Floor cleaning brushes and pads. Choose the best for your floors

Your floor scrubber is equipped with either a cylindrical or a disk cleaning system. This cleaning system and your cleaning solution are what removes dirt from your floor.  Disk (or rotary) systems can use either pads or brushes, while cylindrical systems are brush only.

Using the right brush or pad is essential for good cleaning. And the choice impacts maintenance costs as well. 

Too soft a pad or brush can mean poor cleaning results.  That can translate into multiple passes by the operator, taking more time. More time spent cleaning equals higher costs.

An overly aggressive brush or pad can mar the floor surface. If the damage is serious enough, you’ll have to refinish sooner than expected, meaning added costs in terms of people and supplies.  Refinishing could even disrupt productivity.

Identifying the best brush or pad for a specific cleaning environment can be challenging.  There are many different brush materials and pad types, each with different properties.  To make things even more confusing, each scrubber OEM has its own range of replacement pads and brushes.

You’ll be replacing pads or brushes regularly over the life of your scrubber, so it’s a good idea to know something about the subject. Here’s an overview of what each general pad and brush type is good for. We’ve kept it generalized because there are so many options.  Contact Morrison for help selecting the best for your specific application.

 

Pads

Pads do an excellent job of cleaning smooth floors like vinyl, terrazzo, and concrete.  They can be used on disk scrubbing systems with a pad driver installed to hold the pad in place. Pads come in different colors; each color signifying how aggressive the cleaning action is.

White             The gentlest cleaning action. Will remove light soil and scuff marks.

Red                More aggressive. Handles everyday cleaning and light scrubbing.

Blue               Heavy-duty scrubbing. May remove floor coating.

Green             Aggressive. Can be used to prepare the floor for re-coating.

Black             Much more aggressive. Used when stripping  floors.

 

Disk Brushes

Brushes out-perform pads on uneven floors since the bristles can reach into cracks and crevices. They also stand up to grit-impregnated (slip-resistant) flooring that can shred a pad.  As with pads, there are many choices when it comes to brushes, and each OEM may have its own range of options.

Here are categories of brushes and their uses on industrial floors:

Nylon                         The softest brush material that’s commonly used.

Polypropylene        A good all-purpose brush for medium soil.

Light grit                   Bristles are impregnated with grit. Act like fine sandpaper. Heavy-duty scrubbing for ground-in dirt.

Heavy grit                 Larger bristles, heavier grit. Much more aggressive. Used for stripping  floors.

 

Cylindrical brushes

Cylindrical cleaning systems handle light dust and debris better than disk cleaning systems. The action of the two opposing cylindrical brushes lifts light particles off the floor surface and deposits them in the recovery tray.

The options for cylindrical brushes are the same as those for disk brushes.

Nylon                         The softest brush material that’s commonly used.

Polypropylene        A good all-purpose brush for medium soil.

Light grit       Bristles are impregnated with grit. Act like fine sandpaper. Heavy-duty scrubbing for ground-in dirt.

Heavy grit     Larger bristles, heavier grit. Much more aggressive. Used for stripping  floors.

 

Keep an eye of performance

The best way to know if you’re using the right pad or brush is to look at cleaning performance. If there’s still dirt on the floor after the scrubber goes by, maybe you need a more aggressive pad or brush.  Or maybe the pad or brush is worn and needs replacing.

Seeing scratching or gouging after a pass by the scrubber? Could be that the brush or pad is too aggressive. Or it might mean the pressure on the brush/pad is too high.

Your operators can spot problems as they’re cleaning.  Encourage them to keep an eye on their cleaning results and report issues when they occur.

If an issue comes up, please contact us. We’d love to help find a solution for you.

Get the brushes and pads that meet your needs

Choosing the right brush or pad for your scrubber sounds complicated, but our floor cleaning experts, Angie and Ryan, along with our account managers throughout Michigan and Northern Indiana are ready to help. Contact us today! We offer a wide selection of the leading brands of industrial floor cleaning equipment, plus trained service techs and an extensive parts inventory to meet your needs with ongoing support  and fast, knowledgeable service.