What Surfaces Can a Floor Scrubber Clean?
One of the best ways to make floor care easier on both you and your employees is by using a floor scrubber. Although it can make your life easier it is important to know what flooring types are safe for the scrubber and brush that you are using or if they require more attention.
What floors are NOT safe for a floor scrubber?
Floor scrubbers are not designed for carpets or other soft, porous flooring.
These machines can damage soft flooring materials because they run using water, soap, brushes and heavy suction. This can tear carpet or leave moisture in the soft material leading to issues like mold, odor or damaging the flooring beneath the carpet.
There are machines that are designed for carpets specifically, but in general industrial floor scrubbers are meant for hard, sealed flooring.
Which floors are BEST for floor scrubbers?
There is a wide variety of floors that work great with industrial floor scrubbers. Some of the most common are:
- Sealed concrete
- Polished concrete
- Vinyl flooring
- Tile Flooring
These surfaces are very durable and in most cases will not suffer any damage from repeated use of a floor scrubber. These are the ideal floor types to reap the benefits of the faster deeper clean of a floor scrubber.
Facilities using flooring like this will enjoy a more consistent clean with much less effort compared to a mop and bucket.
What about Epoxy?
Floor scrubbers like the Mopit are generally safe to use on epoxy flooring, but you should be careful about a few things.
First, make sure that you are using a gentle brush. Brushes that are more abrasive or that apply too much downward pressure can leave brush marks on the softer surfaces of epoxy floors.
Second, ensure that you do not leave a machine in one spot for too long. This had the potential to warm up the epoxy flooring once again leaving brush marks.
If you follow these two simple rules, there should be no problem using a floro scrubber on epoxy flooring.
The Mopit has a great track record keeping epoxy floors clean and undamaged. To learn more about leasing a Mopit click here.
Can you use a floor scrubber on wood floors?
Wood flooring can require additional care while using a floor scrubber.
As owners of wood flooring know, moisture is a big concern. Leaving water on the floor can cause damage over time. It is important to make sure that all the water is removed off of wood floors. This requires that you machine is always in good repair and an attentive eye while cleaning.
Sealed wood floors are generally safer, but it is still wide to remove all moisture off the floor to prevent any long term damage.
- If you plan to use a floor scrubber on wood flooring:
- Use minimal water output whenever possible
- Make sure the machine has strong water recovery
- Avoid allowing moisture to sit on the floor
Final Thoughts
Floor scrubbers are highly effective cleaning machines, but they are best suited for hard, sealed flooring surfaces. Concrete, vinyl, tile, and many epoxy floors are excellent candidates for scrubber use, while carpet and soft flooring should be avoided.
Wood floors can sometimes be cleaned with a scrubber as well, but they require extra caution and minimal moisture exposure.
Understanding your flooring type before using a scrubber can help protect your floors while getting the best cleaning results possible.