Synthetic ice is an incredible invention that allows skaters and hockey players to ice skate in the comfort of their own homes. Whether you are an avid hockey professional, or an occasional ice skater being able to ice skate at home, is pretty cool. Small rinks, and big rinks alike, synthetic ice panels can accommodate a practice area as well as a whole skating rink. As versatile as this kind of flooring is, it can also get dirty and scuffed up because of use. It is important to keep your flooring in good shape so that it will continue to be of value to you for years to come. Here are some good ways that you can continue to keep your flooring as new as possible for as long as you can.
Sweep The Synthetic Ice Flooring Clean Of all Debris
Over time tiny fragments of metal from the ice skating blades, and other little pieces of whatever can build up on the flooring to cause problems. If you make it a point to sweep the skating area with a push broom once a week you will greatly reduce the buildup of foreign bodies. Dirt, dust, hair, and particles will leave a residue over the flooring if it is not cleaned up and removed on a regular basis. The quickest way to remove these issues is to brush it all away with a broom.
Mop Synthetic Ice Flooring With A Regular Floor Mop
Once you have swept the floor clean of all the debris, you can use warm water and disinfectant to mop the area. Make sure to go over the whole flooring with the mop. It does not have to be fully drenched with water, you can dip the mop head and ring it out to where it is damp. Vigorously mop back and forth and make sure that you do not leave any surface untouched. Allow the area at least an hour to fully dry before you attempt to ice skate on it when it is done.
Scrub Synthetic Ice Flooring with a Deck Brush
It may sound like a lot of work to do, but you don’t have to do it very often. Also, scrubbing the floor in this manner is only a suggestion, it is not mandatory. However, scrubbing once a year can help to remove excess scuffing and black skid marks. You don’t have to get down on your hands and knees to scrub, you can use a decking brush with a long handle like a push broom. If you take a bucket and fill it three-quarters of the way with warm water you can add one-third cup of bleach per gallon in order to achieve a substantial cleaning power. Scrub away as many of the scuff marks as you can.
Rotating Synthetic Ice
If you have high-quality flooring you will be able to flip your panels over and skate on the other side. After many years of use and abuse from skaters, synthetic ice can begin to lose its slickness. High-quality ice panels are reversible so that you can simply pull them up, turn them over and skate another decade or two before you have to worry about changing them out again. Unlike dryland hockey tiles, synthetic ice can be re-used.
Why Maintaining Synthetic Ice Is Important
As we mentioned above, flooring can accumulate particles and dander that cause a buildup of unwanted material on the skating area that will reduce the quality of the skating experience. Synthetic ice is developed for ice skaters to be able to get as close to an on-ice feel when they skate as possible. When you stay on top of maintenance and cleaning your floor stays slick and effective so that you can get the most out of it. If you take care of your investment, it will last you a long time.
***Sniper’s Edge Hockey loves Canada! We proudly ship all of our products to Canada and offer the same return policies as we do for everybody else. We realize the exchange rates for the Canadian dollar are not the best right now, so we’re trying to help by giving you free shipping and no customs/duty.***