PricedRightCleaningEquipment Co. 
Choosing the Best Industrial Scrubber for Your Operation
When keeping your warehouse or business facility clean, you cannot just use the traditional method of a mop, bucket and broom. Using a mop or broom does not clean your floors, let alone effectively clean them, thus leaving you spending more on labour costs and worrying about the safety of your customers and employees due to wet floors. Investing in an industrial scrubber to effectively clean your floors with no headaches is in your best interest! To be more specific, the following are reasons why having an industrial machine is much better than manually cleaning your facility:
1) Machines are safer
When you rely on a mop and bucket to clean your floors, you are leaving behind wet floors that are a significant hazard to any employees and customers in your space. It may not seem like a big deal to put up a wet floor sign but to clean your floors properly, you have to block off entire aisles or floor spaces, thus making it difficult for customers or employees to access said spaces and being a significant disturbance. Also, even with wet floor signs, it can still be a significant hazard and trips, falls, and slips are responsible for many workplace injuries and death each year and can cause employees to miss work. Therefore, to prioritize the safety of your workers and customers, opting for an industrial scrubber with drying functionality is a much better option.
Another safety or health concern to consider when using a mop and bucket or broom to clean your floors is that because these methods do such a poor job of cleaning the space, they can leave lots of bacteria and grime that can threaten the health of customers and staff. All you have to do is imagine the process of mopping a floor, and you will understand that after your second dip into the bucket, the water has been contaminated, and you need to be more effective in cleaning your floors. Also, when using a broom to sweep your area, you are effectively dispersing many dirt particles into the air, which can then get on surfaces or food in specific workplaces and cause serious health concerns for your air quality and the health of your employees and customers. Therefore, to ensure a genuinely clean and dry floor, use an industrial floor sweeper or scrubber!
2) Machines Keep Costs Down
Another significant benefit and reason to opt for an industrial floor machine is that it is much more cost-effective because industrial machines clean floors in a fraction of the time it takes to clean manually. As a result, you are saving significant money on labour costs.
3) Machines are Better For the Environment
Another significant benefit of using industrial equipment to clean your facility is saving water. Also, the equipment is often powerful enough with the scrubber pads and use of water that harsh and dangerous chemicals may not need to be used
What to Consider When Looking for a Floor Scrubber:
Now that you're convinced a floor scrubber is what your business needs to ensure a clean and safe facility, what should you consider when deciding on a machine?
- What types of debris would the scrubber be faced with?
Knowing the type of debris will help you decide between disc versus cylindrical brushes. - How much floor space does your scrubber need to clean?
A ride-on scrubber may be required if you have ample space, whereas smaller spaces can work with a walk-behind scrubber. - Are there lots of inaccessible features on your floor space?
Walk-behind scrubbers are better for spaces with many ramps or inclines, whereas ride-on scrubbers are better for larger open spaces. - How are power sources placed throughout your facility?
If you require a corded machine, you will need lots of accessible outlets. - How is noise tolerant of your operation?
If you need your cleaning done during business hours, you may opt for a quieter machine, as the noise could disrupt your customers. - Does the floor scrubber you're interested in have consumable parts?
You must factor this into your long-term costs if the machine has consumable parts. - Is the tank size of the floor scrubber that interests you reasonably for your space?
How often will you have to refill the tank to clean your space? The more times can be inconvenient and inefficient, so you want a tank big enough to accommodate your floor space. - What pressure does the floor scrubber provide?
If there are many tough spots and stains, you may require a model that allows you to adjust the cleaning pressure or how diluted the chemicals are to accommodate these stains better. - Do you have a space where you can refill and empty your tanks?
Do you have a room such as a supply closet or cleaning room where you can go and refill your tanks or service your machine? You may require extra-long drain hoses to better access such areas.
Floor Scrubber Options
There are many options for picking a floor scrubber, and the above questions should help narrow it down. Specifically, walk-behind versus ride-on floor scrubbers is an option where a walk-behind floor scrubber is more appropriate for smaller spaces with many tight areas or narrow aisles, doorways or ramps, and ride-on scrubbers are better for large open spaces. You can also choose to have automated floor scrubbers with pre-programmed paths throughout your facility and not require someone to operate the machine, saving you labour costs. Also, with automated floor scrubbers, you can even have obstacle-sensing technology to avoid obstructions and pedestrians while still cleaning efficiently. Also, disc scrubbers have flat pads or brushes to clean and are great for shining floors, stripping floor wax, cleaning tile or removing scuff marks and are great for retail spaces or hospitals. Whereas cylindrical brush scrubbers clean using a pair of tube-shaped brushes that rotate in opposite directions, they are an excellent choice for places with lots of debris, such as manufacturing floors.
Now Do You Want to Rent, Lease or Buy?
Another consideration, once you have decided to get a floor scrubber, is whether to rent, buy or lease. Although we have a whole blog dedicated to this topic to summarize the key points, renting is most appropriate if you only need a floor scrubber for a month or so, for instance, if you have a specific project you are working on that requires you to clean floors. Whereas leasing is more appropriate for more extended periods as it is a more economical choice but is not the total commitment of purchasing an industrial machine which is usually only required if you intend to require the machine for five plus years or if you need a machine that has never been used to avoid cross-contamination concerns such as for use in a hospital.