Maximizing Efficiency: A Guide to Selecting the Right Floor Scrubber for Your Facility's Cleaning Needs

When it comes to efficient and effective floor cleaning, having the right equipment is essential. As one of the industry's leading suppliers of floor sweepers and scrubbers, Factory Cleaning Equipment understands the importance of properly sizing your cleaning equipment to meet your facility's floor plan and unique cleaning needs. That’s why we offer everything from compact, walk-behind Bulldog scrubbers, ride-on scrubbers from PowerBoss and Factory Cat, and heavy-duty liquid propane floor scrubbing machines from Tennant.

Below, we'll guide you through the process of selecting the most appropriate commercial floor scrubber for your operations based on its square footage. We’ll also explore different types of floor scrubbers that are available, and provide some example use cases for various industries.

Whether you need a walk-behind, ride-on, or large liquid propane (LP) floor scrubber, our guide will help you make a more informed decision that best suits your cleaning needs.

How to Properly Size Your Floor Cleaning Equipment

Determining the appropriate size of a floor scrubber depends on several factors, such as the square footage of the area, the layout of the floors, and the type of dirt or debris being cleaned.

While determining these factors may seem a bit challenging, there are some simple guidelines you can follow to come to the best conclusion:

Assess Your Facility’s Square Footage And Cleaning Path Size

Assessing your facility’s overall square footage and size of the cleaning paths plays a significant role in deciding which type of floor cleaning machine works best for your situation.

Walk-behind floor scrubbers are ideal for narrow spaces and areas with lots of obstacles like end-caps and displays, while ride-on scrubbers offer faster cleaning of larger, more open paths with minimal obstacles. For facilities that are extra-large and spacious, a LP industrial floor scrubber may be the best option.

Evaluate Each Floor Scrubber’s Features

Floor scrubbers not only differ in size. They also differ when it comes to their various features like scrubbing brush width, tank capacity, power and maneuverability. These features not only play a crucial role in determining the efficiency and performance of these machines, they can also help you determine which one is better for the size of your property.

Scrubbers with extra-large brushes and a lot of power may not be the best choice for smaller, more cluttered spaces such as retail settings, but they may be perfect for properties with more open floor plans.

Decide How Much Power Is Required

Similar to most motor vehicles, the bigger the floor scrubber, the more power required to operate it. For instance, an LP floor scrubber requires more power to drive its size, while a walk behind floor scrubber only needs a fraction of that power to propel it forward.

Likewise, LP and ride on floor scrubbers come equipped with larger capacity tanks since they are typically covering more floor space when cleaning. A walk behind floor scrubber features a tank that’s sized accordingly for the machine itself and the tasks at hand.

In some settings, a ride-on floor scrubber may be excessive, while in other facilities a walk-behind floor scrubber may not deliver the best results.

Different Machines For Different Industries

Different industries have varying needs when it comes to floor cleaning equipment.

Here are some common applications for each type:

Use Cases For Walk-Behind Floor Scrubbers

• Retail stores: Walk-behind floor scrubbers are ideal for such settings as grocery stores and department stores.
• Restaurants: These compact commercial scrubbers are perfect for cleaning the floors of dining rooms, kitchens and food preparation areas in restaurants, cafeterias, and other food-related establishments.
• Gyms and Fitness Centers: Both of these facilities typically require walk-behind floor scrubbers like the Bulldog WD20 due to their compact size and ability to maneuver around the various workout equipment located throughout.
• Schools and Educational Institutions: Walk-behind scrubbers are useful for maintaining clean and hygienic floors in school classrooms, corridors and gymnasiums.
• Healthcare Facilities: Hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes can benefit from walk-behind floor scrubbers to ensure a clean and sanitized environment, especially in patient rooms, operating rooms, hallways and waiting areas

Use Cases For Ride-on Floor Scrubbers

• Large Retail Spaces: Ride-on scrubbers are commonly used in big-box stores and shopping malls where extensive floor areas require frequent cleaning.
• Airports And Transportation Hubs: Ride-on scrubbers are effective for maintaining the cleanliness of terminal buildings, concourses and other public areas in airports, bus stations, and train stations.
• Sports Arenas and Stadiums: With their larger size and increased foot traffic, ride-on floor scrubbers are suitable for cleaning stadiums, arenas, and convention centers.
• Parking Garages: These scrubbers are often used in multi-level parking garages to clean and remove dirt, oil, and debris from the floors.
• Industrial Facilities: Ride-on floor scrubbers, such as the PowerBoss Nautilus E, can handle the demands of cleaning large-scale industrial environments, including warehouses and manufacturing facilities.

Use Cases For LP Floor Scrubbers

• Large Industrial Facilities: For large industrial settings that are more expansive and require a great deal more cleaning power, LP floor scrubbers like the Tennant T20 are designed to provide the optimal cleaning solutions in distribution centers, logistics centers and almost any setting that uses forklifts on a daily basis.
• Outdoor Spaces: Liquid propane-powered scrubbers are designed for outdoor cleaning applications, such as parking lots, sidewalks and outdoor shopping centers.
• Construction Sites: These heavy-duty industrial floor scrubbers can effectively clean concrete floors and other surfaces in construction sites, helping to maintain cleanliness and safety during project builds.
• Agricultural Facilities: LP floor scrubbers can be used in agricultural settings, such as barns, stables, and livestock areas, to clean floors and maintain proper hygiene.
• Military Bases: Propane-powered scrubbers are often utilized in military installations to clean large areas, including barracks, hangars, and training facilities.
• Theme Parks: Liquid propane scrubbers can efficiently clean outdoor pathways, walkways and other public areas in theme parks, resorts, and large convention centers.

Make The Right Investment For Your Facility

Selecting the right floor scrubber is crucial for maintaining a clean and safe facility across a variety of industries. By properly sizing your equipment based on your facility’s square footage, understanding the different types of floor scrubbers available and the different features they offer, and assessing the specific needs of your industry, you can maximize cleaning efficiency and productivity.

Factory Cleaning Equipment, a leading supplier of Tennant, PowerBoss, Bulldog and Factory Cat floor sweepers and scrubbers, offers a wide-range of options that cater to the needs of various industries and facilities of every size. Whether you need a walk-behind floor scrubber for compact spaces, a ride-on scrubber for larger areas, or a large LP scrubber for heavy-duty cleaning, our team has you covered.

Contact us today for all of your facility's commercial and industrial floor scrubber needs!