace it before an accident occurs, or any other situation that might affect your business.

To arrange a free no-obligation floor survey from one of our local experts, get in touch today.

About Acrylicon

Acrylicon, the go-to industrial flooring company, has been implemented by Unilever, Walkers, McCain, Network Rail and many more companies that understand the cost implications of shutting down.

Their fast cure combined with the immense compressive strength saves you time, money and hassle when it comes to your industrial flooring. They can work at weekends or in business downtime to ensure minimal disruption to your daily processes.

With a life expectancy of up to 4-8 times longer than traditional resins, Acrylicon’s unique chemical composition ensures you get better value for money than from any other resin floor available.

Acrylicon’s long-lasting resin flooring is used across a variety of sectors including in food factories, commercial kitchens, warehouses, hospitals, supermarkets and car parks.

All new flooring comes with a 10-year performance warranty for complete peace of mind. Every installation is carried out by trained and certified regional installers so there are no split warranties.