Caring For Floors With Sustainable Equipment

This is the final part of a three-part manufacturer roundtable about floor care equipment.

How can your floor care equipment help meet sustainability standards in a green facility?

Our equipment helps facilities achieve sustainability goals by reducing energy consumption, water use, waste and chemical usage. Our technology delivers the proper amount of cleaning solution onto the floor according to the speed of the machine so that, as the operator slows down, less solution is delivered to floors, reducing water consumption and time-consuming tank fills and lowering costs.

We also have a Web-based application that tracks machine usage to maximize resource efficiency. Managers have total visibility of assets and access to information such as damage records, battery life and low use, allowing them to suggest improvements remotely in order to make processes as efficient as possible.

Efficient use of on-board batteries and energy-efficient battery chargers optimize energy usage while recyclable water filters allow machines to clean more surface area with less water. These innovations protect and promote a facility’s commitment to sustainability and occupant health by improving hygiene and indoor air quality. - Grace Widseth, portfolio manager - floor care, Sealed Air Diversey Care, Charlotte, North Carolina

Most of our floor care equipment is manufactured with sustainability in mind, including our vacuums utilizing power-save and sound-reduction technologies and our Hepa-flo bags, which improve air quality. However, our biggest advantage to a green facility are the gel batteries we use. They release 1/40 the hydrogen gas of a wet lead acid battery when charging, require absolutely no maintenance and are completely spill proof. They are not considered hazardous for transport, require no on-site safety equipment and are supported with a recycling program. - Gareth Mason, president, NaceCare Solutions, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

There are a number of ways floor care equipment can help achieve sustainability objectives. With autoscrubbers you can find machines that use less water and chemical or have on-board chemical-mixing systems.

Orbital technology used for daily cleaning can allow you to achieve the same level of clean with minimal or no chemical. Orbital scrubbing technology also allows for the removal of floor finish without the use of chemical. This has the advantage of minimizing the use and disposal of the most caustic of cleaning chemicals, minimizes operator exposure to these chemicals, and reduces the slip-and-fall hazard significantly.

Scrubbers now also come with smart charging systems so they minimize electricity usage. AGM batteries enclose the contents of the battery, so building occupants do not risk any exposure to potentially harmful materials. - Scott Keller, marketing manager, BSC, Nilfisk, Inc., Plymouth, Minnesota