A survey of facility service providers (FSPs) finds that the amount of money they are willing to invest in floor care is decreasing. This was the conclusion of 57 percent of respondents. However, even though the funds for floor care may be decreasing, the majority of those surveyed still believed that owning "good" floor machines such as buffers, auto scrubbers, and burinshers, are "a critical tool" to have in their cleaning arsenal.
 
A "good" floor care machine, according to the majority of respondents, is one that is light, efficient, and easy to handle; a "bad" floor care machine is one that does not perform well and has a tendency to break down frequently.

Asked about the effectiveness and performance of today's floor care chemicals, glosses, and finishes, 78 percent stated that the floor care chemicals available today — whether green or conventional — are more effective compared to what was available a decade ago.

Other findings in the survey, which was conducted by Powr-Flite, include:
• Over 70 percent of respondents indicated that they use their floor care equipment primarily for scrubbing and stripping floors.
• Fifty percent of respondents said they use their floor care equipment for other tasks, including burnishing, deep scrubbing, carpet shampooing and spray buffing.
• The vast majority of respondents select a black pad for floor stripping, while blue or green pads are the pad of choice for floor scrubbing.
• The tool the respondents use most frequently with a floor machine is a wet/dry vacuum. 
 
As far as daily maintenance of floors, a majority of the respondents believe floors would stay cleaner for longer periods if they were given more attention on a more frequent or regular basis. Many cleaning experts agree with this, that effective, ongoing maintenance is key to keeping floors safe and looking their best.