Gleaming floors – without the use of cleaning agents

• Cleaning companies utilize floor pads made from Basotect W for professional floor cleaning

Basotect® delivers cost and time savings for professional floor cleaners in the USA: The melamine resin foam from BASF is used as a floor pad in standard cleaning machines. These machines, which are sold through specialty suppliers in the cleaning trade, are used for polishing, scrubbing, and removing layers of grease and heavy dirt.

The main component of the floor pad is Basotect W, an improved cleaning version of the melamine resin foam, which was launched on the market two years ago. This new type of pad system offers advantages to cleaning companies: “A great benefit of this floor pad is that it cleans without the use of aggressive cleaning agents,” says John Miller, Vice President of Sales and Marketing from Americo, a manufacturer of cleaning products and the supplier of the new pad system, located in Georgia, USA. Thanks to its slightly abrasive properties, Basotect works like soft sandpaper. All you need to do is add water or very mild cleaning solution to thoroughly clean floors.

In addition, cleaning companies save time. “Compared with the usual process, which involves scrubbing and then the application of wax protective layers, the Basotect pad does not take the luster off the floor,” adds Miller. This means that fewer work cycles are required and the final polishing step can be eliminated entirely. The pads are suitable for cleaning and restoring ceramic or porcelain tiles, VCT, concrete, terrazzo, and epoxy floors.

Basotect W is certified to the Öko-Tex® Standard 100 in the highest and thus safest product class I: this indicates that the foam is deemed to be harmless to health when used or processed. No substances that are harmful to health are released or absorbed through the skin.

Queen City Manufacturing has actively championed this new system solution in the cleaning market in the USA. "Basotect is already used very successfully as a household cleaning eraser. We have now made it possible to utilize the high cleaning power of the foam in professional floor cleaning," explains Steve Nappo, Vice President of Queen City Manufacturing, manufacturer of melamine sponges, located in Grand Island, New York, USA. To achieve this, the BASF foam is bonded to a nonwoven fabric made from fully recycled polyester fibers that allow it to be securely attached to the cleaner. Then, the foam is cut to the required sizes to achieve a perfect fit.

Basotect and Öko-Tex

BASF manufactures the melamine resin foam in the form of blocks for foam converters to process. Features of the material include low density (<10 g/l), good cleaning qualities, excellent sound absorption, a high flame-retardancy and temperature resistance. Öko-Tex Standard 100 is a global testing and certification system for textile raw materials, intermediates and end products at all stages in processing, with the aim of completely eliminating harmful substances. The tests are conducted by authorized, independent textile research and test institutes. The products display the slogan "Confidence in Textiles", together with the test number and institute.

For additional information visit http://www.basotect.com.

A press photo can be downloaded at http://www.basf.com/pressphoto-database, keyword "Plastics". The text and photo will also shortly be available from http://www.basf.de/plastics/pressreleases.

About Americo Manufacturing

Americo Manufacturing is a leading manufacturer of nonwoven abrasives, floor pads, vinyl backed entrance mats, and an assortment of cleaning products. Americo has been in the professional cleaning industry for over 40 years and products are sold in over 70 countries worldwide. Americo is the true "green" floor pad manufacturer. All nonwoven material manufactured by Americo is made with 100% recycled fiber (synthetic and natural); all of the polyester fiber used in the production process comes from recycled PET material. Additionally, only a water-based, non-phenol-formaldehyde resin bound system is used in the manufacturing process. More information: http://www.americomfg.com/

About Queen City Manufacturing

Queen City Manufacturing, Inc. was established in 2004 and is an authorized converter of BASF Basotect© melamine foam. Queen City Manufacturing is a leader in the professional and household melamine foam cleaning products industry. Queen City Manufacturing has the unique and unparalleled ability to produce Basotect based cleaning devices in a variety of sizes and shapes, and can provide customized retail packaging options. Queen City Manufacturing designs, manufactures, and packages melamine foam cleaning products for the janitorial and sanitation, hospitality, healthcare, printing, marine, and automotive industries. More information: http://www.queencitymanufacturing.com/

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