Dance Floor Maintenance Programs: What You Need and What You Need To Know

Keeping your dance floor clean is an important part of running a studio. Once you have invested in getting a wood or Marley floor, you need to stay on top of maintenance to keep it looking and functioning at its best. Do you know how to care for your studio’s dance floor? You begin with a plan.

The single key factor to maintaining your studio’s floor and maximizing its longevity, viability, and usefulness is to create a tailored maintenance program. We’re going to tell you how.

What To Consider When Developing A Maintenance Program

Every studio is different. The dance styles you teach, the frequency of classes, and how many students are packed into a studio differ from studio to studio. That also means no two maintenance programs are going to be the same.

How do you know your maintenance program is right for your studio? Consider the following and then adjust your cleaning practices based on your answers:

• What activities are you doing on the floor? Do you conduct only dance classes, or do you have a blend of acrobatics, cheer, group fitness, and more?
• Which dance styles does your studio teach? Do those styles use bare feet, soft soles, tap or street shoes?
• How often is the studio being used and how many people are using it?
• How soon after you clean your floor does it “look” dirty?
• Is dirt and or residue sticking to your dancer’s clothing soon after cleaning?

Building A Cleaning Regimen For Your Dance Studio

Now that you have asked yourself these questions, start building a cleaning regimen that contains daily, weekly, monthly, and bi-annual practices.

Here is a sample dance floor maintenance program:

Daily

• Dry mop the floors before classes and at the end of the day.
• If there is spillage, heavy scuffing, or dirt on the floor, take care of it right away.
• Spot clean slippery spots with a detergent/degreaser, such as Stagestep’s ProClean™.

Weekly

• Wet mop the floor with or ProClean™ ProClean NS™( NS is for non-slip additive). This may be done twice a week if the studio is heavily used and sees a lot of traffic.
• Disinfect all floors and surfaces as needed.

Monthly

• Spot clean any scuff marks from shoes and dye marks with Wipeout Plus™ before daily cleaning and disinfecting. Wipeout Plus also picks up tape adhesive residue.
• Any dye marks or scuffing should be taken care of at the time of occurrence if possible.

Semi-Annually

• With a floor cleaning machine (125-175 rpm), green pad, and ProClean Ultra™, deep clean the floor.
• Frequent and heavy use may mean deep cleaning your studio more often
• Use FloorShield II™, Stagestep’s floor finish designed especially for dance once a year, especially on heavily used floors. FloorShield II helps protect the surface of both wood and Marley floors, reduces the need for maintenance, and keeps the floor non-slip.

Depending on your studio, you may need to adjust the schedule. For instance, larger studios may see thousands of students weekly and require deeper cleaning several times a year instead of twice.

Use The Right Cleaning Products

A mistake many dance studio owners make is using the wrong cleaners on their dance floor. When you use the wrong product, the effects can be detrimental. Ensuring that you are using specialized cleaning products like those formulated by Stagestep is part of a successful maintenance program.

Do not use the following products on your dance floor:

• Alcohol
• Acetone
• Bleach
• Ammonia
• Vinegar
• Household cleaning products
• Steel wool or other abrasive cleaning tools and products

Many of these items will negatively affect the plasticizer in Marley floors, leading to brittleness and cracking.

Troubleshooting Messes In The Dance Studio

Sometimes a mess occurs in the studio, and you have no idea what to do. Don’t worry. If you act fast and have the right cleaning supplies on hand, your floor is less likely to get damaged or pertinently stained.

Here are some quick tips to keep in mind:

• Wipe up any spills on Marley and wood floors as quickly as possible. Vinyl floors tend to stain because they do not have a factory finish.
• Use ProClean or Wipeout Plus to tackle beverage spills, dye marks, and scuffs on your floor.
• Use SimplyGone™ for stains caused by food, grease, oil, cosmetics, shoe polish, grime, scuffs, and large beverage spills.
• Tap shoes chewing up your floors? Use TapShield™ to protect taps from disintegrating and leaving residue on your floor. Reference the Maintenance Guide at Stagestep to learn how to deal with aluminum tap residue.
• For spills that can’t be cleaned easily, such as glue or paint, you may need to call a professional floor cleaning service or Stagestep for recommendations.

Conclusion

The most important thing you can do to protect your dance floor is to keep it clean. Develop a daily, weekly, monthly, and bi-annual cleaning schedule to remove all debris and grime from the floor. Doing so will extend the useful lifespan of your floors and present a professional appearance for students and parents.

Having trouble getting your floors clean? Don’t know what to do? Contact Stagestep for help. Our friendly team can tell you the best methods and products for getting your dance floor the cleanest it has ever been. You can also find Stagestep’s Maintenance Guide available online.