A Guide to Floor Scrubbers
When you think of keeping your floor clean, you typically think of a mop and bucket. However these aren’t always the ideal tools for larger scale jobs, nor for regular commercial level cleaning of hard floors. The tool of choice in this case would be a decent floor scrubbing machine, commonly referred to as a “floor scrubber”, although people often mix them up with floor cleaners, sweepers, floor buffers etc. The role of a dedicated floor scrubber is very simple, cleaning your hard flooring, most commonly hardwood, concrete and even tile floors.
Most floor scrubbing machines come in a range of sizes, settings, brands and strengths; however the key is to make sure you know how to operate them before buying or even renting one.
WHY USE A FLOOR SCRUBBER?
The first and primary reason is that although a mop and bucket is OK for small areas, for an acceptable level of hygiene clean, if you are looking to cover a larger surface, regularly and more hygienically, then you absolutely need to consider a floor scrubbing machine (also often referred to as an Auto Floor Scrubber).
The second reason is ease of use. Many modern floor scrubbing machines carry out a multitude of tasks in one sweep (excuse the pun!), for example:
- Pre-sweep the floor
- Pick up dust
- Wipe grease and or oil
- Buff up scratch marks
- clean up light debris
- spread cleaning solution
- wipe up cleaning solution
- and even vacuuming
Good floor scrubbers are usually made up of two tanks, once to dispense clean water or cleaning solution, while another tank picks up the dirty water, making the whole process very efficient.
Another advantage of using a floor scrubber is that you help the environment as many use environmentally friendly solutions to clean, and in latest models, you can do without water.
WHAT KIND OF FLOOR SCRUBBERS SHOULD I CONSIDER?
One of the reasons that we favour automatic floor scrubbers is that unlike your simple mop and bucket, which uses the same dirty water over and over again till you replace the water, floor scrubbing machines tend to pick up the dirty water and use clean water. In addition, it doesn’t matter how hard you manually scrub, a machine built for the purpose will always get more dirt and grime out of your floor, not to mention the ease of use.
However, when you do decide to invest in a floor scrubber, there are several options you should consider. Although we have covered some of these earlier in this article, it is worth looking at detailed factors for consideration when buying an automatic floor scrubbing machine, even before you start looking at the prices and reviews.
FOR NOOKS AND CRANNIES
You have to keep in mind that many larger floor scrubbing machines will struggle to clean hard to reach places such as corners, cubby holes and edges. In such situations, if the types of areas that you intend on cleaning, you should make sure that you aim for autoscrubbers that come with attachments such as brush decks that can be used to get to these hard to reach areas.
THE SIZE OF THE AREA
Another thing to consider is that some models are perfect for small areas, and even for regular use in such areas, but the larger the area, the better the model you should consider buying or renting. Part of the reasoning behind this is that there is a finite tank capacity, unless you want to be filling and emptying tanks often for a single job, you should match the scrubbers tank capacity with the size of scrubbing that needs to be carried out. The other reason is that commercial floor scrubbers would be built to be hardier than light usage ones such as home floor scrubbers.
THE TYPE OF FLOORING
There are other options to consider too. For example the type of floor you would be regularly cleaning. Some scrubbers work really well on tile floors, others perform better on wood flooring. If possible check out reviews as well as manufacture guides before settling on the final choice.
ENTRANCES AND EXITS
Sounds silly, but it wont be the first time someone bought a machine that they physically cant get inside their building. Get a measure of all the entrances and exits – if your auto-scrubber wont fit through, then it isnt right for you! Additionally, might be worth considering the storage space. Some of these machines are fairly large, especially the commercial ones – where you store them will be fairly important to what machine you invest in.
TYPE OF POWER SOURCE
Interesting to note, some scrubbers also come with a battery only option, while others work on electric only. This may seem less important, but if your facility or home isnt wired for high voltage equipment charging, you could fry your circuits. also, if you buy an older model that has lead acid batteries, then ventilation while charging may be an important factor, as these old type batteries do give off gas.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
You may also consider the commercialism of the job, and opt for rider scrubbers (which you might often see at large shopping malls and offices for example).
