Who doesn’t love clean and shiny floors! Mechanization of commercial floor scrubbing over the past 100 years has reduced the cost of cleaning and made the mop and bucket obsolete. Matching your flooring to the right equipment is important.
We deal with three basic flooring types.
Carpets: Fibers are natural or man-made and for indoor or outdoor use.
Stone: Natural stone includes marble, granite, travertine, flagstone and slate. Man-made stone includes ceramic, clay and terrazzo set with grout, or entire concrete floors. Stone and grout are porous and are sealed after installation to prevent wear related damage. Confirm your stone floors are sealed before you clean them.
Synthetic: Commonly asphalt, linoleum and vinyl tiles or sheets. They are not porous and become dull unless cleaned and polished, buffed or burnished.
Commercial floor scrubbing equipment performs four basic functions. Today equipment is available that can perform multiple functions to get your job done faster and better.
Scrubbers: In one pass they dispense a cleaning solution, clean with a scrubbing head or rotating disk, and vacuum up the solution and dirt. They are commonly used on carpets, tiles and synthetic flooring.
Buffers: Low to medium speed rotating brushes or pads rest on the floor to clean and polish. The unit is moved side to side and removes dirt and moisture. A better shine is produced at higher speeds. Buffers are used on hardwood, marble, ceramic tile, linoleum, and vinyl floors. They can also be used to restore the nap on low-pile carpets.
Polishers: Operate similar to buffers with low to medium speed rotating pads that rest on the floor. A liquid polish can be applied for a protective coating. Polishers are used on most floor types including hardwood, synthetic and stone floors.
Burnishers: Heavier units than buffers and polishers with pads that rotate at higher speeds and move in a line. The extra weight and high rotation speed cleans faster and achieves a high gloss shine. They are best used on flat surfaces such as hardwood, marble and linoleum.
Choosing the right commercial floor scrubbing equipment for your flooring keeps them looking their best and maximizes how long they will last.
