Yes, it takes time, effort and money to keep your dance floor looking good, but there are many good reasons to have a maintenance program to keep your floor in top condition.

An appropriate dance floor system in a proper environment is SAFE for both teachers and students.  Injuries and slip and falls are dramatically reduced.  Second, a clean floor is a healthy floor, helping to eliminate the transmission of bacteria and viruses, along with reducing upper respiratory inflammation from dust and other contagions. With a safe and healthy environment dancers thrive, taking more classes, making you more money, and your flooring investment pays dividends by lasting longer.

Finally you have a professional image to maintain.  A clean floor that looks good makes you look good to dancers and their parents.

Tips for maintenance that will save you money:

1. Use entrance mats when you come into your building and again when you enter the studio—80 percent of the dust and dirt that would otherwise get on your floor will be caught by these mats.  Clean them regularly.
2. Check and clean air conditioning and heater filters frequently. Otherwise you will be recycling dust and dirt.
3. Use a dehumidifier at night if your floor feels cool in the morning.  Temperature change can result in moisture collecting on the floor, making it slippery.
4. Dry mop your floor before classes with a large mop and without any additive.
5. Washing down your floor with water is a waste of time.  You must use a detergent/degreaser, usually found in a hardware store.  Do not use cleaning agents for home use and stay away from acetone, alcohol, ammonia and bleach.  They will ruin your floor.  A good and safe bet is Proclean or Proclean NS, available from Stagestep.
6. Dye marks and heavy scuff marks will require special attention if they don’t come up after general cleaning.  Many strippers, solvents and aggressive spot removing can discolor, soften or dissolve layers of your floor.  Always test new products before general use.  Wipeout and Tapemate will handle virtually all marks and stains.  The sooner you address issues of spots and stains, the easier it will be to remove them.  Foreign material will penetrate the floor surface over time, making removal virtually impossible.
7. One of the biggest problems facing studio owners today is the gray/black residue left by aluminum compound taps.  They are most likely found on children’s shoes, and they are, at best, difficult to get off the floor.  What’s worse,  they will stick to tights, clothing and body parts.  There are two ways to eliminate this metal dust.  First, wet down the floor and use a wet/dry shop vac to suck up the particulate matter.  Wet mopping will just move the residue around the floor.  Metal does not dissolve in water or detergent, so by sucking it up you remove a good portion.  Do not attempt to dry vac up the aluminum.  It will just be blown into the air to settle later back on the floor.

A second method is to attach an artificial shami cloth to the bottom of a mop and run it over the dry floor.  The residue will stick to the shami.  Rinse and reuse the shami when dry.  Either way, it is a tedious task cleaning this mess up. There is one solution, and that is treating tap shoes with Tap Shield.  It will prevent the transference of residue to the floor.

The key to floor maintenance is to have a plan and a schedule.  You will save time and money while providing your students with a professional looking environment.  If you have any questions regarding the products or methods mentioned please contact me at randy@stagestep.com or call 1-800-523-0960 ext 105. You can also visit us at http://www.stagestep.com