Tuesday, September 23, 2008

"Green" Product Test



One of these aisles was stripped with traditional floor stripper and covered with traditional floor finish, the other was refinished using Green Products:






Can you tell which aisle is which?

Don't feel bad because it took me a minute to remember which picture was which.

One of the areas that moved me toward being more environmentally responsible was my work in refinishing tile floors. I have used the same techniques, chemicals, and methods for years. Around the same time I decided that recycling was a decent idea, I started realizing that my methods and chemicals were not helping keep my world a decent place to live. I saw an ad in a janitorial magazine for "Green Logic" products, so I called and asked if they might have a sample. To my pleasant surprise, they sent me 16oz of stripper and 1 gallon of finish.

I got to use them tonight on a floor that I maintain, so I will be able to watch its durability over time and traffic.

I really should have listened in science class because I couldn't explain how the floor stripper works. I only know that the GreenLogic stripper appeared to be as effective as the regular stripper, with an unexpected benefit: low slip factor. For those of you not spending your late nights making other people's floors shine, let me explain. When you apply the stripper compound to the waxed floor, the wax separates and makes the floor extremely slippery. Tonight, the Green stripper removed the finish, but left us sure footed.

The Green finish provided the same level of gloss as the traditional finish and and the application felt smoother.

I have to admit, I didn't expect these results. When strippers were changed years ago, the newest items just weren't effective. This time it appears that they might have gotten it right.

Seems like it's time for a more intense test, so I need to see if these products are economically feasible and try them on a larger area and perhaps a tougher floor, but for now, I am impressed.


(oh, the picture on the bottom went Green!)

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