How to Find a Right Automated Floor Scrubber

Hi, there. I am Ms. Amazon Vivian, a cleaning machine expert. And our slogan is always there: The scrubber as Dark Horse.

Today I would like to talk about how to Find the Right Automated Floor Scrubber.

First of all, what you need to know is why you need Auto Scrubbers for your facility and business needs.

First, hard surface floors in establishments are not that easy to clean using traditional tools such as mops. Having your staff manually do the cleaning is a waste of time and energy, decreasing productivity and exhausting your employees. That’s why it’s best to use proper cleaning equipment to finish the task faster and more efficiently.?

Second, an automatic floor scrubber can clean any hard surface floor quickly and efficiently. It is a type of cleaning equipment that works well on different types of surfaces such as vinyl, stone, and hardwood. It’s considered one of the best tools that can remove dirt, grease, and debris through its efficient water replacement process and scrub head agitating action. Using automatic scrubbers doesn’t need too much labor as well, allowing your staff to save time and energy that they can spend on other important tasks.?

Third, floor cleaning is an integral part of every business operation. Now, more than ever, using an automatic floor scrubber to keep your facility clean is critical. Not only does cleanliness protect guests and employees, but it impacts your company’s image.?

On top of that, floor cleanliness affects the integrity of your flooring. Routine use of an automatic floor scrubber prevents expensive flooring repairs. Investing in an auto scrubber can save your company tons of money in the long run. Of course, it’s only a good investment if you choose the right equipment for your facility.

Now, it comes to how to find the right automated floor scrubber?

Choosing the right auto scrubber for your needs requires you to consider many factors such as the machine's size, power input, design type, and intended use.?

No 1. Scrubber Machine Consideration?

What Types of Floor Scrubber Can You Buy??

Floor scrubbers come in all shapes and sizes with many features. As alluded to, there is more than one type of floor scrubber out there. Primarily, they fall into two different categories: Walk Behind Floor Scrubbers and Sit On Floor Scrubber.?

Walk-Behind scrubbers

These floor scrubbers are pretty self-explanatory in their approach to the job. You stand behind them and push the scrubber around as you please. You can get this type of scrubber in many different sizes, ranging from ones the size of a small lawnmower to much larger ones. More often than not you find these used in most commercial businesses from small offices to large retail stores.?

Advantages:

Easy to use and maneuver around

Available in different sizes with different tank sizes too

Lead to faster cleaning times

Disadvantages:

Some of the smaller models need constant water tank refilling

It May is not ideal for massive surface areas of flooring

Ride-On Floor Scrubber?

While the first option is the most common and popular choice, there are also ride-on scrubbers out there. These function in a similar way, the only difference is that you ride around on the machine instead of pushing it. These are primarily found in massive warehouses or places with loads of floor space to clean. These models are typically larger, making them a better fit for areas that are between 15,000 and 150,000 square feet. Depending on its size, a ride-on auto scrubber can clean anywhere from 20,000 to 60,000+ square feet per hour. Since they cover larger surface areas, these machines have wider cleaning paths, typically between 20 and 45 inches. Use a ride-on auto scrubber for large open areas like gyms, lobbies, and cafeterias.

Advantages: Less tiresome to use, Can clean large spaces very quickly

Disadvantages:

Too big for many commercial premises

Requires a longer learning period to operate correctly

Others consideration for the machines

Tank Size: all floor scrubbers have tanks that contain water mixed with a cleaning solution. You must pay attention to how large the tank size is as this plays a significant role in the overall performance. The larger the tank is, the more water can be stored, which means more work can carry out before refilling is required.

Loudness: look at the noise level the machine produces as you don’t want something that’s overly loud because this can limit your ability to clean during the day.?

More features: it makes sense to get your hands on a machine that has some nice features that make cleaning easier. Look for things like the ability to alter scrubbing pressure as this will be so helpful when tackling?

Power Source:?

Auto scrubbers are powered by either battery or a power cord. Battery-powered auto scrubbers will have forced periodic downtime while the batteries are being charged, but are more mobile. Electric floor scrubbers have no downtime as it maintains a constant supply of power. The downside is that users will only be able to work as far away from the outlet as their power cord lets them, before plugging into the next outlet.

The scrubber-dryer for small surfaces: the cleaning of small surfaces, ie less than 500 m2, cluttered or badly arranged must be ensured by a compact machine handy and of relatively small dimensions. These models have a capacity of 10 to 35 liters.

?The machine for medium-sized surfaces: cleaning of medium-sized surfaces, between 500 and 2000 m2, is to be carried out with a self-propelled model. These models vary in size, feed, and capacity, from 40 to 70 liters.

The large area machine: Large areas of 2,000 to 8,000 m2 will need cleaning with a self-propelled or ride-on machine with a capacity of 75 to 170 liters.?

The scrubber-dryer for very large surfaces: above 8000 m2, it is recommended to equip yourself with a large capacity machine, i.e. 100 to 400 liters, and running on battery or thermal, for optimal cleaning. Its buy price will be higher but its capacities will be there.

Disk or Cylindrical

There are some factors in deciding the type of scrub deck that you want. cylindrical decks do. They offer more brush pressure and a more aggressive scrubbing motion. You are also able to use disk floor scrubbers with pads or brushes. This gives you nearly unlimited versatility in types of flooring and cleaning procedures. Two locations where the cylindrical scrub method might be better are ceramic tile or a warehouse setting where there is only dust and small debris on the floor. Cylindrical floor scrubbers typically have a small debris tray at the back of the deck. This allows you to pick up small dirt and items on the floor.

Thus, saving time sweeping in front of the machine. In most other applications, we would recommend the disk scrubber. With the increased brush pressure, you can clean a floor more efficiently and remove stains better with the more aggressive method.?

Charging Stations

Charging the machine is essential as well, so check if your establishment can provide the equipment’s needs. Most automatic floor scrubbers use a 110-volt 60Hz or 220-volt 50Hz charging system, and the general charging time is 8 hours. The charging area is better to be ventilated since the machine that uses new deep cycle batteries such as gel will have a little off-gas smell. But they don’t need maintenance.

No 2. Applications Scene & Space Considerations

First and foremost, the amount of surface area which requires cleaning must be put into question. Is the location a wide, open area, or is it a smaller, more confined space such as a restroom or kitchen? The larger the surface area, the bigger and more powerful the scrubber should be.

The size of your automatic scrubber should depend on the types of areas it will clean-square footage needed to be cleaned. Primary and secondary. In general, it’s suggested you get a large one for large surface areas, as this makes it much easier to clean in a short space of time.?

But, if you only have a tiny area of flooring to clean, then a more portable size may suit you. For instance, you need a scrubber that can work in the cafeteria but can also fit in the bathrooms, hallways, and storage area, among others. Evaluating the areas you will need to clean will help you determine the right size of scrubber for the activities you have in mind.?

In general, larger commercial floor scrubbers are more expensive than smaller versions.?

investment, you may want to think about some of the smaller spaces too. For example, a school may have in mind purchasing a machine to clean the gymnasium or the hallways. The larger the scrub path, the quicker you can complete them. However, you may want to think about whether this machine will need to be used in the cafeteria, classrooms, or even locker rooms. You may want to consider a slightly smaller unit for these areas or possibly purchase two machines, one with a wider scrub deck and one smaller to care for these secondary locations throughout the facility.?

No 3. Different Types of Flooring

Your floor is an important part of your environment and needs to be cleaned frequently. Choosing the right type of floor scrubber for the material your floor is made of will make for the most effective cleaning job. Using the wrong cleaning method for your type of floor can make it more difficult to clean or potentially damage the material, creating the need for expensive replacement early in the life of your floor. The following are some of the methods .that work best for different types of floor materials.?

Tiles

Use a scrubber that has fine bristles attached so that you can clean the dirt and debris with ease while taking care not to scratch the surface of the tile. Using fine bristles on this type of surface, along with the right cleaning detergent will help keep your tile shiny and scratch-free. When cleaning tile floors, the grout between the tiles can sometimes be a challenge. The uneven surface between the grout and tiles should be cleaned with a brush that can accommodate the differences in-depth and get into the cracks between the tiles as you clean.?

Concrete

This is the material of choice for environments like garages, warehouses, and other industrial workplaces with a lot of heavy lifting and general movement that must a solid floor that doesn’t get damaged easily. Over time concrete will become scuffed and stained. The best type of scrubber to use is one that has stiff brushes that will clean the tough grime that accumulates in an industrial environment. It is ideal to use a large sweeper or walk-behind industrial cleaner for large expanses of concrete flooring

Hardwood

Use a floor scrubber with a softer brush that will promote a polished look while preventing scratches. Don’t use excess water or harsh liquid cleaners, as these will cause damage to the porous material of the wood. The less water used on the wood floors the better. Sweepers and walk behind cleaners that can clean with minimal water usage work well in large indoor areas with wood flooring.?

Vinyl

As with wood, vinyl should be cleaned with only a little water and a light cleansing agent. Using too much water will cause the laminate to expand and cause the floor to peel. Light mopping combined with regular sweeping is ideal for vinyl floors.

Tough marks/stains.

Also, another useful feature is the ability to change how diluted your water is with the cleaning chemicals. In some instances, you may want to just use water to clean something, but then want to add?

No 4. Your Specific Needs

When choosing the best machine for your needs, take time to evaluate the various flooring materials that the scrubber will be used on. Some floor scrubbers are more powerful than others, which can cause some damage on fragile floor types .such as antique hardwood floors. Industrial floors, such as in manufacturing or warehouse environments, can handle the most powerful scrubbers for the fastest cleaning.

Determining how often the machine will be used, as well as the type of debris, it will be cleaning is another factor. A more powerful scrubber will be needed for high-traffic areas that need to be frequently cleaned.

No.5 Available Funds

More features equate to a heftier price tag. Think carefully about your needs and choose a machine that fulfills them within the constraints of your budget.?

Power Source Scrubbers run on different power sources, but the two main ones are batteries and electric cords. A corded machine is ideal for those with limited budgets since such units typically cost less than battery-operated ones, though corded scrubbers may not cover much floor space since they’ll be confined within a certain range.

As mentioned above, In general, larger commercial floor scrubbers are more expensive than smaller versions.?

The storage area

Another factor would be where the machine would be stored. Is there enough room, ingress, and egress in the storage area? You would need to examine the spec sheet to determine the width/length/height of the scrubber you are purchasing.

The fill and dump location

Just as important as the storage area is the fill and dump location for the unit. Most of the time, this would be done in a janitorial closet. Will the machine fit through the door of the closet? Is there a hose long enough, or will the scrubber be able to get close enough to the water source to fill it?

Doorways/Elevators

Along with that same line, will the scrubber that I am looking for fit through the doorways on the way to the areas needing to be cleaned? Most 32” machines would not fit through a 36” door unless the squeegee assembly was removed, as the width of the squeegee needs to be wider than the scrub path to pick up any slurry in the scrubbing process. You can solve this. So, the key would be to purchase the scrubber with the largest scrub path, while considering all the variables associated with the use of the machine.?

Conclusion

In conclusion, when buying a floor scrubber, you need to think about a few things. Firstly, consider how much floor area you need to clean as this will determine the size and type that suits you best. Then, you should think about all the different features, like the tank size, power source, and so on. The price of your floor scrubber shouldn’t be looked into too much as it’s often worth paying more for a higher quality product.

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