But unlike your home, there are better ways to clean your facility than a mop and a bucket of bleach. Industrial floor scrubbers get your floors cleaner than the old-fashioned methods. And they save hundreds of work hours. Read more to learn how to find the right industrial floor scrubber for your operation.
Industrial floor scrubbers outperform the traditional bucket and mop in every category. Below are the top 3 reasons why floor scrubbers are the best choice for your facility.
You might not consider mop and bucket a significant safety hazard. But slips, trips, and falls are responsible for over 100,000 workplace injuries and over 100 deaths each year. And the average worker injured by a fall will be out of work for 12 days. As a result, falls from slipping are one of the most common worker’s compensation claims.
Falls due to slipping or tripping are the 3rd most preventable cause of injury in the workplace. And a clean, dry floor goes a long way toward preventing them in your warehouse. Mops slosh water and detergent everywhere, leaving slick flooring in their wake. That wet floor is an accident waiting to happen, even with proper signage.
Plus, each dip of the mop deposits more bacteria and grime into the bucket. This quickly overwhelms the already diluted cleaning solution. And after only a few passes, the water turns into a putrid sludge of bacteria. Then the mop spreads that slurry across every floor in your facility. The result is a biological nightmare that threatens the health of your staff.
Only industrial floor scrubbers can ensure a clean, dry floor in your facility. The water-saving design and large water tanks of modern industrial floor scrubbers ensure that cleaning uses only fresh water. This removes the risk of spreading contamination. Additionally, efficient squeegee systems ensure that all cleaning water gets collected, leaving only dry flooring behind.
Manual cleaning requires manual labor. On average, a worker can mop 4,000 - 5,000 square feet of flooring each hour. An employee with a walk-behind floor scrubber cleans about 13,000 square feet in that same time. And a ride-on floor scrubber cleans over 100,000 square feet of flooring in that hour. That makes floor scrubbers 20 times more efficient than a mop and bucket. That level of efficiency means you could cut cleaning labor costs by up to 80%.
Mops waste a lot of water with each sodden pass. By comparison, industrial floor scrubbers use very little water. And water retention technology ensures that nearly zero water is wasted during cleaning.
Additionally, many environments may not need cleaning chemicals at all. Some can be cleaned with just water and scrubber pads. Steam is also an effective cleaning agent that kills 99.9% of pathogens. And when chemicals are required, modern floor scrubbers allow the operator to control the dilution to use only what is needed.
Floor scrubbers come in a wide array of configurations. But there are a few general types to know when selecting one for your warehouse.
Walk-behind floor scrubbers are controlled while the operator walks behind them. They are motorized so that the operator does not have to push but can walk at a comfortable pace.
These floor scrubbers are smaller than ride-on variants. Their compact size makes them an excellent choice for tight areas, narrow aisles, interior doorways, and ramps. Walk-behind floor scrubbers are also easy to transport throughout your facility since they fit a standard passenger elevator.
Ride-on floor scrubbers are precisely that. The operator drives the floor scrubber while seated atop it. These floor scrubbers excel at cleaning large open areas quickly and efficiently. They are an excellent choice for many warehouses and garages with lots of square footage to clean.
The future is here in the form of automated floor scrubbers. Automated floor scrubbers are autonomous units that clean pre-programmed paths through a facility independent of an operator. They are simple to set up and operate. This allows any operator to program them with minimal training.
Obstacle-sensing technology allows them to avoid obstructions and pedestrians without sacrificing cleaning efficiency. This allows your floor scrubber to work on the floors while the operator focuses on other projects.
Disc scrubber models use a pair of flat pads or brushes to clean. These pads rotate at high speeds while water shoots between them. This provides effective, high-pressure cleaning, making disc scrubbers excellent choices for:
Disc scrubbers work best on swept surfaces. They need smooth floorings like sheet vinyl or polished concrete for maximum efficiency. As a result, they are popular choices in retail spaces, schools, and hospitals.
Cylindrical brush scrubbers clean using a pair of tube-shaped brushes that rotate in opposite directions. One brush sweep, collecting debris into an onboard hopper. And the other brush scrubs the floor. This pairing removes the need to sweep floors before cleaning. This time-saving feature makes cylindrical brushes an excellent choice for facilities that generate a lot of fine debris, like fabrication shops or manufacturing floors.
Additionally, the brushes of a cylindrical brush scrubber rotate twice as fast as a disc scrubber. A higher brush speed allows them to use less water. And the cylindrical shape ensures they perform better than disc scrubbers on floors with cracks or grout lines.
The next big question is whether to lease a floor scrubber or purchase a new unit. For most applications, buying a new unit is the most cost-effective option. Reducing labor costs means even ride-on floor scrubbers will pay for themselves in less than 5 years. And walk-behind units show a return on investment even faster due to their lower cost.
If you will only be using the floor scrubber for a limited time, then leasing is likely your best option. But make sure to investigate monthly rates before choosing the leasing option over a new purchase. Monthly rates change based on the lease period, with shorter leases typically being more expensive per month than longer commitments. Depending on the terms of your lease and how frequently you expect to lease a floor scrubber, buying new may be more cost-effective in the long run.
There is an industrial floor scrubber out there to fit any need. So, if you would like to learn more about which one is right for you, ask an expert at Mid-Columbia Forklift. We offer onsite demos. We will bring industrial cleaning equipment to your facility so you can see it in person and in action. Contact us online or reach out to one of our dealerships by phone:
Auburn 253-854-5438
Pasco 509-547-7413
Wenatchee 509-663-9009
Yakima 509-457-5137
Further Reading
3 Reasons Why Scrubbers Are Better Than Sweepers for Your Warehouse
3 Reasons Why Sweepers Are Better Than Scrubbers for Your Warehouse
When to Buy Walk-Behind Vs. Ride-On Industrial Cleaning Equipment
Why Does My Warehouse Need a Cleaning Plan?