floor

January 2021

■ Diversity in Design

trends
■ How to Clean & Sanitize Floors
■ Top Trends in Residential Floors
■ New Product Guide
The Authority on Residential and Commercial Flooring

February
floortrendsmag.com
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 Contents January 2021 + Vol. 23, no. 1

22
Features
New Product Guide
13 by Floor Trends Editors

Diversity in Design
18 by Danielle Clair Simpson

Top Trends in
22 Residential Floors
by Tanja Kern

Clean Floors: How to Clean,

26 Sanitize and Disinfect
Commercial Floors
by Anna Zappia

Top Tile Cleaning Tips

30 by Floor Trends Editors

Clean Floors: Floor Disinfectant

34 Do’s and Don’ts
26 by Spencer Luallen

4 January 2021 + floortrendsmag.com

 On the Cover: As the world redefines its
relationship with the home, we take a look
at the role flooring is playing in making our
living spaces safe, cozy and inviting. Photo
courtesy of Atlas Concorde.

28

Columns
+ Departments
6...................................... Editor’s Letter
10.................................. Let’s TalkFloor
14.......................................... First Look
16..................................... Retail Insight
38.....................................Flooring Pros

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floortrendsmag.com + January 2021 5

EDITOR’S

LETTER
BEAUTIFULLY
Responsible
H
ave we ever been
more excited for a
new year? Welcome
to 2021. We have 365 days
to make this year different.
Current state of affairs:
Style-savvy flooring shop-
pers want it all. They want
beauty and performance.
They question which brands
and products they can trust.
They want to protect their
families’ health and reduce
their impact on the envi-
ronment. In response, the
Resilient Floor Covering
Institute (RFCI) kicks off a
consumer campaign this
month to promote resilient
flooring and its benefits.
The 22 manufacturer
members of RFCI are aim-
ing to make this year dif-
ferent. They teamed up
with Suzanne Shelton,
president and CEO of the
Shelton Group, to create
“Beautifully Responsible,”
a campaign that promotes
6 January 2021 + floortrendsmag.com
BY
TANJA
KERN

CHIEF
EDITOR
the beauty, style, savings,
health benefits and environ-
mental advantages of resil-
ient flooring.
I don’t envy their position—
grabbing consumer attention
can be a time-consuming
and expensive proposition—
but it’s always exciting to see
a group of leaders collabo-
rate for the greater good of
the industry.
Many say price wars are
the cost of participation in
a competitive market. By
investing in a campaign such
as Beautifully Responsible,
RFCI is setting up its mem-
bers to attract and retain
consumers—creating a
sense of value that consum-
ers are willing to spend their
hard-earned dollars on. ft
floor
trends
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LET’S TALKFLOOR
THE INSIDE SCOOP
LOAN FORGIVENESS & BUSINESS INTERRUPTION
J
eff King is legal counsel for the World
Floor Covering Association (WFCA),
and an attorney with more than 35
years of experience in a wide range of
cases including complex litigation, employ-
ment, corporate cases and others. The fol-
lowing are excerpts from a conversation we
had with King about some of the elements
surrounding the Paycheck Protection
Program and other topics including busi-
ness interruption insurance which can we
viewed a floortrendsmam.com.
10 January 2021 + floortrendsmag.com
BY DAVE FOSTER
TF: Talk about the Paycheck
Protection Program and its loan for-
giveness component.
King: Borrowers may be eligible for loan
forgiveness for funds used for certain costs
for an eight or 24-week period after dis-
bursement. The 24-weeks is over for just
about everybody by now. If you remember
Above: Photo by Kameleon007 via Getty
Images.
the loans were for eight weeks and could
be extend to 24-weeks. There is a time to
file for forgiveness and there are a number
of factors that go into when one should file,
but there has recently been a very sort of
automatic forgiveness provision for loans
under $50,000. It’s not totally automatic,
but it’s pretty darn close.
Looking at any of the forgiveness forms,
the full form is eight to 12 pages. The
new, easy form is about four pages with
some complicated calculations. The new
form is much easier if you can fit into
it. Your loan has to be $50,000 or less.
One of the issues to get forgiveness is
a sizable amount of calculations, one
requirement is that 60% has to be paid
on payroll. If you are an owner-employee,
there is a cap on what you can pay your-
self. It’s 2.5 times your normal pay up to
$100,000, so it caps out at $20,833 if you
use a 24-week period. There are also lim-
its depending on whether you can include
health care costs in such cases.
There are two other complicated cal-
culations that have to be made. One of
them is that your wage and salary can-
not have decreased by more than 25%.
If wages or salaries of your employees
went down by more than 25%, you
have to calculate that out. The problem
with that is that it is per employee, so
you couldn’t take a pay cut if you clas-
sify yourself as an owner-operator. The
thinking here is that you could not stop
paying yourself during this period so you
could pay your employees longer. It actu-
ally says you can’t do that because that
floortrendsmag.com + January 2021 11
talkfloor

The second one is for full-time equiva-

lent employees. You have to have the
same number of full-time employees.
Equivalent means you add up your part-
timers in order to get full forgiveness you
have to have the same number.

This new forgiveness loan takes those

two very complicated calculations away.
Say you got the loan of $50,000 or less,
60% went to payroll. You agree with the
cap on the employees and that you used
it only for the stated purpose, you then
Jeff King, legal counsel for the World Floor
sign it and you’re done. It’s all forgiven.
Covering Association (WFCA). Photo courtesy
of WFCA. You also need to keep all these records.

The other loan requires the submission of

would mean you restricted your pay by documentation depending on your lender.
more than 25% and you reduce the loan This one for loans of $50,000 or less does
dollar for dollar below that. not require any documentation. ft

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12 January 2021 + floortrendsmag.com

 NEW PRODUCT GUIDE
Legato Liquid Linoleum. Photo
courtesy of Mannington Commercial.
R
etailer and commercial specifiers
are hungry for new flooring intel.
We’ve rounded up the hottest
introductions for 2021 that are creating
buzz among retailers and specifiers.
From residential intros built to withstand
household wear and tear, like American
Charm 6 from Armstrong Flooring, to
the latest innovations in the commercial
market, like Mannington Commercial’s
Legato Liquid Linoleum, which is sim-
WEB
EXCLUSIVE!
American Charm 6. Photo courtesy
of Armstrong Flooring.
ply poured in place, harnessing both
the benefits of traditional linoleum and
sheet vinyl.
On the installation side, we’ve fea-
tured the latest flooring installation
product introductions, systems and
technologies.
See this comprehensive list in its
entirety at floortrendsmag.com. ft
floortrendsmag.com + January 2021 13
 First Look
A Hand sanitizer that Gives Back
A
t the height of the pandemic, hand
sanitizer was increasingly hard to
come by. Some people turned to
homemade formulas, while others shifted
their focus and used their resources to
help meet demand. One of these com-
panies is Arropol Chemicals of Dalton,
Georgia, which launched Arropure.
The alcohol-based hand sanitizer is
made in the United States and meets
all the requirements of the CDC and
W.H.O. It is also registered with the FDA
and will kill 99.99% of all the germs that
will make you sick, the company said.
14 January 2021 + floortrendsmag.com
Another bonus? For every purchase of the
hand sanitizer by a World Floor Covering
Association member, Arropure will refund
10% of the price to the Floor Covering
Education Foundation to help recruit and
train the next generation of installers.
“In all the years I’ve been in the flooring
industry, all I’ve heard is that we haven’t
had enough qualified installers,” said
Ralph Boe, PhD, and president of Arropol
Below: Arropure hand sanitizers rebates 10%
to fund Floor Covering Education Foundation.
Photo by WFCA.
 Left: The alcohol-based hand sanitizer is made in
the United States and meets all the requirements
of the CDC and W.H.O. Photo by WFCA.

Arropure approached the WFCA with the

refund idea, and Scott Humphrey, CEO of
WFCA, observed the advantages to every-
one this way: “We’re providing a resource
you would need anyway. You utilize that
resource and at the same time benefit the
Floor Covering Education Foundation and
together, we solve this problem.”

Arropure is sold online (Arropure.com) in

Chemicals. “We put this program together
that keeps retailers and manufacturers
safe, while at the same time providing
funding that goes back to the foundation.”
bulk and shipped direct to the purchaser.
“We’re selling our product at significantly
reduced prices versus the competition,”
Boe said. “We feel our pricing is competi-
tive to all the pricing out there.” ft

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floortrendsmag.com + January 2021 15

RETAIL INSIGHT BY KATIE RORK

When Trade Shows Get Cancelled

Photo by D.E. McNabb Flooring.

M
ichigan-based D.E. McNabb Flooring has
established itself as the provider of flooring for
hundreds of tradeshows, and more than 53
auto shows, throughout North America. But with many
of those in-person shows cancelled due to COVID-19
for the foreseeable future—or converted to a virtual for-
mat—McNabb’s Betsy Call walks us through what that
Click n means for this small business. ft

n s c ree
o c h.
a t
to w

16 January 2021 + floortrendsmag.com

 We are exclusively

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exclusive Beautifully Responsible™️ message to millions of consumers, everywhere. Resilient Flooring is
all about Mindful Manufacturing™️ and a commitment to sustainable sourcing, designing and manufacturing.
It’s also about Living Well™️ providing a healthier indoor environment. And Resilient Flooring is Made for Life™️
making it the ultimate in durability, performance and reduced waste. Check out BeautifullyResponsible.com
only from RFCI member manufacturers. It’s just the beautifully responsible thing to do!

®
 DiverSity in DeSign
P
orscha Coney seems to have the
golden touch. Whether she’s styl-
ing herself or her family (right
down to turtlenecks for the dogs) or per-
fectly arranging a combination of textiles,
fabrics and patterns that lend to the com-
plete transformation of a space, Coney’s
keen eye for style and design have
unearthed a dream realized.
What began as a hobby that allowed
Coney to occasionally flex her design
18 January 2021 + floortrendsmag.com
By Danielle Clair SimpSon
muscle has since catapulted into a full-
blown entrepreneurial venture: P.L. Coney
Designs, a Kentucky-based, full-service
firm offering design solutions for both resi-
dential and commercial interiors.
“On trash day, my husband and I would
drive through the neighborhood and we
Above: Porscha Coney is the owner of
Kentucky-based, full-service design P.L. Coney
Designs. Photo courtesy of Porscha Coney.
would look for old furniture pieces that peo-
ple were throwing away,” says Coney. “We
would grab them, take them home, refurbish
them and then resell them. We absolutely
loved it, but I found myself loving the pro-
cess of staging the furniture a little bit more.”
Through the power of social media,
which at the time consisted of just
Facebook for Coney, the furniture staging
she did in her home in hopes of photo-
graphing and selling the revamped pieces
attracted her very first interior design cli-
ent, and the rest, as they say, is history.
“I got a Facebook message asking if I
could design a condo in Cincinnati, and
I was like, ‘Who? Me?’,” she recalls. “I’d
never done design or anything like that,
but this person had seen what I was doing
just in my own home and they loved it.
From there, after I designed that condo, I
absolutely fell in love with interior design. I
knew that this is what I’m supposed to be
doing; this is what brings me joy.”
Entering the world of interior design full-
time was certainly a risky move for Coney,
who’d earned a degree in family studies and
who at the time had no professional experi-
ence in the field. And the risks didn’t stop
there. Interior design is a profession that
Black women are underrepresented in—as
indicated by the American Society of Interior
Designers, which reports that less than 2%
of its membership identify as Black, and by
the International Interior Design Association,
which reports that less than one percent of
its members are women of color. But rather
than being dismayed by a lack of experi-
ence or representation in the field, Coney
tapped into a level of confidence and ambi-
tion that she says is innate.
“Minority women bring so much creativ-
ity to interior design. I believe that our
Above: “When it comes to flooring, my eye is
usually drawn to something oak or dark walnut.”
Photo courtesy of Porscha Coney.
floortrendsmag.com + January 2021 19
Diversity in Design
eye is just unmatched. I love the diver-
sity that we bring and the different ideas
that we contribute. We’ve gone through
some unique experiences, both positive
and negative, and we’ve been able to
embody them and bring them into the
work that we do and our clients’ spaces.
And that’s just what minority women
do—we take our negative experiences,
our lemons, and we turn them into lem-
onade. We do that every single time. We
will never fail.”
It is that mindset, growing social media
exposure and old-faithful word of mouth
that have propelled Coney, taking her
from a small town designer by hobby, to a
professional design influencer whose work
has gained her an international clientele
and partnerships with big box brands.
“Word of mouth will always be king of
marketing, but social media is definitely the
20 January 2021 + floortrendsmag.com
As a Black woman in design, Coney feels
she brings a unique flavor to the projects she
works on. Photo courtesy of Porscha Coney.
queen,” Coney said. “Social media is a tool
that has really increased my business.”
So much so that her Instagram account
caught the eye of Big Lots, who enlisted
the design expertise of Coney and a
handful of interior designers to showcase
its 2019 Christmas lines.
“I’d never thought about going to Big
Lots for Christmas decorations,” Coney
said. But they brought us into their ware-
house, showed us the showroom and their
beautiful setups and then we were given
free rein to take those items and decorate
our own homes with them.”
Taking a walk on the creative wild side,
Coney took home with her Christmas
décor from a Big Lots line that featured
colors that she wouldn’t normally deco-
rate with, and the result was just what the
retail giant hoped it would be. “The col-
ors were pink, teal, purple and yellow. It
was my first time doing that. But I put the
ornaments on my tree, [shared on social
media] and so many people were like, ‘Oh
my goodness, I’m going to Big Lots for my
Christmas decorations!’”
Like Big Lots, several flooring manufac-
tures have turned to design influencers
like Coney to drive awareness of their
products and trends on social media and
design platforms. In addition to brand

Photo courtesy of Porscha Coney.
awareness, these partnerships have also
made flooring seemingly more appealing
and accessible to end users.
“Flooring has evolved,” said Coney.
“Flooring used be super expensive and
when I would bring it up to a client, they
would get nervous because all they’d think
about was the cost. But now there are
some really good options that won’t com-
pletely break the budget.”
As Coney continues to grow as an interior
designer, she plans to keep doing what’s
worked well for her thus far—using her
home as a canvas to create eye-catching
designs and her social media platforms to
capture the attention of potential clients
and brand partnerships.
“A lot of my furniture pieces in my home
are from Value City. So I have taken a
few pictures, like me reading a book on a
sofa that’s from Value City, or my children
sleeping in our bed, and I’ve tagged [the
company] and they’ve posted it on their
Porscha’s
Designers
to Watch
@plconeydesigns
@forbesmasters
@kellyhopterinterios
social media accounts. So I would love to
collaborate with them.”
Coney’s social media has also caught
the attention of aspiring interior designers,
which has allowed her to not only expand
her team, but to also provide opportunities
for other women of color to comfortably
learn and grow in the interior design field
under her wing.
“I recently had a University of Kentucky
student join my team as a design assistant.
Being able to mentor her and to help nurture
her budding skills has been a great experi-
ence for both of us. It’s exciting knowing that
we are adding much needed diversity and
representation to the field.” ft
See More!
Porscha shares
5 design trends
we can expect
in 2021
floortrendsmag.com + January 2021 21
Top Trends
in residenTial Floors
By Tanja Kern
T
he home was reinvented in
2020—transitioning from a
place of rest and relaxation
into a multi-faceted living, work-
ing and learning environment.
More than ever, design trends are
focused on functionality and comfort
as the world redefines its relation-
ship with the home.

“There’s a desire for a soothing

environment with ethereal colors,
soft and cozy fabrics on furniture,
sanctuary spaces that promote well-
being,” said Pam Rainey, vice presi-
dent, residential product design,
Shaw Industries. “Moving into 2021,
consumers search for ways to feel
secure from the world outside—
cocooning shapes, happy colors
and playful designs will have stron-
ger appeal.”

In 2021, experts anticipate consum-

ers craving an escape from reality—
opting for a home that makes them
feel like they’re on vacation. “In the
Bay Area, we’re seeing our buyers go
for that quintessential beach-house
look,” said designer Lisa Perlman.
“Think navy walls or cabinets, paired
with natural wood furniture and white
accents. On the floors, we’re seeing
a much wider wood plank in lighter
colors and washes.” Unlike the boho
beach style that emerged years
ago, this trend lends itself to organic
beachy elegance, she noted.

With so many homes turning into

workplaces, schools and gyms,

Left: Dynamic Vision in Spiced Cookie

by Shaw Floors. Photo courtesy of Shaw
Floors.

floortrendsmag.com + January 2021 23

Top Trends in residenTial Floors
designing cozy and inviting living spaces
has never been so important. “The neutral
palette has become very popular among
our buyers. They want natural wood
flooring and cabinetry and neutral wall
colors—all in warmer hues,” said Denver-
based design expert Stacy Ristedt.
This is echoed in Sherwin-Williams 2021
Color of the Year, Urbane Bronze. “The
home is now the ultimate retreat from the
world, and color is an easy and effective
way to create a personal haven,” said Sue
Wadden, director of color marketing
at Sherwin-Williams. “Urbane Bronze
encourages you to create a sanctuary
space for mindful reflection and renewal.”
According to Charlotte, North Carolina-
based designer Brittany Wightman, home
trends will continue to move away from
cool greys and toward moodier, dramatic
hues. On the rise is dark cabinetry, vibrant
or dark tile backsplashes, and contrasting
bright white countertops.
24 January 2021 + floortrendsmag.com
Left: Pantone’s 2021
colors of the year,
Ultimate Gray and
Illuminating, are
versatile and add
positivity to spaces.
Photo by efetova via
Getty Images.
“Grey beige continued to be the neutral
direction,” Rainey said. Concrete becomes
a desirable component in kitchen design,
and she is seeing concrete being elevated
by oxidation techniques and Travertine
visuals that are inspired by concrete.
“In the South, we’re seeing a big push
for a more modern farmhouse,” said
Terance Manly, design studio manager
for Taylor Morrison in Atlanta, Georgia.
“Expect to see light wood flooring, geo-
metrical patterns, earthy undertones,
shiplap and mid-century modern furniture
with touches of leather and velvet.”
While the classic farmhouse look has
been around for a while, this modern trend
merges old style with new world elements.
Aesthetically, design preferences in both
kitchen and bath will continue to be more
contemporary and transitional in style, with
added influence of a new leading trend
of “natural and organic”, according to the

What’s In for Floors?
4 Natural hues
4 Ethereal and European
influences
4 Minimalism
4 Wood and wood-looks
4 Handcrafted influences
4 Basketweave and herring-
bone patterns
4 Large, clean shapes
National Kitchen and Bath Association’s
(NKBA) 2021 Design Trends Research.
The bathroom becomes a space for self-
care, and materials are combined to feel
more European in style and scale, with
clean lines, minimal detailing, the warmth
Left: Lighter floors with
cleaner lines continue to rise
in popularity. Photo: COREtec
Plus 5” in Dodwell Oak. Photo
courtesy of COREtec.
and texture of natural finishes, and larger
windows to bring the feeling of the out-
doors inside. Homeowners are demanding
easy-to-clean surfaces.
“The kitchen has long been the heart of
the home. But especially during the pan-
demic, it has emerged as the most promi-
nent, multitasking room as well,” said Bill
Darcy, NKBA CEO. “We see this continu-
ing with more open-space concepts, an
extension into multi-season outdoor living
spaces, larger kitchen island hubs and
increased functionality and storage to allow
homeowners to cook, eat, work, home-
school and play, all in the same vicinity.”
The NKBA also reports that quartz, par-
ticularly in lighter colors, will continue to
be the driving material for countertops,
large-scale backsplashes will feature a
solid slab or long subway tile, and home-
owners are liking a mix of complementary
colors and materials on perimeter counter-
tops and islands. In the bath, radiant-heat
flooring is a must-have. ft
floortrendsmag.com + January 2021 25
 CLEAN FLOORS:
HOW TO CLEAN, SANITIZE
AND DISINFECT COMMERCIAL FLOORS
A
s we continue to live with COVID-19,
there’s an increased emphasis on
maintaining flooring, with services
on offer that are designed to keep floors
clean—and virus-free. From protocols, to
equipment and disinfectants, there’s plenty
to consider when deciding on the proper
cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting of
commercial flooring. Floor Trends spoke
with manufacturers and flooring profession-
als to find out more about effective mainte-
nance for pandemic and beyond.
26 January 2021 + floortrendsmag.com
BY ANNA ZAPPIA
“The three pillars are cleaning, sanitizing,
and disinfecting, and they are each differ-
ent things,” said Ben Giamichael, founder
and managing partner of Arch 180, Inc., a
sales agency that represents commercial
flooring manufacturers. Indeed, people
often assume that these processes are
Above: The disinfectant used by RD Weis can
be safely sprayed around people, pets, and food,
so it’s an ideal choice for treating a range of
commercial spaces. Photo courtesy of RD Weis.

interchangeable, however they are sepa-
rate tasks that achieve different results.
Cleaning is a common practice, one
that most of us perform every day in our
homes. It is the process of removing dirt,
dust, or debris. Once the dirt is removed,
a detergent and water is applied to wash
a surface. Before the pandemic, cleaning
was only done when soil was visible. “Pre-
COVID-19, we typically cleaned for aes-
thetics, like when the floor looked dirty,”
said Jim Mannes, national director, Shaw.
Cleaning not only keeps surfaces look-
ing fresh, it also prepares them for proper
sanitizing and disinfecting. “Sanitization
Left: RD Weis crew members don personal
protective equipment (PPE) per the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
guidelines. Tyvek suits, gloves, goggles,
booties, and masks are worn for each job.
Photo courtesy of RD Weis.
reduces the amount of bacteria or virus
on a surface. Disinfection eliminates it,”
said Randy Weis, CEO and founder of RD
Weis, a full-service commercial flooring
provider. The typical disinfectants found in
the supermarket are not strong enough to
eradicate COVID-19. “The EPA has drawn
a strong line regarding the efficacy of prod-
ucts that make a disinfection claim. They
must kill 99.999% of a virus,” Weis added.
In early March, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) released its ini-
tial List N: Disinfectants for Use Against
SARS-CoV-2. The list began with just 85
products, and it is updated on a weekly
basis. Now with more than 500 approved
products and counting, service providers
can select the safest and most effective
disinfectants.
Jesse Castro, director of maintenance at
Texan Floor Service, a commercial floor-
ing company that provides both products
and services, selected a product found on
List N as part of a two-pronged system.
His crews use electrostatic sprayers to
apply Vital Oxide, a hospital-grade disin-
fectant made of chlorine dioxide that elimi-
nates viruses. Because Vital Oxide is safe
to apply around people, pets, and food, it
is an ideal choice for a range of spaces.
After treatment with Vital Oxide, custom-
ers can choose to have interiors treated
floortrendsmag.com + January 2021 27
How to Clean, Sanitize and diSinfeCt CommerCial floorS
with Bio-Protect 500, a surface protectant
that inhibits the growth of mold, mildew,
and bacteria. “We use Vital Oxide, and
that product kills pathogens within 10 min-
utes, including COVID-19. Bio-Protect 500
protects a surface for 90 days after it is
applied. Right now, I would say 95% of our
customers are using our system, which is
these two products,” noted Castro.
When the pandemic began, the Texan
Floor Service teams were most often
called in to disinfect office spaces, but
in the past six months they have been
doing work for general contractors, a
new business segment that continues to
grow. “We’ll go to the job sites and disin-
fect their trailers, forklifts, and any other
type of equipment that they use,” Castro
added.
28 January 2021 + floortrendsmag.com
For flooring service providers, the right dis-
infectants are crucial, but the gear is just as
important to ensure the safety of their work-
ers. Weis said his crews are outfitted in per-
sonal protective equipment (PPE) per the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) guidelines. Tyvek suits, gloves, gog-
gles, booties, and masks are worn for each
job. “We look like the Ghostbusters. When
we go into a space to disinfect, we make
the assumption that it is infected.”
Some dealers have transitioned to
maintenance as a way to keep business
up and running during the pandemic,
Above: Bona manufactures products that are
designed to clean and protect commercial
hardwood and resilient flooring. Photo
courtesy of Bona.
applying their knowledge of flooring
installation to this area of care. “I know a
lot of dealers on the installation side, soft
and hard goods. They’ve started doing
maintenance and disinfection, and that
helps,” Castro said.
Companies providing cleaning and
sanitization services will continue to
see an increase in demand, as there
is a renewed focus on flooring specifi-
cally. “As we’ve watched the trends over
the course of the last eight months, the
floor aspect of cleaning protocols has
been very low on the list, even though
the amount of traffic that happens on
the floor is second in a building only to
walls. We’re trying to educate and bring
more awareness around the importance
of keeping your floor as clean as you’re
trying to keep everything else,” said
Tiffany Baird, director of marketing, pro-
fessional and new initiatives, Bona.
Not everyone though has flooring or
disinfection expertise. That can be a
problem for building owners looking to
save money when budgets are espe-
cially tight. “I will say, like most things,
the misconception is that we can have
this done by anybody and everybody,”
Weis said. “A lot of companies that are
in pest control have entered the dis-
infection business this year, primarily
because they own some spray equip-
ment. Commercial painters have entered
the arena as well. Cost is always a fac-
tor, but you really shouldn’t be taking
chances with somebody just because
their price will be lower in some cases.”
. rity, it’s a different kind of security. Most
Education is key across the board,
especially as businesses and consum-
ers are still learning about how chemi-
cals will affect flooring and interior fin-
ishes over time. “People are making
big investments in commercial flooring,
but there’s not a lot of knowledge about
what these particular disinfectants do
to hard surfaces long term,” Giamichael
said.
The products we use today were cre-
ated when floor care was a much simpler
proposition. In the midst of the pandemic,
our needs have changed drastically, and
they’ll continue to evolve. “Many if not
most of these products were developed
for very occasional use, not daily or mul-
tiple times a day. What we have found is
that a lot of these products are aggres-
sive, and they can have some deleteri-
ous effects. We’ve rushed to treat, but we
haven’t rushed to learn and understand
the long-term ramifications,” Mannes
explained.
Giamichael noted that flooring manu-
facturers need to provide more detailed
information about disinfection in printed
and online materials. “There’s recom-
mendations from all the manufacturers
on cleaning procedures. That’s been
done. When we start talking about
disinfecting though, they don’t have
these chemicals listed on their warranty
sheets, and they have to be there. We
need to start doing some of our own
testing, and then develop updates, but
it’s not an overnight thing.”
As we continue to learn more about all of
these processes, it is clear that disinfect-
ing will become a regular part of our floor
care routine. “Disinfection is the new secu-
people, including myself, are not confi-
dent this ends with COVID-19. There’ll be
something else, so I think disinfection is
here to stay,” Weis added. ft
floortrendsmag.com + January 2021 29
Top Tile
Cleaning Tips
 I
n the wake of COVID-
19 concerns for sur-
face hygiene, Why
Tile announced a collection
of resources defining the
health benefits of ceramic
tile coverings. The Hygiene
Guides, available on whyt-
ile.com, provide quick
access to hygiene informa-
tion on ceramic tile collect-
ed into one location.

“Why Tile responded to

the demand by specifiers
and consumers alike to
understand the advan-
tages of using ceramic tile
for our health and safety,”
said Kathy Meyer, market-
ing director, TCNA. “The
Hygiene Guides provide
an easy-to-navigate free
digital resource covering
topics ranging from clean-
ing tips to post-pandemic
kitchen design.”

The latest findings and

health information on
ceramic tile from industry
experts take all surfaces
into account, from floors
to walls, countertops,
backsplashes, and even
outdoor areas. “We will
continue to expand the
Hygiene Guides with new
information and research,”
Meyer said. ft

Left: MSI’s Durban porcelain

tile. Photo courtesy of MSI.

floortrendsmag.com + January 2021 31

Top Tile Cleaning Tips

1 2
MainTenanCe Tip #1:
Step one in caring for your tile is
to sweep it! Get in there and get
all the mess that’s in dry form off
your surface the old fashioned way.
You may also wish to invest in an
electrostatic cleaning tool (one brand
name is “Swiffer”) to remove minute
debris, giving you the cleanest start
possible.
MainTenanCe Tip #2:
From there, clear, clean water is
often all that’s needed to clean
your tile. If you find you must use
something stronger, turn to a neutral
cleaner made specifically for grout
or tile, or a mildly alkaline detergent
(i.e., Mr. Clean, Spic and Span).

3 4
MainTenanCe Tip #3:
Stay away from using harsh
cleaners on a regular basis. The
effect of using cleaners with a high
pH (bleach – alkaline) or low pH
(vinegar – acidic) over and over is
that they may break down some
sealers which are there to help
prevent soap scum, oils, and dirt
from penetrating into the grout.
MainTenanCe Tip #4:
Always rinse with clean, clear
water after cleaning to remove any
residue. Any residual cleaner, soap,
or detergent must be removed to
prevent it from leaving the tile dull
and susceptible to more rapid soiling.

5
MainTenanCe Tip #5:
Nylon or plastic scrubbers are handy and generally won’t scratch. These are great
tools for helping care for your tile and grout.

32 January 2021 + floortrendsmag.com

CLEAN FLOORS:
FLOOR DISINFECTANT DO’S AND DON’TS
BY SPENCER LUALLEN
TECHNICAL MAINTENANCE SPECIALIST,
ROPPE HOLDING COMPANY AND NAFCT FOUNDING MEMBER
I
n the wild and crazy year of 2020,
nothing seemed to be normal.
COVID-19 has swept across the
world, adding panic to our every-
day lives and skepticism about the
people we interact with and the
surfaces we touch. No longer are
we willing to grab that shopping cart
or push that elevator button. With
that has brought along a new need
and desire to wipe down, clean and
disinfect everything we come in con-
tact with. We have seen this craze
explode in the flooring industry. As a
manufacturing representative, I can
tell you that I get asked constantly if
this disinfectant or that sanitizer will
“work on [our] flooring.” Therefore,
let’s break down some of the basics
when it comes to cleaning vs. disin-
fecting, disinfection of different floor-
ing materials, what manufacturers
will tell you and the CDC’s stance
on disinfecting flooring materials.

Cleaning vs. Disinfecting

First, let’s get one thing out of the
way; cleaning the floor and disinfect-
ing the floor are two extremely differ-
ent processes that will give you two
very different outcomes. Cleaning is
the process of removing soil, which
is any foreign non-living particle, from
the flooring material. This involves
using the four main principles of
cleaning; chemical, heat, agitation
and time (CHAT). Disinfecting is
the process of attacking and killing
bacteria and viruses using chemis-
try. Now do cleaning processes kill
some bacteria and viruses? Yes. Do
disinfecting processes remove some
soil? Yes. But using a disinfectant to

Photo by PeopleImages via Getty

Images.

floortrendsmag.com + January 2021 35

Clean Floors: Floor DisinFeCtant Do’s anD Don’ts
clean a grease spill in carpet isn’t going to
work out very well for you. The one aspect
of cleaning and disinfecting that is the same
is that both chemistries must be rinsed.
Very seldom does any chemistry get rinsed
off the flooring material, let alone disinfec-
tants. So if it isn’t rinsed, that means it is
still working. This can cause discoloration or
yellowing and lead to damage of the flooring
material.
What flooring material
are you working on?
Is the floor resilient, carpet, tile, or
stone? Is it resilient that looks like stone?
Will the disinfectant cause the vinyl floor-
36 January 2021 + floortrendsmag.com
Photo by: AndreyPopov via Getty Images.
ing you’re working on to yellow? If you
don’t rinse off the disinfectant, it will. Are
you looking to use a peroxide-based dis-
infectant on your marble flooring in your
lobby? You shouldn’t, as that acidic per-
oxide will etch your marble, damaging it
permanently. How about the rubber tile
flooring in the back of house? Still plan-
ning on using that 12.5 pH quaternary
disinfectant? Well that high pH product
will cause a chemical burn on the rubber,
again damaging it permanently. Another
common occurrence we as manufactur-
ers see on job sites is the discoloration
or appearance of soiling at the transition
between two flooring materials. This hap-
pens when a disinfectant isn’t rinsed and
is then walked onto the other surface.
The most common is the stone to carpet
transition coming out of bathrooms. Often
the stone is disinfected with a quaternary
ammonium compounds and not rinsed
leading to people tracking that chemistry
all over the carpet. The black or yellow
traffic pattern that is created is caused by
reverse saponification, which you need
special carpet cleaning chemistry and
experienced technicians to fix.
There is a very fine line that you walk
when it comes to using disinfecting chem-
istries. You may get lucky the first time,
but I guarantee that extensive use of the
wrong product on the wrong flooring mate-
rial will make you look silly.
Have you read the manufacturer’s
care and maintenance guidelines?
If you haven’t read the care and main-
tenance guidelines, you could be voiding
the warranty. You must always refer to
the manufacturer of the flooring material
for how to properly maintain their floor-
ing material. I will preface the rest of this
with this: flooring manufacturers cringe
at the word disinfection. The reason is
that almost nothing good comes after that
word is uttered to us over the phone or
in person. The mind of a technical rep
from a flooring manufacturer begins to
race thinking of all the possibilities of how
this jobsite went wrong and dreading the
moment that we have to tell you that what
you’re seeing on the floor is not fixable
and it is your fault.
One of the biggest mistakes made is using
an unapproved chemistry that will damage
the flooring material, and then coming to the
manufacturer afterwards asking how to fix
the new problem. Often, that unapproved
chemistry has caused irreparable damage
to the material and there is nothing we, as
manufacturers, can do. Most manufactur-
ers have a list of chemistries that they have
tested and/or approve of and will gladly rec-
ommend to you. So make the five-minute
phone call prior to slopping down that chem-
istry with your mop and possibly hurting
your pocketbook.
Do we even need to disinfect
our flooring materials?
Actually no, we don’t—at least in health-
care settings. According to the Centers of
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
flooring materials in healthcare settings
are considered “non-critical surfaces” and
therefore can be maintained with routine
scrubbing and mopping. This doesn’t apply
to food service, retail, or commercial set-
tings, but it does show that in a setting that
is extremely worried about infection, such
as a healthcare facility, the CDC says dis-
infecting floors isn’t necessary. It is up to
you, your facility people, or the end user as
to whether you disinfect the floor.
After breaking down the difference
between cleaning and disinfecting, under-
standing how some disinfectants can
impact your flooring materials, what manu-
facturers of flooring materials will tell you
regarding disinfection and what the CDC
says about disinfection of flooring materi-
als, do you feel confident in your current
process? Again, call, email or reach out
to the manufacturer of the flooring mate-
rial you’re planning on working on as it
could save you thousands and let’s make
sure that we don’t cause any unnecessary
damage leading to unnecessary flooring
replacements. ft
floortrendsmag.com + January 2021 37
Partnering For SucceSS
around Quality
By Mark Bischoff
President and ceo, starnet
F
or many years, the industry
has pointed to installer error
and site-related issues as the
dominant factors in claims related
to commercial flooring projects.
Manufacturers often point to their
internal metrics that support these
assumptions and use them to jus-
tify policies and procedures mini-
mizing the risk exposure. These
internal metrics may not tell the
entire story with context. Due to
the elevated risk associated with
construction projects, Starnet mem-
bers continue to build specification
capability, installation standardiza-
tion, and project documentation into
their operating procedures. They
have the opportunity every day to
support and specify vendor part-
ners that have internal processes
and policies that enhance their
labor productivity. These standard
procedures help to insulate them
from the worst of the challenges
on project sites. Professional floor-
ing contractors are successfully
influencing material selection away
from manufacturers that are less
than ideal to install, which protects
the entire industry.

What Complicates Situations

For The Professional Flooring
Contractor?
Many manufacturers have
technical, operations, and legal
departments that have been
assaulted by the risks associ-
ated with residential products and

Left: Starnet Design Awards winner,

Yale Neonatal Intensive Care Unit,
completed by M. Frank Higgins & Co.
Photo courtesy of Starnet.

floortrendsmag.com + January 2021 39

Partnering For SucceSS around Quality
individual consumer protections.
Providing products to the consumer
through the residential channels
have their own pitfalls, and because
much of the industry evolved from
residentially oriented manufacturing
that added commercial markets to
grow, you can see the underlying
approach. The limitations written
into most manufacturer warranties
have residential exclusions modi-
fied into the commercial warranty.
For example, a common element
of the limited warranty includes lan-
guage like, “It is the responsibility
of the installer/end user to confirm
the received material is free of any
obvious visible conditions that may
be detrimental to the appearance
and/or performance of the product.
Manufacturer will not pay for labor
costs to repair or replace material
with visible conditions that were
apparent before installation.”
If you are scheduled to proceed to
install 12,000 square feet of mate-
rial with union installers in a New
York City law firm over a weekend,
this complicates the situation. A
commercial flooring contractor will
desperately avoid installing poor
quality material at all costs, because
every project that fails requires
them to successfully complete sev-
eral more to get to even money. In
addition, one might find another ref-
erence in the limited warranty such
as, “Manufacturer will not credit
or reimburse the costs associated
with the removal of items such as
furniture or other fixtures required
for replacement.” Starnet mem-
bers search for manufacturers that
provide consistent quality so that
40 January 2021 + floortrendsmag.com
Steve Cloud, Owner
of M. Frank Higgins
& Co., Inc.
Berlin, Connecticut
“We are very careful
who we partner with on
projects. Some of our
clients are world-class
institutions, and they
expect world-class execution. One of the most
frustrating things that happens to our team
is the poor communication around claims for
quality. Our labor teams are highly skilled and
productive, but they are supported by relatively
higher wages. We do not tolerate installation
claims for workmanship, but if a manufacturer
ships non-standard material, we cannot carry
those costs.
We are purchasing millions of dollars of mate-
rial every year, much of it we recommend and
specify. The team works hard to partner and
represent the interests of our preferred manu-
facturers. Everyone should get a fair result to
satisfy the client in a claim situation. We have
had instances where a project manager goes
back and forth with the claims department over
a quality issue and the process drags out. We
try our best to resolve those issues quickly and
protect the brand name of the manufacturer.
It can happen that the client or the designer
gets frustrated with the manufacturer’s formal
process and contacts the manufacturer directly.
All of the sudden, the claim resolution is accel-
erated. This is so frustrating to me because the
designer has no purchasing power at all. Their
influence, however, reigns. This puts our team
in an awkward position in front of the client.
This is NOT partnering. These situations are
unfortunate, but they have happened. We work
diligently to partner with high-quality, reliable
vendors who have similar values. This provides
the best overall service for the client.”
these sentences never have to be refer-
enced in a meeting with a client. Evidence
of the manufacturer’s confidence in their
approach show up in the language of their
published limited warranty. The language
they use is different than their peers. A
simple example, “Should our product fail
to perform as warranted, we will resolve
the deficiency, labor included, at no
charge for materials, freight and labor.”
What Is Quality?
Quality is an evaluation of something as
measured against other things that are
similar. Quality accounts for the excellence
of something. One of the major challenges
in the construction industry across all prod-
ucts, interior and exterior, is the technology
outpaces the standards of quality by years
and sometimes decades. ASTM standards
that influence the production of like prod-
ucts, for example resilient flooring or carpet
tile, are often set to allow more participants
in the market. Broadly achieved standards
are a disincentive for meaningful capital
investment in the latest equipment. General
standards allow less capable companies
to compete with companies that have
invested. This ultimately drives down prices
and profitability, further slowing innovation
and investment. Less innovation ultimately
causes the end user to be starved of
value, dramatically impedes the productiv-
ity of labor, and often leads to contentious
claims.
Does My ISO 9000/ISO 9001 Vendor
Partner Produce Quality Products?
The ISO 9000 series of standards was
first published in 1987 by the International
Above: Starnet Design Awards winner,
Nationwide Children’s Behavioral Health
Pavilion completed by Floor Systems & Design.
Photo courtesy of Starnet.
floortrendsmag.com + January 2021 41
Partnering For SucceSS around Quality
Organization for Standardization
(ISO), an international agency com-
posed of the national standards
bodies of more than 160 countries.
After many decades of implementa-
tion of these standards, and others
modeled after them, why isn’t every
product shipped perfect? The rea-
son is the ISO standards are tools.
Like any other tool, when used by
skilled teams under the right condi-
tions they can deliver outstanding
and repeatable results. Companies
that adopt the tools and standards
outlined in the ISO 9000/9001 have
a much better chance of manufac-
turing quality products than those
that do not follow the standards.
However, the people and the focus
of the company on the customer
must be part of the company culture
to ensure consistent success. ISO
9001 certification is a strong indica-
tor that the company cares about
quality. ISO 9001 does not guaran-
tee quality products for customers.
Why Is Practical Quality More
Important Than ASTM Standards
or ISO Certification?
For example, the ASTM Standard
for tolerance on the thickness of
LVT is ± 0.005 inches. The general
public can actually see differences
in the thickness of an LVT plank
at ± 0.002 inches. This may not
seem like a big difference. Imagine
the product installed over 20,000
square feet on a poured engineered
subfloor with a very thin layer roll
down adhesive recommended by
the manufacturer. Those thick-
ness differences referenced above
become obvious to anyone. One
technique to manage this is to bevel
42 January 2021 + floortrendsmag.com
Lonny Peck
President, Floor
Systems & Design
Columbus, Ohio
“Our company manages
standards for health care
facilities all over the state,
and it has taken us many
years to develop the
partners we need to deliver a repeatable experi-
ence. We have worked intensely to standardize
products. Through the years we have had prod-
uct that becomes inconsistent in some way, we
have had to move to another choice. Color and
pattern are generally excluded from the standard
manufacturer warranty, but we have developed a
relationship with manufacturers that always meet
the expectations of our facility design teams.
Understanding their manufacturing processes
and how they achieve visual consistency is part
of our competitive advantage. Our team has been
in the plants and observed the unique processes.
We also look for solutions to problems that most
people assume cannot be resolved.
Subfloor imperfections showing through resilient
material is not acceptable to our clients. We have
made a commitment to them to provide a consis-
tent visual, as well as a reliably smooth appear-
ance under the floor in all their facilities. This is
one reason we shifted to roll or spray adhesives
8 years ago for all our LVT and sheet vinyl instal-
lations, which makes up 68% of our business.
These and other changes have set us apart from
our competitors. We focus attention on issues like
these with my operations team, we assemble reli-
able partners, and we communicate to our clients
what they should expect from us.
Other companies have come in with differ-
ent products, or they try to get some business
from our clients. It does not work because of the
intensity we have and the special combination of
manufacturers we have assembled to partner for
success!”
 Help Flooring families
get through hard days.

The Floor Covering Industry Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit that provides grants to industry
workers who are battling life-altering illnesses, catastrophic injuries, and other severe disabilities.

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Partnering For SucceSS around Quality
the edges of the planks, which is not to
modern trends, but provides relief to the
manufacturer that cannot control thick-
ness. Another compromise would be to
return to outdated skim and sand tech-
niques with trowel down adhesives. This
would minimize the visual difference by
“floating” the planks over the ridges in the
adhesive. Unfortunately, this would dra-
matically reduce the efficiency of the labor
and force the crews back on their knees to
do the work.
Starnet is constantly working with
Preferred Vendor Partners to uncover their
special capabilities that deliver “Practical
Quality.” Unique capabilities in manufactur-
ing may be diluted by the traditional design/
bid/build process that forces competition
44 January 2021 + floortrendsmag.com
with less capable companies as an ‘or
equal.’ Starnet members have hundreds of
real-world examples of manufacturers who
execute “Practical Quality” to enhance labor
productivity and create enhanced value.
How is Practical Quality
Supported by Operations?
Parts of the flooring industry are operat-
ing equipment in manufacturing facilities
designed and built more than 75 years ago!
How does this impact quality? Older equip-
ment is generally less precise and less
repeatable. One of the marvels of modern
manufacturing is the use of standardized
Above: M. Frank Higgins & Co., Inc.
Photo courtesy of Starnet.
Learn&Earn
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Professional Development Hours (PDHs). This course may fulfill CIDQ’s certificate renewal requirements
for continuing education. Jurisdictional requirements may differ so if you reside/work in a regulated
jurisdiction, please check with your regulatory board to ensure compliance with its continuing education
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accept AIA and IACET credits for professional continuing education requirements. Check your state
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Partnering For SucceSS around Quality
parts, allowing for reliable and repeatable
assembly of components manufactured
on different machines on different days by
different operators. Are backing systems
and wear layers repeatable components
when manufactured on different machines
on different days by different operators? In
the flooring industry, the answer is gener-
ally no. Older equipment can be updated
with various sensors and computerized
controls to measure temperature, pressure,
speed, and physical dimensions. This type
of investment can be effective in increasing
the precision of older equipment.
One of the great ironies of the industry
is a common disclaimer from installation
instructions that generally reads as follows,
“Ensure flooring is installed in an environ-
ment that maintains a temperature range
between 65° to 85° Fahrenheit at least
24-hours before, during and after installa-
tion.” This is a requirement, supported by
ASTM standards, that most manufacturers
do not follow in their production facilities. If
a constant temperature has such an impact
on flooring material at the job site, why are
most manufacturers operating in facilities
that have wide swings in temperature?
Because of the ‘or equal’ pressure of
the construction industry and consolida-
tion of supply chains globally, manu-
facturers are in a constant struggle to
manage their vendors. Purchasing teams
are under pressure to find new vendors
at lower costs to support the manufac-
turing internal efficiency metrics. These
initiatives can be driven by shareholder
expectations and the illusions of syner-
gies from an acquisition. With all of this
internal pressure, it is difficult for some
companies to stop and ask “Is this good
for the customer?” The choices are often
good for an individual bonus or the profit-
46 January 2021 + floortrendsmag.com
ability of their division, considerations far
away from the customer.
Below are some probing questions for
vendors to determine if they can deliver
Practical Quality to the marketplace:
• How do you measure customer satisfac-
tion with your products?
• Who determines if a product meets qual-
ity metrics on a claim? Do the operations
teams judge their own work, or does an
independent associate review claims
with the customer in mind?
• How many companies do you source
your major raw material components
from for this product?
• How many companies do you source fin-
ished product from and where are they
located?
• Do you control the ambient temperature
in your facilities where you manufacture?
What is the target temperature range?
• Is your operations team rewarded for hit-
ting quality goals or are they measured
only by output and cost control?
There are no easy answers to these
challenging problems that are the reality
of our commercial flooring industry. Like
most complex systems, it is important to
look at the contributing factors that hinder
the industry and prevent the meaningful
progress we all need to achieve. Every
element of the industry has challenges to
success. The more we share across all
stakeholders, the closer we can align to
achieve the goals of industry growth and
end user satisfaction by Partnering for
Success! ft
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