The Future Of Floor Pads

Are there any new advancements in terms of floor pads and/or brushes in recent years?

You have covered a couple of the biggest advances with the advent of polished concrete floors and terrazzo Kane diamond impregnated floor pads and the heat pad. With the newer gym floor finishes came the maroon gym floor pad. There is also big buzz now is with green floor pads.
— Randall Flowers, Vice President of Corporate Accounts, ETC of Henderson, Inc., Henderson, North Carolina

Floor pads continue to focus on high-speed floor care and better burnishing pads. There has been a large focus on sustainability and use of plant based fibers utilizing less fossil fuel. Also recycled fibers from soda/pop bottles
— Dennis Knapp, Director of Product Development, Impact Products, Toledo, Ohio

Floor pad shapes have become a major topic as of late. Up until recent years the floor pad market primarily consisted of round pads. Sure, we had seen some X shape and flower shape, but not in widespread use. In recent years, however, two significant shapes have come into the market. The first being square or rectangle for use with orbital machines and the second being octagon pads for higher efficiency applications. The square and rectangle pads require completely different equipment than traditional pads. The high efficiency octagon pads utilize the same equipment as round pads. With octagon pads, the theory is that most of the work is done at the leading edge. It creates a more aggressive edge shape versus a passive round, you will find the results dramatically improve.
— Rory Beaudette, VP Sales/COO, ACS Industries, Inc., Lincoln, Rhode Island

Floor pad innovations, such as Turf pads really provide excellent. Similar to brushes, Turf pads are designed to provide scrubbing action on uneven floors without the expense and the time-consuming process of changing brush driver blocks. Turf pads generally have a longer life expectancy due to their heavy duty turf material and pad construction.
Another notable advancement is the melamine pad. The same melamine technology that has been so effective for years above the floor, is now offered in the form of a floor pad. The movement of the open-cell polymeric foam and water across the floor causes friction, resulting in quickly removing hard-to-clean soil. This pad is effective at eliminating black marks without removing or even dulling the finish. The melamine pad is very effective at cleaning both the tile and any shallow grout between tiles, which has been a challenge for years. This unique floor pad also restores tile and grout without the use of harsh chemicals.
— John Miller, VP of Executive Sales and Marketing, Americo Manufacturing Company, Acworth, Georgia

How well do “green” floor pads really do against standard pad options? Are they comparable in terms of effectiveness?

Most floor pads manufacturers claim to use some recycled fibers in the composition of their pads. The most common is recycled PET material from post-consumer and post-industrial waste, primarily plastic bottles. These recycled fibers are as high quality as virgin fibers. Pad quality is not compromised one bit.
— Rory Beaudette, VP Sales/COO, ACS Industries, Inc., Lincoln, Rhode Island

All natural fiber, such as pig bristle is totally biodegradable and the most effective use of green material and for pads. Most manufacturers use post-consumer waste such as reground water bottles as a fiber in the manufacturing of their floor pads. The best type of "green" pad would be one that is made of quality materials and gives increased life and effectiveness for the job it is manufactured to do.
— Randall Flowers, Vice President of Corporate Accounts, ETC of Henderson, Inc., Henderson, North Carolina

Green floor pads are designed to perform as well as or better than their non-sustainable counterparts. Focus in any green application is performance, competitiveness when compared to non-green.
— Dennis Knapp, Director of Product Development, Impact Products, Toledo, Ohio