The unsung hero of the floor maintenance services is floor buffing — the one that you’re not thinking about until you take a look at your once-glossy floor one day and see how it has grown dull, cloudy or scuffed in all the high-traffic areas. It’s a problem with virtually any kind of floor, whether it’s marble in an entry or terrazzo in an older home, or homogeneous tile throughout an office. Fortunately, buffing can restore that shine, and frequently it doesn’t require it to be replaced completely.
A floor buffing machine removes dirt and dust from the surface of the floor.
A mechanical process of smoothing and restoring a surface of a floor using a machine equipped with a soft pad is called buffing. While the pad is spinning across the surface, it smooths out any minor scratches, buffs away the dull worn surface of grime and grungy wear and returns the reflective shine that made the floor look good in the first place. Depending on the condition and material of the floor, buffing can be part of a complete floor restoration, or a final step, following grinding and polishing for more heavily worn floors. In either case the desired result is the same – a floor that is visibly brighter, cleaner and better-maintained.
Why Floors Lose Their Shine
Floors are not dulling in a single day, it just creeps up on us, which is why we don’t notice it until the process has taken much longer. Several things contribute:
Over time countless tiny scratches develop due to foot traffic, particularly walkways and entrances.
Dust and grit have a sandpaper effect on the polished surface, gradually dulling it.
Acidic spills, such as juice or vinegar, may etch and dull some types of floor surfaces.
Malaysia’s always humid and moist climate can cause a floor to appear cloudy or cause water marks on surfaces if it isn’t well sealed and maintained.
Over time a floor’s finish can be stripped or damaged by improper cleaning, including the use of the wrong cleaning products.
When should floors be buffed and when is it not necessary?
While buffing can be done on various types of floors, the techniques differ, such as:
Marble — natural stone which can be buffed to restore the characteristic shine and is beautiful when polished.
Terrazzo — which is frequently found in older Malaysian houses particularly in Melaka and Negeri Sembilan, is a house feature that many homeowners forget their floors can achieve buffing to create a real eye-catcher.
Homogeneous tile — very common in homes and offices, buffing will make it shiny again and remove the dull film that can develop.
Polished concrete – a growing trend in new and industrial areas; requires periodic buffing to keep looking shiny.
The material will be assessed by a professional team as using the wrong technique or pad on the wrong surface can aggravate the condition.
The Buffing Process, Step by Step.
Typical order for a proper floor restoration:
Assessment: Examination of the material on the floor and how much the floor has been scratched, stained and dulled.
2. Cleaning – removing surface dirt and grit to prevent it from getting in the way of buffing.
3. Grinding or honing (For deeper scratches in more worn floors) — The removal of deeper scratches and the damaged top layer of the floor where necessary.
4. Buffing/ polishing — restoring an even, consistent shine by operating the machine and applying the right buffing/ polishing pads.
5. Sealing (as applicable) – covering the restored surface from re-staining and wear which extends the life of the restored surface.
Often times, the reason for a job that looks like it was done on a budget or by a DIYer, is because they didn’t do the sealing.
What It Costs
The cost of floor buffing and polishing in Malaysia is usually based on the square foot and can range from approximately RM2 – RM4.50 per sqft, but may be slightly higher for more worn floors that require significant grinding or for high quality floor materials such as some marbles. It will be determined by a lot of factors such as the condition of the floor, area to be treated, material type, sealing to be done and accessibility of the space (any furniture needing to be moved, corners, multiple rooms etc.). The floor condition varies from one property to the next, hence getting an inspection of the floor gives a much more accurate estimate than a rough estimate on the phone.
Why ‘do it yourself’ buffing is usually a bad idea
One can rent a buffing machine but this is an area where most people try to do it them self only to mess it up. If the wrong pad or grit is used on natural stone, it may result in uneven patches rather than a smooth finish. Excessive buffing can damage the surface more than it’s needed to be buffed, thus decreasing the lifespan of the floor. If you don’t seal it afterward, any shin will fade — and you will be left in the same position as before with a floor ground down even more than necessary. But buffing isn’t simply a matter of operating the machine; it’s accurately interpreting the condition of the floor and using the right series of operations on that particular floor material.
When do you need to have your floors buffed?
The floors in most homes and offices would best be buffed professionally every one to two years, depending on foot traffic and the day-to-day upkeep. High traffic areas such as entrances, hallways, main living spaces age more quickly than quieter spaces. Small actions before and after workouts, such as routinely sweeping floors to clear up grit and encourage cleaning up after spills, add up over the course of the year to make a big difference and help keep floors looking their best longer.
Restore your floors to life!
One of those types of services that provides a definite “face lift” for the price — a dull, tired floor can look as good as 10 years younger after proper Floor Buffing done at a fraction of the replacement cost. Bamboo Cleaning Services offers professional cleaning and buffing services for bamboo flooring and tiles in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka, with their trained flooring buffing and tiling teams determining the right way to approach your flooring. If your floors are dull, get an estimate before you think it’s time for new floors; often buffing is the solution for less money.
