Cleaning can create the hazard it is meant to remove
Wet floor cleaning slip risks are easy to overlook, because cleaning is supposed to make a building safer. It does. A clean floor is safer than a greasy one. But the act of cleaning is also one of the few routine jobs that puts water, detergent and equipment onto a walking surface while people are still around.
The Health and Safety Executive makes the same point on its page about cleaning and slips and trips. Effective cleaning is an important way for employers to manage slip and trip risks. It deals with contamination that would otherwise cause slip accidents. At the same time, the cleaning process often brings in hazards of its own, such as wet floors and trailing cables.
This guide is written for the person who looks after a shop, an office, a gym, a warehouse or a care setting in Greater Manchester. It explains where the risk comes from, what good practice looks like, and what is worth agreeing with a cleaning contractor before the first visit.
Where the risk comes from
Most slips after cleaning come from a small number of causes. Knowing them makes the fix much easier to see.
- The floor is wet, and someone walks across it before it has dried.
- The floor looks dry but is still damp, which is harder to spot than a puddle.
- Too much cleaning product was used, and a thin film is left behind.
- A warning sign was put out, then left out for days until nobody notices it any more.
- A sign was never put out because the job was quick and the cleaner meant to be back in a minute.
- A cable or hose crosses a walkway and nobody has marked it.
None of these are rare. They happen in well-run buildings, because a cleaning visit is a busy, practical job and small shortcuts creep in. The answer is a routine that makes the safe way the easy way.
Choose quiet hours where you can
The simplest control is timing. The HSE suggests cleaning during quiet hours when people are not around. If nobody is walking through the area, a wet floor is only a wet floor.
For many Manchester businesses this means evenings, early mornings or weekends. An office can be cleaned after the last person leaves. A shop can be cleaned before opening. A gym can be cleaned between the late evening and the early morning rush. We schedule floor cleaning outside business hours as standard for commercial clients, so evening, overnight and weekend visits are a normal part of how we work.
Not every building has quiet hours. A hospital corridor, a 24 hour warehouse or a busy reception does not empty out. In that case the next controls matter even more.
Leave the floor dry, or keep people off it
The HSE advice for smooth floors is clear. Either leave the floor dry after cleaning, or keep pedestrians off it until it is dry. A floor that is left damp while people walk on it is the most common cause of a cleaning related slip.
Cleaning in sections helps. If you clean one half of a lobby at a time, there is always a dry path through the area. People use the path and the other half gets its turn when the first is dry. The same idea works in a long corridor, a shop aisle or a warehouse bay.
It also helps to be realistic about drying time. Using a squeegee or a dry method after the wet clean will shorten the time a floor stays wet. But the HSE is careful to say that while the floor is still damp it will still be slippery. A floor that looks nearly dry is not yet safe to walk on at normal pace, especially for someone in smooth soled shoes.
Signs work, if they are used properly
Warning signs are the part of floor safety most people can picture. The HSE says to use them, and also adds a point that is easy to forget: remove them when the area is clean and dry.
That second half matters. A sign that stays out all week stops meaning anything. People learn to walk past it, and the next time the floor really is wet, they do not take it seriously. Good practice is a sign that goes out when the wet clean starts and goes away when the floor is dry. Whoever puts it out should be the person who takes it in.
A few simple habits make signs more useful.
- Put the sign where people will see it before they step on the floor, not beside the wet patch.
- Use enough signs for the size of the area, with one at each approach.
- Do not use a sign as a substitute for drying the floor or cleaning in sections.
- Check the area again before the sign is removed.
The right amount of the right product
The method matters as much as the timing. The HSE points out that using the right amount of the right cleaning product is part of managing slip risk. Too little and the floor is not properly cleaned. Too much and a residue is left that can make the surface slippery on its own.
On greasy floors, such as those in a commercial kitchen or near a food counter, the detergent needs enough time to work. Rushing it and wiping it off straight away leaves grease behind. The HSE also notes that cleaning equipment is only effective if it is well maintained, which is easy to overlook. A worn pad, a split squeegee blade or a machine that is not picking up water will leave a floor wetter than it should be.
There is one more point. The cleaning method has to suit the floor. A method that works well on sealed vinyl can be wrong for natural stone or hardwood. We clean vinyl, tile, stone, hardwood, epoxy and concrete floors, and each one is treated with products and equipment matched to the surface. For stone we use products that are pH appropriate, so that the floor is cleaned without being damaged.
Spillages need a quick response
Not every slip hazard comes from the cleaning itself. A spilt drink in a corridor, water tracked in on a wet day or a leaking machine can turn a safe floor slippery in seconds. The HSE advises that spillages are removed promptly.
For a business this means two things. Staff should know who to tell, and where the right equipment is kept. And the cleaning contractor should know how to respond if a spill happens during a visit or is reported between visits. We offer emergency spillage response and stain removal for commercial floors, which is useful where a spill cannot wait for the next scheduled clean.
Anti-slip treatment for floors that stay wet
Some floors are wet or greasy so often that good cleaning habits are not enough on their own. Entrances on a rainy day, kitchens, wash areas and some reception floors fall into this group. For tile, stone and vinyl floors there is another option, which is an anti-slip treatment applied to the surface.
This is not a replacement for cleaning, signs or drying. It adds a margin of safety on top of them. It is worth discussing where a floor has a history of near misses, or where the floor finish is very smooth. A contractor who can assess the floor and explain whether a treatment is appropriate is more useful than one who simply offers to clean it more often.
Training and information for the people who clean
The HSE says that anyone carrying out cleaning duties should have the right information, instruction and training to do the work safely and effectively. This applies whether the cleaners are your own staff or a contractor’s team.
In practice this means they know how to set out signs, how to section off an area, how much product to use, how to deal with a spill and how to keep cables out of walkways. It is reasonable to ask a contractor how their teams are trained and what they do on a typical evening visit. A clear and confident answer is a good sign.
What to agree with a contractor
If you are hiring a cleaner for a commercial site, a short written list removes most of the uncertainty. It does not need to be long.
- The cleaning hours, and whether the area will be empty during the wet clean.
- How wet floor signs are used and who removes them.
- Whether floors are cleaned in sections where the building is in use.
- The method for each floor type on the site.
- Who to call if a spill happens or a floor is left wet.
- Whether any floors would benefit from an anti-slip treatment.
Most good contractors will be happy to go through this on the first call. The conversation also tells you a lot about how the work will be done once the contract starts.
How we approach commercial floors
For a floor cleaning job we start by discussing the floor type, the area and its current condition. We then recommend a method and a schedule and send a detailed quote that covers the treatments and the maintenance options. The work is done using professional scrubbing machines, buffing equipment and cleaning agents matched to the floor. Most commercial floors do well with weekly or fortnightly machine cleaning, with a deeper scrub or strip done every few months, and busier areas such as reception lobbies may need more.
We work across Manchester and Greater Manchester, including the city centre, Spinningfields, Salford Quays, MediaCityUK, Deansgate and Ancoats. If you want to see how floor care fits with the rest of our work, take a look at our wider commercial cleaning in Manchester and our retail cleaning pages.
Getting started
If your floors are wet more often than they should be, or if you are not sure how your current cleaner handles slip risk, a short conversation is a good place to begin. Tell us the type of premises, the floor surfaces and your opening hours. We will look at the building with you and come back with a plan. You can start from our commercial floor cleaning in Manchester page and request a quote there.