Floor Care · Guide
Strip too often and you waste money and put the floor through unnecessary wear. Wait too long and the finish yellows, wears through, and costs more to bring back. The right interval is not a fixed number, it is set by your traffic, and here is how to find it.
| Facility or area | Full strip & wax | Recoat |
|---|---|---|
| Low-traffic offices, private areas | Once a year or less | 1 to 2 times a year |
| Standard commercial, retail | 1 to 2 times a year | Quarterly |
| Schools | 1 to 2 times a year (breaks) | Quarterly or per term |
| High-traffic entries, healthcare corridors | 2+ times a year | Frequent |
If instead the finish is just dull but clear, you likely need a recoat, not a strip. See scrub vs. strip.
The way to strip less often is to maintain more consistently. Burnishing weekly to monthly and recoating quarterly keeps the finish intact, so the full strip becomes an occasional reset rather than an annual necessity. Facilities on a maintenance program typically strip less often and spend less per year than those that wait for the floor to look bad.
Related: scrub vs. strip, strip and wax, maintenance programs, and how many coats.
Want an interval set for your actual traffic? Get a free assessment or build a program.
Most get a full strip and wax once or twice a year, with quarterly recoats and weekly-to-monthly burnishing. High-traffic areas need it more often; low-traffic less.
Often quarterly in standard commercial space, more in high-traffic areas, timed to refresh the finish before it wears down to the tile.
High-traffic finished floors are commonly burnished weekly to monthly to hold a consistent gloss between recoats.
Yes. Unnecessary stripping wastes money and puts the floor through extra wear. If the finish is sound, recoat instead of stripping.
Good entry matting, regular dust mopping, a durable high-solids finish built to the traffic, and consistent burnishing and recoating.
Strip when the finish is yellowed, worn through, built up, or powdering; recoat when it is simply dull but clear and intact.
Tell us your facility, floor types, and square footage. We'll scope the work and send a written quote. Not sure what you have? Send a photo and we'll tell you.