It is that time again. Students and faculty are gearing up for another school year. Is your school custodial staff prepared? If not, we can help prepare you with our back-to-school programs. An effective cleaning and maintenance program will keep your school or university looking its best. Buckeye offers full facility solutions. We have everything a school needs to stay clean throughout the year.

The Buckeye Hard Floor Care Program

Floors are one of the first things people see when they walk into your school or university. It is essential to keep your floor looking its best and durable throughout the year.

From muddy shoes to spills, the best way to maintain your floors is to implement a good floor care program that utilizes superior products requiring less labor.

Buckeye’s Hard Floor Care Program is built on standardized procedures and the highest quality products to save you money.

Buckeye has floor finishes formulated with proprietary technology that never yellows or powders, floor strippers formulated with patented liquescent technology to help remove floor finishes in one application without harsh odor, and floor cleaners that make maintaining your floors efficient without attacking floor finishes.

We make maintaining your floor easier. No matter what floor type, equipment, or maintenance needs you have, we will help you customize your school or university's most successful floor care program.

The Symmetry^® Hand Hygiene Program

With another school year starting comes flu season—what better way to be prepared than by utilizing Symmetry's Hand Hygiene Program for your school.

Symmetry's Hand Hygiene Program offers customizable education, awareness, and behavioral modification tools to help you maximize hand hygiene practices in your school or university. Symmetry’s complete line of hand hygiene products includes hand washes and hand sanitizers.

Implement tools such as wall charts, posters, placards, and signs that highlight the importance of healthy hygiene.

Also, Symmetry offers customizable dispensers for any school or university setting. showcase your school mascot and colors on each dispenser to rally school spirit!

Buckeye's Eco^® Proportioing Program

A school can only stay clean with the proper custodial tools. Buckeye’s Eco Proportioning Program offers every product you need to keep your school looking its best and fully equip your staff for the school year.

Each Eco product is powerful and ecologically safer, cleaning faster without compromising worker safety.

Buckeye Eco Proportioning offers three different systems to fit any custodial closet, including our Eco Pro, which can dilute up to 6 applications; Eco Element, which can dilute up to 3 applications; and Eco Edge, which allows for 2 mop bucket applications and 1 spray bottle application.

Each of our Eco Proportioning systems is compact, self-contained, and features a cohesive user interface to automatically dilute product correctly every time.

Gateway^® Liners

As school lunches arrive, so does the need for strong liners that are durable and dense. Gateway liners are not only manufactured stronger than other leading brands but are lighter and fit your specific needs.

Our liners bring value to a commodity market, combining the highest quality resins, superior processing and innovative testing methods to achieve industry leading strength, quality and consistency.

Gateway Liners can provide you with the lightest, strongest liners that work 100% of the time. On average, Gateway customers reduce the amount of plastic reaching landfills by 39%.

Using Gateway Liners provides your school with not only lighter but durable liners, and a sustainable product that helps your school stay green by reducing the overall usage of plastic.

Buckeye's Reflections^® Wood Floor Program 

Every student looks forward to seeing a shiny floor in the gym and with the Basketball season approaching , a high performing floor program is essential.

With our Buckeye Reflections Wood Floor Program, you can get a brilliant shine, excellent durability, and extended life for your floors. With easy-to-follow instructions, cost-effective products, and years of beauty provided, our program will exceed all expectations.

Our water-based wood floor coatings have some of the country's lowest VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). Because of these low VOCs, you may even choose to prep the gym floor during school hours.

Our program also includes:

Coliseum® Low VOC Sanding Seal

Gym Bond

Screen Clean™

Tenacity®

Floortonic®

Buckeye Green Light™

When you are ready to coat your wood floor, the Buckeye Reflections Wood Floor Program covers the proper techniques for applying oil and water-based wood floor coatings, including recommended product coverage, dry times, cure times, recoat windows, and more.

Buckeye's Honors Custodial Training Program

Buckeye's Honors Custodial Training Program is a complete custodial program for schools and universities that presents the products, procedures, and training needed to meet a school or university's highest standards.

This training program incorporates multi-purpose products that reduce labor with easy-to-follow procedures and the resources you need to clean and maintain a school or university.

Buckeye's Honors Website features the complete program and materials available 24 hours a day for your convenience. Log in and view Honors training video segments for everything from routine cleaning to product safety. Corresponding with each video, you may also download customizable PowerPoint presentations, training manuals, Safety Data Sheets (SDS), product literature, and wall charts.

Want to keep track of your employee's learning?

The Honors Program also offers a reporting dashboard, online testing, and facility assessment surveys.

Make this school year great with Buckeye’s programs, tools, and resources for your custodial staff. Click here to learn more about our school programs.

Contact your nearest representative to get started today.

The Importance of Protective Coatings

Vinyl flooring and Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) have become popular choices for homeowners and commercial spaces due to their durability, affordability, and versatility. However, like any other flooring material, they require proper care and maintenance to ensure their longevity. One crucial aspect of maintaining vinyl and LVT floors is applying a protective coating.

Why Do Vinyl Floors Need a Protective Coating?

1. Wear and Tear Resistance:

Vinyl floors are exposed to foot traffic, furniture movement, and daily use. Over time, this wear and tear can lead to scratches, scuffs, and dullness. A protective coating acts as a shield, preventing direct contact between the floor surface and potential damage.

2. Enhanced Durability:

Vinyl flooring finishes can wear down over time due to cleaning, UV exposure, and chemical exposure. Applying a protective coating reinforces the floor’s top layer, making it more resistant to abrasion, stains, and fading. 

3. Improved Appearance:

A fresh coating enhances the floor’s appearance by restoring its original shine and luster.  Whether you have residential vinyl or commercial LVT, a well-maintained floor contributes to a clean and inviting space.

Aspida LVT Restorative Floor Coating

Aspida is a strip-free LVT Restorative Floor Coating that is a high-performance product designed specifically for LVT and vinyl floors. It offers superior protection against scratches, scuffs, and chemical damage. Aspida extends the life of your vinyl or LVT floor, reducing the need for frequent refinishing. Regular maintenance involves gentle cleaning with compatible products.

What are Aspida’s Key Features? 

• Durability: Aspida forms a durable barrier that resists wear and maintains the floor’s gloss.
• Slip-Resistance: Safety is essential, especially in commercial spaces. Aspida provides slip resistance, reducing the risk of accidents.
• Easy Application: Aspida is user-friendly and can be applied by staff in any facility.
• Strip-Free:Unlike other floor coatings, this coating can be removed without stripping.

In summary, finishing your vinyl and LVT floors with a protective coating like Aspida is essential for maintaining their beauty, durability, and functionality. Investing in quality floor coatings ensures that your floors remain stunning and resilient for years to come.

Remember, a well-finished floor not only adds value to your space but also contributes to a positive experience for everyone who walks on it. Contact your Buckeye representative to learn more about Aspida and the complete Buckeye Hard Floor Care Program.  

Often when considering flooring, facility managers choose LVT because it is low maintenance and comes with a protective coating. However, over time that coating can fade with wear. To reduce the impact of everyday foot traffic, prevent scuffs, and give your floors an added shine, you need a protective coating that won’t damage your flooring.

Buckeye is rethinking specialty floor maintenance with Aspida™ . Aspida is a floor coating formulated to extend the life of LVT and other specialty flooring. Because floor strippers can damage LVT flooring, Aspida is strip-free. It protects the floor, creating a soft, more natural look.

Developing Aspida

Buckeye is unique in that we manufacture our own polymers to create our floor finishes and coatings. These are called Renaissance Performance Polymers. Because we create the polymers that are used in our floor finishes and coatings, we control the attributes of each product. 

In creating Aspida, Buckeye developed Polymatrix Technology, a proprietary polymer blend. Through careful manipulation of particle size and distribution, Buckeye has designed polymers and a resin system that eliminates floor stripping, prevents heavy build up, and makes floors easier to clean.

Antimicrobial Product Protection

Aspida also utilizes Microban® antimicrobial technology to provide an added level of proactive product protection against product damaging microbes* - keeping the floor coating cleaner, longer.

All Microban antimicrobial technologies are approved by the US EPA for their specific use in the product in which they are used.

*Microban technology does not protect users against disease-causing microorganisms. Microban Products Company makes neither direct nor implied public health claims. Normal cleaning practices should be maintained.

Buckeye Hard Floor Care Program 

Daily, interim, and restorative maintenance are all important pieces of floor care, no matter your flooring type. The Buckeye Hard Floor Care Program prioritizes labor reduction with quality products and expert training. This complete program has all of the tools and resources you need to keep your floors looking like new.

For more information about Aspida and the Buckeye Hard Floor Care Program, contact your local Buckeye representative.

Microban antimicrobial technology is a built-in ingredient that helps products resist the growth of bacteria, mold, mildew, and other microbes. It is not a substitute for regular cleaning practices, but does continuously fight the growth of microbes and can keep products you purchase cleaner, longer.

What is Microban Used For?

Many companies infuse products with Microban to keep their products cleaner over time. Buckeye uses Microban in Clarion® 25 Floor Finish and Arena® 300 Water-Based Wood Floor Coating. Because they utilize Microban technology, Clarion 25 and Arena 300 have lifetime antimicrobial product protection and live-on floor protection for the products’ usable life.

How Does Microban Antimicrobial Technology Work? 

Microban Antimicrobial Technology is built into Clarion 25 and Arena 300 during the manufacturing process. Once the floor finish or wood floor coating is applied to floors, the built-in Microban technology prevents microbes from growing and reproducing. When bacteria, mold, and mildew come in contact with floors, Microban will penetrate the cell wall of the microbe, disrupting the cell and preventing its ability to make food, grow, and reproduce.*

How is Microban Tested? 

Clarion 25 with Microban technology has been tested using the JIS Z 2801 standard laboratory method and test protocol for antimicrobial activity. the JIS Z 2801 method tests the ability of hard surfaces to inhibit the growth of microorganisms over a 24-hour period of contact.

Why Microban Matters

Floors and soles of shoes are major sources of contamination in healthcare, retail, and educational facilities. In schools, students play on gym floors quickly transferring microbes between their hands and the floor. According to the American Journal of Infection Control, contact with objects on floors frequently results in the transfer of pathogens to hands.

Microban technology in Clarion 25 and Arena 300 can proactively fight microbes 24 hours a day at no additional cost. Find out more when you contact your Buckeye representative.

*Microban technology does not protect users against disease-causing microorganisms. Microban Products Company makes neither direct nor implied public health claims. Normal cleaning practices should be maintained.

April 22^nd is Earth Day and this year’s theme is “Invest in Our Planet.” As an environmentally conscious company, we’re proud to share the ways Buckeye has put sustainability first. Our commitment to sustainability has been foundational to our company and that commitment will continue in 2023 and beyond. 

Safer, Greener Products

Our products promote worker and environmental safety. We proactively eliminated hazardous ingredients like butyl, solvents, and alcohol bases and replaced them with our patented Liquescent® technology. This water-based technology strengthens the cleaning power of our products while making them safer for workers and the environment.

We also began manufacturing wood floor coatings for the Buckeye Reflections® Wood Floor Program. Both our oil and water-based wood floor coatings contain the lowest VOCs (volatile organic compounds) on the market.

Several Buckeye Eco®  and Symmetry Hand Hygiene products are Green Seal™ certified. Green Seal is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding the environment and transforming the marketplace by promoting the manufacture, purchase, and use of environmentally responsible products and services. Our Green Seal certified products not only outperform other green products, they also outperform non-green, conventional chemistries.

Plastic Reduction

We package our products in environmentally friendly ways, ensuring plastic reduction where possible. Eco and Symmetry 1.25 L bags are manufactured with 83% less plastic than rigid containers.

More than 99% of trash can liners end up in landfills. That’s why Gateway® has focused on plastic reduction during the manufacturing process. In the trash liner industry, the best way to be green is to reduce the overall plastic sent to the landfill, also referred to as Source Reduction. Gateway Liners are stronger and thinner to reduce plastic usage while maintaining industry leading strength.

Sustainable Packaging 

Eco packaging is recyclable and made from recycled materials. The Eco outer box packaging is made from 41% recycled material and the Eco inner carton packaging is made from 35% post-consumer material. Because of this, over the past year, Buckeye has:

• Saved enough energy to power an average American home for 19 years
• Saved 125.4 cubic yards of landfill space
• Saved 266,000 gallons of water
• Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 38 tons of carbon equivalent

Buckeye continues to look forward, always searching for new ways to reduce our environmental impact and improve the lives of those who work with our products. Find out more about our sustainability initiatives by contacting your local sales representative.

With a commitment to developing products that are safer for workers and the environment, Buckeye established itself as “green” long before it became a marketing strategy. For Buckeye, sustainability means providing the most innovative, high performance and cost effective products, packaging, and programs that promote human health and safety.

Products

Green Seal™ Certified Products

Many Buckeye products are Green Seal certified. These products are safer for the worker and environment without compromising product performance. Our Green Seal certified products not only outperform other green products, they also outperform non-green conventional chemistries.

“Green Seal is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding the environment and transforming the marketplace by promoting the manufacture, purchase, and use of environmentally responsible products and services.”

Liquescent Technology

To eliminate hazardous ingredients like butyl, solvents, and alcohol bases, Buckeye developed Liquescent technology. This water-based technology has allowed Buckeye to manufacture high-performance products while adhering to our principle of human health and safety.

R-Fit Liners

Gateway’s R-Fit liners are made with the highest quality resins to create lighter, stronger liners with less plastic. They are designed to fit specific trash can sizes, further reducing plastic waste. On average, Gateway customers reduced the amount of plastic reaching landfills by 39%.

Wood Floor Coatings

Reflections Wood Floor Coatings do not require crosslinkers, which contain polyfunctional aziridene. This crosslinker is used by other manufacturers to increase durability, but it has respiratory and nervous system health implications. In fact, many manufacturers that use polyfunctional aziridine warn consumers that it should be treated as a potential carcinogen.

Packaging

Eco and Symmetry 1.25 L bags are manufactured with 83% less plastic than rigid containers. Because our products work more efficiently and our packaging is recyclable and biodegradable, you use less product, and therefore less waste ends up in landfills.

Eco outer box packaging is also made with 41% recycled material, recyclable, and double wall corrugated. Eco inner carton packaging is made from 100% recycled paperboard and 35% post-consumer material.

Dilution Control Programs

Our dilution control systems eliminate direct contact with product and ensure our concentrated products are being used according to manufacturer specifications. Our products, packaging, and dilution control systems are also color and number coded to make them easier and safer for employees to use.

Training

Buckeye programs come with specialized training that focuses on worker and environmental safety. With standardized procedures that reduce product usage, labor, and overall cost, Buckeye is committed to enhancing product performance and safety.

Contact your representative to see how Buckeye programs can improve worker and environmental safety in your facility.

Bacteria, mold, mildew, and microorganisms are everywhere, even airborne, covering surfaces you come into contact with every day. Studies have shown that floors and soles of shoes are sources of contamination.

A study done by the University of Arizona found that soles of shoes average 421,000 units of bacteria and that pathogens can transfer from the floor to shoes and back to floors.

An American Journal of Infection Control study concluded that contact with objects on floors in hospitals frequently results in the transfer of pathogens to hands. They found there is a need to reduce the bacterial burden on floors. 

Whether you work in a hospital, school, or retail facility, finding ways to fight bacteria growth can improve the patient, student, and guest experience in any facility. Clarion^® 25 Microban^® Antimicrobial Floor Finish offers 24/7 product protection to proactively and continuously fight microbes at no additional cost, with no additional labor or procedures.

Microban International was founded in 1984 and is the global leader in surface modification technology which allows an EPA registered antimicrobial to be embedded in a surface. Microban technology is built-in to over 1,000 products in 30 countries on four continents.

How Does Microban Antimicrobial Product Protection Work?

More Than a Product

As part of the Buckeye Hard Floor Care Program, Clarion 25 with Microban technology can provide clarity, durability, and repairability to your floors. The Buckeye Hard Floor Care Program offers products and procedures that reduce labor and product costs while keeping your floors in top condition. 

From routine floor care to annual maintenance, Buckeye products include cleaners, floor finishes, and floor strippers that reduce labor costs and give years of beauty to your floors.

Are You Disinfecting Your Floors?

Buckeye Eco Neutral Disinfectant E23 is a multi-purpose disinfectant that can kill a variety of pathogens without attacking floor finish. It has also been approved by the EPA for use against SARS-CoV-2 with a one-minute contact time. 

See the results for yourself! Contact a Buckeye representative today to schedule a floor demonstration at your facility.

*Microban technology does not protect users against disease-causing microorganisms. Microban Products Company makes neither direct nor implied public health claims. Normal cleaning practices should be maintained.

COVID-19 continues to evolve, causing new variants to occur, many of which are being tracked as the pandemic continues. Because these variants are each unique, they can spread at different speeds and can be more resistant to treatments or vaccines. The COVID-19 variant, Omicron, has been detected in most states and is rapidly increasing the proportion of COVID-19 cases in the US. In addition to getting vaccinated, wearing masks, and maintaining social distance, keeping your environment clean can go a long way in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Facilities hoping to navigate the pandemic should develop a step-by-step cleaning and disinfecting program that will protect people who visit. Buckeye’s Door to Floor: 4 Levels of Protection program can help provide those who enter your facility with peace of mind during the pandemic.

Level 1: Protect Yourself with the Symmetry^® Hand Hygiene Program

CDC Recommendation: Hand washing is one of the best ways you can help reduce the spread of germs.

Symmetry can help your facility implement a hand hygiene program, providing tools that promote education, awareness, and motivation to practice hand hygiene.

Level 2: Intermittently protect your facility with the Eco^® Proportioning Program

CDC Recommendations: Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces following product label directions and proper dwell times. 

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved several Buckeye products for use against SARS-Related Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [cause of COVID-19], including Buckeye Eco One-Step Disinfectant-Deodorizer-Cleaner E22. The Eco Proportioning Program comes with training materials and tools to help staff with proper disinfecting procedures. 

Level 3: Use Clarion^® 25 Microban^® Antimicrobial Floor Finish and Arena^® Microban Antimicrobial Wood Floor Coating

Microban technology is built-in to these products during the manufacturing process. When microbes come in contact with the product surface, Microban technology penetrates the cell wall of the microorganism and disrupts the cell, making the microorganism unable to grow and reproduce. * 

*Microban technology does not protect users against disease-causing microorganisms. Microban Products Company makes neither direct nor implied public health claims. Normal cleaning practices should be maintained.

Level 4: Protect your facility with Gateway Liners and recommendations

Use stronger, better fitting liners to minimize contaminant exposure. Gateway Liners performs rigorous strength, weight, puncture and tear tests.

Properly dispose trash into lined containers and frequently replace liners. Frequently clean and disinfect inside and outside of trash containers. 

Buckeye takes COVID-19 seriously and continues to take a proactive approach in our effort to help minimize exposure to illness. Buckeye programs strive to educate the public on the importance of best cleaning, disinfecting, and hand hygiene practices. Contact your local representative to find out more about Buckeye’s Door to Floor: 4 Levels of Protection program.

On Dec 27, 2020, the COVID-19 Relief Package was signed into law, providing additional financial assistance to K-12 schools. This funding can be used towards cleaning supplies and programs, staff training, and other resources needed to address coronavirus in schools.

The new relief package allows for a broad range of uses and specifically mentions:

• Providing resources for principles to address coronavirus in their schools
• Training staff on the best ways to sanitize and schools and proper use of personal protective equipment
• Purchasing PPE and the supplies needed to clean and disinfect schools

Find more information on the COVID-19 relief package here.

How Can Buckeye Help? 

Buckeye’s maintenance programs provide door to floor protection for schools. Buckeye’s 4 levels of protection include hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfecting, antimicrobial floor protection, and custodial training that follows CDC recommendations.

Level 1: Symmetry^® Hand Hygiene Program

The CDC states that hand washing is one of the best ways to help reduce the spread of germs. The Symmetry Hand Hygiene Program provides tools that promote education, awareness, and motivation to practice hand hygiene.

Level 2: Eco^® Proportioning Program

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved several Buckeye products for use against SARS-Related Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [cause of COVID-19], including Buckeye Eco One-Step Disinfectant-Deodorizer-Cleaner E22.

Following CDC guidelines and label directions, clean and disinfect frequently touched objects with the help of the Eco Proportioning Program. Buckeye’s Eco Proportioning Program is fully integrated with effective, hermetically sealed products for any applications.

Level 3: Clarion^® 25 Microban^® Antimicrobial Floor Finish

Continually protect your facility with Clarion 25 Microban Antimicrobial Floor Finish and Arena^® 300 Microban Antimicrobial Wood Floor Coating. While not a substitute for normal cleaning practices, Microban protection continuously fights the growth of microbes, and makes floors easier to clean - keeping them cleaner, longer at no additional cost to you.

Level 4: Honors^® Custodial Training Program

The Buckeye Honors Program is a complete custodial program for schools and universities that presents the products, procedures, and training needed to meet a school or university’s highest standards. Honors features videos and tests on enhanced disinfecting and proper hand hygiene procedures during COVID-19.

For more information about all of Buckeye’s cleaning programs and how Buckeye can help your school combat COVID-19, contact your local Buckeye representative.

Buckeye’s Hard Floor Care Program is built on innovation, resulting in the highest quality products that are proven to increase efficiency, produce excellent results, and save money. Renaissance^® Performance Polymers serves as the foundation for the Hard Floor Care Program, creating polymers specifically for Buckeye floor finishes.

Renaissance is Buckeye’s exclusive line of floor finish polymers. Other floor finish manufacturers buy polymers from companies who do not specialize in making floor finishes. Some of these competitive floor finishes lose clarity or become less durable over time. Because Buckeye is committed to providing the highest quality products, it’s important for Buckeye floor finishes to achieve maximum durability and water clear clarity. With Renaissance, Buckeye is able to replicate exact specifications of a polymer for floor finishes giving Buckeye complete control over the characteristics of each floor finish.

Buckeye’s polymer research has resulted in longer-lasting floor finishes that can reduce your facility’s strip out cycle. Renaissance Performance Polymers provides value by eliminating the cost of third-party polymers and creating top-of-the-line polymers that reduce labor costs for the end user.

With state-of-the-art equipment, research, and the highest quality standards, Renaissance helps Buckeye construct floor finishes that consistently provide an enhanced appearance for floors with the least amount of labor. Renaissance Performance Polymers are manufactured in a state-of-the-art polymer production facility. This facility was designed with employee and environmental safety measures in place. Governmental agencies have rated our VOC emissions as “de minimis” (too small or insignificant to be considered).

Beyond Renaissance, Buckeye continues to innovate with its patented Liquescent^® technology, designed to eliminate hazardous ingredients like butyl, solvents, and alcohol bases. Even more recently, Buckeye has incorporated Microban^® technology into its Clarion^® 25 floor finish to inhibit the growth of bacteria on floors. As new technologies emerge, Buckeye’s Hard Floor Care Program will continue to evolve to bring the best value to customers.

For more information on Renaissance Performance Polymers and Buckeye’s Hard Floor Care Program, contact your local Buckeye representative.