If you need a machine to clean the floors of your commercial building, you’ll likely be looking at lots of floor burnishers, polishers, and scrubbers online. If you’re confused about the differences, don’t worry, as if you’re clear on your floor cleaning needs then it’ll be immediately obvious which one is right for you!
When to use floor scrubbers
Floor scrubbers are designed to clean large areas in the shortest possible time, and as such they have a lower RPM (revolutions per minute – also known as ‘rotation speed’) compared to polishers and burnishers. This means they don’t generate the kind of heat that melts floor sealer or hides scratches, but instead focuses on simple surface-level cleaning.
You can get floor scrubbers from Proquip that range from small, walk-behind electric options, all the way up to large, battery-powered ride-on models for use in huge areas such as sports stadiums or conference centres. Floor scrubbers can be fitted with rotating brushes, pads, and contra-rotating brush heads, so you can be sure no matter the requirement, there’ll be a floor scrubber that’s perfect for you.
Keep in mind, a scrubber won’t produce the buffing or glossy finish that you get with the other options below.
Creating a glossy surface with floor polishers
Floor polishers run faster than floor scrubbers, normally somewhere in the vicinity of 400 RPM. This is because they aren’t designed to clean in the same manner that scrubbers do but provide floors with a glossy and polished look.
Floor polishers are designed to work best in areas with floors made from materials such as wood and vinyl, which can be polished to look glossy and new. Because floor polishers aren’t heavy duty machines, they are most common in buildings with light to medium foot traffic, such as commercial office buildings and schools.
Proquip’s floor polishers are generally compact models that are easy to lift in and out of a car, making them perfect for commercial cleaners who are working across multiple buildings and need to move from place to place easily.
How to choose the right floor burnisher
Floor burnishers are the most powerful of the three machines listed here, with rotation speeds that range from around 1200 RPM to 1800 RPM – over four times faster than most floor polishers. Because of this, they’re only used on floors that have first been treated with a hard-wearing sealer that won’t come away while the burnisher is being used.
These powerful machines are best used to create a super-high-gloss finish on these sealed floors and are most commonly used in areas with a constant, high rate of foot traffic such as supermarkets and shopping centres.
If you need a solution for your commercial floor cleaning needs, and want your surfaces to look glossy and brand-new, take a look at Proquip’s floor burnishers, which range from self-propelled to propane models. For expert assistance, contact Proquip now to discover which of our floor scrubbers, floor polishers or floor burnishers is right for you!