Cleaning commercial wooden floors
Wood floors are increasingly popular both domestically and in the commercial environment. Its attraction is both aesthetic and practical in that cleaning a wooden floor should, in theory, be easier than a carpeted one. Wooden floors are generally considered to be more hygienic than carpeted floors and one obvious advantage is that dust and debris can be spotted easily and simply swept away. To keep wooden floors looking good and properly clean takes a bit more work though.
Vacuum cleaners work well on wooden floors as well as carpets, but whereas a carpet will need periodic deep cleaning using a shampoo or other extraction method, a wood floor requires different tools to maintain its appearance and cleanliness. As a wood floor is a hard surface and has usually had a sealant applied to protect it, a vacuum to remove the surface dirt and a mop to remove the finer dirt is all that may be required in a domestic setting. In a commercial environment though, where there is usually high traffic across the floor, other tools are required to maintain the appearance and prolong the life of the flooring surface. One such machine is a scrubber dryer.
Scrubber dryers for wood floors
You don’t need to use a special type of machine for cleaning wooden floors, as the right type of multi-purpose scrubber drier will work on a variety of different types of floor, including wood, which makes them an important part of many commercial floor cleaning regimes.
This type of machine will vacuum, scrub and dry a floor surface in one pass, to reduce cleaning time and minimize any disruption. The machine uses rotating pads to apply cleaning solution and agitate it into the floor surface and the resultant residue is then collected by a system of squeegees and removed into a collection tank.
The most suitable scrubber drier will depend on factors such as the size of the floor, the level of traffic and dirt and the accessibility, for example are there awkward corners and narrow passages to get to?
The Nilfisk SC351 for example is quiet, compact and adjustable so it works well in crowded places, around furniture etc, with forward and backward scrubbing and brush pressure of 27Kg. The folding handle also makes it easy to store and move around. This machine is ideal for smaller areas although there are others available that we recommend here at B&G, including the larger pedestrian and ride-on scrubber dryers, ideal for larger areas.
Wooden floor maintenance and resealing
A rotary disc floor buffer is another machine invaluable for ensuring wooden floors are kept to a high standard. This machine uses a single rotating disc which is fitted with a cleaning pad suitable for the appropriate cleaning job. For instance for polishing, a pad with a fine fibre would be used which is specifically designed to achieve a gloss type finish. Other pads can be used with various levels of abrasiveness depending on the depth of cleaning required. Wooden floors are normally sealed to protect the surface from stains and marking but, over time this wears away and needs re-sealing. The old sealant then has to be removed to prepare the surface for a new protective coating and the floor buffer can be used to achieve that. Using a pad of a coarser texture the old seal can be stripped away and the surface made ready for the re-application of the sealant. This type of work is best done by a professional contractor who understands the capacity of the floor buffer and the best type of sealant to apply.
There is a variety of different types of wood floor, e.g. laminate or solid wood, finished or unfinished and with varying degrees of toughness. The type of wooden floor will determine the type of cleaning regime and cleaning equipment required.
It is always best to speak to an expert before making any decision about any cleaning machine and we are happy to advise on the best floor cleaning machine for your requirements.
You can see some examples of
cleaning machines for wooden and other hard floors here.
