Synthetic ice is becoming more and more popular around the United States because people are staying home more. What better way to practice hockey moves than to build a custom skating rink with ice-like flooring? If you have your own ice rink, you can spend as much time as you want running drills and perfecting your master deke. Although it can be lots of fun, and give you a lot of bonus skills synthetic ice rinks get dirty and need to be cleaned. Yes, it puts a damper on the whole thing, but too much buildup of dirt and other grime on your flooring could lead to problems and even hazards when you skate. Here are a few great ways to keep your synthetic ice hockey tiles in tip-top condition.

First Things First – Sweep

As with any other type of flooring, there is always going to be a certain amount of debris that sits freely on the surface that needs to be removed, or it will just get moved around by the mop, or cleaning brush. Find a push broom, or a regular kitchen broom, whatever suits your fancy. Make sure that you remove any excess fuzz, hair, or dirt from the bristles before you start. Once you have a broom ready to go, sweep the whole flooring area and make sure that you remove all of the pet hair, rocks, and whatever else is there that might cause problems. Sweep it thoroughly then remove the stuff with a dustpan or even a shop vacuum. It is important that you get all of the particles off of the surface before you move to the next phase.

Choose Your Cleaner

The last thing you want to do is use a cleaner that will cause your flooring to be sticky. If you get a 5-gallon bucket and add one cup of pure bleach without additives you will get the best results. As with any other cleaning solvents, read the directions, and make sure that you are within the guidelines of your state laws when it comes to certain chemicals. Never mix bleach with anything other than water. Once you have your solution mixed and ready to go use a long-handled bristle brush to thoroughly scrub the floor. Long-handled floor brushes are a lot like a broom, but they have a shorter set of bristles so you can fit them into your 5-gallon bucket. Dip the bristles into the bucket to get some of the cleaning solution on there then thoroughly scrub the surface.

Dry Mopping

Once you have scrubbed the whole surface with the brush, your whole flooring should be considerably wet. This is where the dry mop tactic comes in handy. A regular floor mop, like the one grandma used to have that was made from string, will help to dry the flooring. Make sure that the mop is dry then run it over the flooring area so you can soak up some of the excess water. This mop session will help in two ways. First, it will pull the excess liquid from the flooring and draw it into itself, then it will act as a second level of scrubbing and pull away the dirt that the brush missed. If you continually switch the mophead from angle to angle you will be able to soak up more water in a reasonably steady way.

Regular Care and Maintenance

As with everything else in the world, if you want it to last and look good after time you have to take care of it. If you take the time to keep your flooring clean and free from debris it will last you for quite some time. Your hockey flooring is as big of a part of your game as your practice is, so make sure you take care of it. When it comes to playing the real game, you will appreciate all of your own efforts.