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The goal of any floor care program is to give employees the equipment and tools that will allow them to do the best possible job in the least amount of time. Since labor accounts for the largest portion of a floor maintenance budget, it is essential to select equipment that will maximize labor savings and provide quality performance.

While everyone wants to have the best available equipment, not everyone can afford the newest and latest machines. Reality dictates that managers and specifiers limit floor care equipment purchases to those that best fit a particular facility’s needs and budgets.

So it becomes important to select only the essential floor care equipment that will provide a successful, flexible arsenal to work with. A key goal in purchasing hard-surface floor care equipment is to select equipment with the widest application possible, no matter what type or size of facility. Whatever type of floors facilities have, crews need certain “must-have” equipment to properly care for floors.

Rotary floor scrubbers
First in the line of vital equipment is the standard rotary-type floor-scrubbing machine. Also known as swing machines, these floor care workhorses come in a variety of sizes and styles. They are ideal for use in areas crowded with office furniture and in smaller areas, such as break rooms, restrooms and stair landings.

These standard floor machines are versatile when it comes to the type of floors on which they can be used. For example, by installing a brush suitable for a particular surface, they can clean floors with uneven surfaces, such as aggregate concrete, epoxy, grout and ceramic tile.

In addition, a standard floor machine can effectively clean floors that are best scrubbed with a synthetic pad. Such floors include vinyl tile, sheet goods and other hard-surface coverings, such as concrete, terrazzo and stone floors.

These floor machines offer a variety of pad and brush sizes, ranging from 13 inches to 30 inches, although 17- and 20-inch sizes are the most popular. Different scrubbing speeds also are available, with 175 revolutions per minute (rpm) being standard for scrubbing and stripping. To increase the machine’s range of use, managers should consider a standard floor machine with at least a 300-rpm capability, since it can be used for scrubbing and for spray-buffing as well.

Again, it comes down to the needs of the floor care system in place. If a floor care program doesn’t call for spray buffing, then a slower machine — such as a 175-rpm machine — is more than adequate. Standard floor machines can be used on carpets for bonnet cleaning and shampooing or on wood floors for sanding. Standard floor machines’ versatility is a good reason for including them in every floor care equipment arsenal.

Water vacuums
Next in the line of hard-floor equipment arsenal is the water vacuum. These machines are used for sucking up water and cleaning solutions from floors as a part of any scrubbing task. Water vacuum machines come in a number of different sizes, as measured by their capacity in gallons or liters, and also by their suction power, which is rated by pounds of water lift capability.

Generally, the bigger the water vacuum’s gallon capacity, the longer the time required before it has to be emptied. Facilities with large areas of hard-surface floors are likely to need a larger capacity machine. Facilities with mostly carpeted areas and relatively small floor areas may be well served with a smaller capacity water-vacuum machine.

As with all floor machines, managers and specifiers must consider ease of use, or ergonomics, in selecting equipment and avoid machines that are difficult or uncomfortable to operate. It is a good idea to have a water vacuum machine that has not only the standard hose and wand attachment but also the option of using a floor-mounted squeegee also.

Water vacuum machines with floor-mounted squeegees improve job production rates by sucking up solution much faster than workers could using a hose and wand, and they put much less stress on the operator’s lower back. Equipment specifiers also should consider machines that offer easy solution disposal by selecting machines that can be easily emptied into a toilet, since many areas don’t have floor-level drains.

Water vacuums generally offer a choice of power source, either cord electric or battery powered. There are even water vacuums that require no outside power source. Instead, they operate by means of a diaphragm pump powered by a rod connection to wheels that turn as the machine is being pushed across the floor.

Aside from use in floor-cleaning operations, water vacuums are needed in case of a flood, where a broken water pipe or other source of water or liquid must be removed quickly from floors. Using a water vacuum is much quicker and more efficient than mopping to remove water from the floor, and the floor dries more quickly as a result.

Scrubbers
For departments responsible for maintaining extensive open areas of hard-surface floors, an essential piece of equipment is an automatic floor scrubber. Automatic scrubbers can clean large-, moderate- and medium-soiled floors more quickly than a standard floor machine and water vacuum, since they combine the functions of both machines.

Scrubbers dispense cleaning solution from a tank onto the floor, scrub with pads or brushes, and remove the soiled solution with a vacuum, squeegee and hose.

Automatic scrubbers come in different sizes that are measured in scrubbing-path width, and solution and recovery capacity. These machines are powered either by electricity, using a cord or a rechargeable battery, or by propane.

The newer generation of automatic scrubbing machines is more efficient at water recovery, leaving little or no water when the machine turns around at the end of an aisle or room. Managers should be sure to specify machines that are operator friendly and easy to use. Because of their heavy weight, managers should consider selecting a machine that has a power drive capability for self-propelling across the floor and ease in loading or transporting.

Some automatic scrubbers are available in rider models, which allow the operator to sit down and drive rather than walk. These models are helpful in especially large areas, where a great deal of walking would normally be required.

For some years, robotic automatic floor machines have been available that require no operator during use. Of course, such advanced features cost more and may not be necessary for a facility’s needs or suited to its capital equipment budget.

Burnishers
A final piece of must-have equipment for use in facilities with floors that must be polished is an ultra-high-speed (UHS) burnisher. These burnishers generally operate at a minimum of 1,000 rpm and are available in models as high as 3,000 rpm. They use buffing pads to polish floors with UHS-rated floor finish on them. For facilities that require good-looking floors with an outstanding shine, nothing gives results like a UHS burnisher.

Floor burnishers offer different buffing-pad size, with 20- and 24-inch pads among the most common. Larger pad capacity generally results in higher job production, since the larger pad helps the cleaning crew polish a large area of floor more quickly than a smaller pad would.

UHS burnishers are available in cord electric-, battery- or propane-powered models. Although safe to use if maintained and operated properly, propane-powered burnishers can be louder to operate, since they do run with an internal combustion engine as part of their assembly.

If noise or odors are issues, an electric-powered burnisher may be better suited to a facility’s conditions. Also, managers should consider selecting a burnisher with an active vacuum system, which removes a large percentage of dust particles. These dust particles are created by polishing pads as they burnish the floor finish to a smooth, glossy surface.

Maintaining clean and polished floors takes work, but managers can make that work easier by having the right equipment for the job. These essential floor machines are fundamental equipment in getting the most from a floor care investment and making a facility’s floors look better and last longer.