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Few areas play a greater role in shaping a facility’s image than its floors. From the moment that visitors step inside a building, its floors reveal a great deal about the facility.

Central to keeping floors clean is an arsenal of floor care equipment that delivers reliable, long-term performance. The challenge for housekeeping managers is to ensure that mechanics and equipment operators maintain the equipment properly so the right tools are available to keep floors looking their best. Proper attention to this task can pay dividends that extend far beyond the housekeeping department.

Pre-purchase issues
Getting the most out of equipment purchases starts with proper selection, which includes consideration of such factors as general quality, durability and warranty coverage. Evaluating equipment suppliers should include investigating their reputation, as well as their ability to furnish service and parts.

Managers also should strongly consider buying machines that are easily maintained and for which standardized parts are readily available.

The purchase agreement should include a demonstration by the manufacturer and training for in-house personnel on proper use and care. The supplier also should provide occasional retraining, especially where standardization on one brand of equipment has taken place.

Preventive maintenance will help keep floor care equipment operating at peak efficiency and ensure longer life of service. Equipment operators should receive regular, in-house training on selecting the proper equipment for the job, storing equipment, and using and caring for equipment.

Operators should inspect equipment daily to ensure it is safe and in good working condition, paying attention to cleanliness. If a piece of equipment needs repairs, the user or mechanic should tag it for maintenance. This step ensures equipment will be fixed promptly, alerts others of equipment problems and prevents expensive downtime.

Few things are more frustrating for cleaning crews than transporting a floor machine to a work area, laying down cleaning solution on the floor, and finding out the machine is not working properly or at all. Operators can prevent this scenario by daily inspection and tagging equipment in need of repair.

General maintenance should include lubricating, adjusting where needed, tightening loose nuts and bolts, and replacing minor parts.

Inventory issues
Managers can reduce departments’ equipment downtime by identifying suppliers who can provide needed parts quickly and ensuring that mechanics have enough spare parts in stock to quickly perform common repairs.

Mechanics should keep an adequate stock of electrical plugs, belts and vacuum beater-bar brushes in a secure location. They can dismantle old and worn-out equipment, while cleaning, marking and storing good, usable parts for future use.

Departments should include storage and service areas large enough to prevent damage to equipment while allowing for adequate space for maintenance. Storage areas also should be located where equipment will stay clean and secure.

Finally, managers should periodically survey equipment to evaluate the needs and conditions of individual machines. Once every year or so, they should decide whether or not to keep aging, existing equipment or replace it with new machinery that might be more efficient and less prone to repairs.

In accordance with these general maintenance guidelines, each types of floor care equipment has features that require specific maintenance.

Floor machines
Floor machines should be kept clean and power cords wiped off to remove soiling that may accumulate during use. Equipment operators should regularly check cords to make sure insulation is undamaged and wires aren’t exposed.

If a cord’s insulation is damaged, replace the cord with a new one of sufficient amperage. Plugs with damaged prongs should be replaced so the machine receives the proper current connection and that wires aren’t exposed. Wheels should be oiled periodically or greased, if a grease fitting is available.

When a machine is not in use, operators should avoid resting it on the pad holder or the brushes because this can flatten out the pad holder or brushes at the point of greatest pressure and cause the machine to wobble in use, reducing the machine’s efficiency and putting greater strain on the operator.

Operators should check electric motor brushes annually for wear and replaced if necessary. This step can add years of life to a motor and stretch the investment in capital equipment.

Floor machine accessories, such as pads and brushes, also need attention. Operators should wash brushes and pad holders occasionally and comb bristles to remove debris and soil. Pads can be reused a number of times if they are cleaned by soaking them in a light solution of finish stripper, then hosed off. Brushes, pad holders and pads should be air dried and hung on a rod when not in use.

Scrubbing machines
Automatic scrubbing machines, like walk-behind carpet cleaning machines, have unique maintenance needs. Equipment with solution and recovery tanks must have contents emptied out and rinsed clean. Seals on tank lids should be checked for a tight fit and good condition.

For machines powered by batteries, posts and cables must be kept free of corrosion to ensure proper connections. Battery fluid levels should be checked regularly unless batteries have sealed acid compartments.

Operators should follow manufacturer instructions to make sure batteries aren’t undercharged or overcharged. Improper charging can lead to shortened battery life and can damage electrical components in the motors. Also, mechanics should lubricate grease fittings periodically and check wheels, hinges and other moving parts for adjustment and wear.

Automatic scrubbing machines and carpet extractors can be damaged from careless operation and from transporting between sites. Operators need to anticipate objects and possible obstructions when operating and transporting these machines to avoid damage to equipment, walls and furniture.

Portable extractors
These pieces of equipment, like large walk-behind models, also need to have solution and recovery tanks cleaned and emptied regularly. Wands and hose accessories need to be checked for leaks and replaced or repaired promptly.

Plugged spray nozzles, which can reduce cleaning efficiency dramatically, need to be cleaned to ensure they continue to produce an even spray pattern. Vacuum seals on recovery tanks should be intact and undamaged, or water lift efficiency will be too low to remove soiled solution from the floor.

Floor-polishing machines
These pieces of equipment, including buffers and ultra-high-speed (UHS) machines, need maintenance similar to that for floor machines.

Propane-powered burnishers have additional care needs. Mechanics should tune up their engines at least once every 10 hours and check oil levels daily. Most manufacturers recommend changing motor oil every 20-30 hours of use. Since most propane burnishers have hour meters on them, service due dates are easy to calculate.

Propane-powered machines of all types should be tested occasionally to ensure carbon monoxide emissions are within safe levels as defined by state and federal standards.

Power-drive belts on buffers, burnishers and other power equipment need to be inspected and replaced if they are frayed or stretched out of specifications. A particular problem of UHS burnishers is the amount of dust particulates created when the pad polishes the floor finish to a smooth, glossy surface. This very fine dust accumulates quickly on engine-hood filters and the underside of the pad housing.

Operators need to shake out or vacuum the filters after each hour of service and clean dust off the housing areas at least once a week. These steps will help the machine perform more efficiently and will reduce the spread of dust particulates throughout the indoor environment.

Vacuum cleaners
All vacuums should be emptied each day, whether they are used for wet or dry service. Operators should rinse out tanks on wet vacuums and clean them with a disinfectant solution periodically to prevent growth of bacteria and mildew.

For vacuum units with hoses, operators can reverse the hose every few weeks to change the wear pattern and prolong its life. Filters on upright vacuums need to be cleaned regularly and replaced, if necessary. Beater-bar belts need to be adjusted properly and replaced if they are broken or coming apart, and strings, hair and other debris should be removed from vacuum attachments at the end of each shift.

Pressure washers
Pressure washers can be used to clean a variety of surfaces, but they require regular cleaning of the housing unit, as well as inspection of cords and plugs if they are electric powered. Mechanics should tune up the engines on gas-powered pressure washers according to manufacturer recommendations, check fluid levels such as oil daily, and changed them when necessary.

Operators should repair or replace wands, which can become kinked or bent and leak. Plugged nozzles need to be cleaned out, but mechanics should be careful when cleaning jet holes so they are not widened or changed in size, as this can damage the effectiveness of the spray pattern. It is a good idea to have extra nozzles available in case older ones are damaged.

Regardless of the type of floor care machine, managers should ensure that maintenance is done in accordance with manufacturer recommendations, and they should keep maintenance records filed for easy reference when necessary.

This step gives maintenance personnel a reference when scheduling future maintenance, it can be important in complying with warranty requirements, and in the event of an equipment-related accident, documentation is available to verify that proper and periodic maintenance has been performed.

Maintaining facilities’ floor care equipment will promote safety, improve productivity, and add years of life to capital equipment investments. And they all are very helpful tools in stretching those tight department budgets.

Glen Franklin is a floor-care consultant based in Snohomish, Wash.