Inefficient and ineffective brooms and mops can’t measure up to professional-grade cleaning equipment like sweepers and scrubbers.
You only get one chance to make a first impression – and that may be the chief reason why business owners and property managers either rent commercial floor cleaning equipment like sweepers and scrubbers or hire a commercial cleaning service.
But there are more reasons to rent this equipment than reputation alone. Cleanliness is also important for your team and customers’ health and safety. And when you have a massive floor to sweep and clean, brooms and mops are not only ineffective at meeting today’s standards of what’s clean, but inefficient as well.
Today, more and more business owners and property managers are turning to commercial sweepers and scrubbers because of the job they do and the time they save. But with so many options, how do you know which ones will be right for you?
Sweep then Scrub
Cleaning any large floor areas begins with sweeping away dirt, dust, and debris. Unlike brooms, sweepers are highly efficient, capable of cleaning up to 122,000 square feet of floor per hour and a vital piece of equipment in maintaining a safe working environment for your team.
But what sweeper is right for you? There are two types of sweepers: walk-behind and ride-on. Each can be used to clean small or large areas but, like any tool, it’s best to use the right one for specific jobs. Ride-ons, which can have sweeping widths up to 80-inches and travel up to 8 mph, are best suited for large open floor areas typically found in airports, malls, schools, and warehouses.
Walk-behinds, which require some physical exertion, are designed and built for taking on smaller and more cluttered floor areas like the lobby of an apartment building, hotel, office or smaller warehouses.
While sweepers are excellent for removing debris and dust, they’re mostly ineffective at removing grease, oil and grit from floors. That’s why renting a scrubber should also be a consideration. Like sweepers, there are two types of scrubbers – walk-behind and ride-on. Unlike sweepers, which use brushes to sweep dirt and debris into their container, scrubbers use rotating pads, water, and solutions to scrub floors. The scrubber’s built-in vacuum then sucks the dirty water into the machine’s storage tank, allowing operators to scrub large floors in a single pass.
Sweep or Scrub
The following is a guideline to help you determine what type of sweeper or scrubber you need for your floors and whether you need a sweeper, scrubber or both.
- Rent a sweeper if … the material to be swept up is dry.
- Rent a scrubber if … you want to remove oil, grease, fine dust or marks left by foot traffic, forklifts and more.
- Rent a sweeper and scrubber if … you need to do both and want to restore a shine to your floors.
- Be aware of floor widths. Don’t rent a sweeper or scrubber that’s too wide for a narrow aisle. Also, be sure the sweeper and scrubber has a turn radius tight enough to turn around at a dead end.
Rent Instead of Buy?
Unless you plan on using your sweeper and scrubber frequently (more than six times a year) – and have a place to store them when not in use – it may not make financial sense to invest tens of thousands of dollars purchasing one or both.
For more information on sweepers, scrubbers and other floor care equipment, visit HercRentals.com
