When an end user is scrubbing or buffing floors or performing heavy-duty stripping, the decision regarding which floor pad or rotary brush to use can mean the difference between a job well done and an utter disaster. Experts agree that using the right product for the job is the key to getting a job done effectively and economically.
So, give that selection process careful consideration, advises Rory Beaudette, national sales manager for the 64-year-old Scrubble Products Division of ACS Industries in Woonsocket, R.I. The wrong choice can eat up a cleaners time and budget, and even damage a good floor, he says. Using the wrong product or the wrong application can lead to problems such as premature discoloration, damage to tiles or the need to strip the floor sooner. Obviously, its best if these measures can be avoided.
Although brushes and pads are used differently, outstanding results can be achieved if they are used properly.
Synthetic floor pads, usually constructed of nylon or polyester fibers bonded together with a strong, synthetic resin and impregnated with high-quality abrasives, are color-coded industry-wide, according to Beaudette. The pads are designed and manufactured to maintain continuous contact with the floor. Our construction allows for greater dirt removal, easier and faster. And all pads are usable on both sides. They also clean easily by running them under water.
Both high and low-speed machines have a drive pad, which looks similar to a brush. Its much more bristled, however, and is designed to grab and hold the floor pad.
As pads are used, they understandably get dirty and wont perform as well for polishing, scrubbing or stripping. As both sides get soiled and worn, the pad will need to be replaced with a fresh one.
A Varied Palette
Randy Flowers, director of corporate accounts for ETC of Henderson Inc., an organization that was formed about 25 years ago in Henderson, N.C., explains the color coding: In the low-speed or wet-application areas, the lighter the color, the less aggressive the pad.
In general, light-colored pads are used for polishing, buffing and burnishing, he says. Dark-colored pads are used for scrubbing and stripping. Black pads are for heavy-duty stripping.
White pads have little or no abrasives in them and are good for polishing clean, dry floors. Tan pads, for dry buffing and light cleaning, remove light scuff marks and dirt while polishing floors.
Red pads are a little more abrasive and have different synthetic resin combinations, which keep the fibers and resins together. They remove light scuff marks and dirt while producing a smooth, glossy finish.
Blue pads are used for wet scrubbing or heavy-duty cleaning. They aggressively remove heavy dirt and scuff marks. Green pads are designed for heavy-duty wet scrubbing or light stripping. They remove dirt and scuff marks from heavily soiled floors.
Brown and black pads each have a stripping function. The former is designed for wet or dry stripping, the latter for heavy-duty wet stripping. They each aggressively remove wax, dirt and finish.
The more aggressive the pad, the more likely you are to damage the sub tile, Flowers cautions. If you cut the tile in any way, youve created a place for the dirt to embed itself and this creates a situation where you have to strip out the floor more often than you would if that cut didnt exist.
Stiffer Competition
Brushes can be attached to the base of buffers for various uses. A stiff bristle can be used to scrub floors, a softer bristle for polishing hardwood floors.
Grit brushes are also a popular tool for stripping jobs, according to Bob Bryan, national sales manager for the 37-year-old Americo Mfg., Co., in Acworth, Ga. They are good for tough jobs, but basically they tend to get at large particles, and dont really take care of the finer aspects of the floor, he explains. If youre stripping with a pad, you tend to get a much finer application on the surface. But when you get into larger applications, the brush can be a good tool to use. Theyre very expensive but they certainly hold up for a tremendous amount of time, he adds.
Also, when youve got deviations in a floors surface, where there could be grout or an uneven surface, a brush will be able to contour to the surface somewhat better than a pad could.
Earlier in his career, Bryan helped market a product called a power pad, a combined grit brush and pad driver.
If you are cleaning surfaces with grouted lines, that combination product will get any deviations in the floor. If youre on a tile surface, the pad works on the tile and the brush releases into the grout lines or other floor surface deviations. Theres also two grinding actions going on: a very fine grind with the pad, and a big, stronger course-action with a grit fiber.
Bryan emphasizes the importance of careful brush selection for the given application: Try not to use too aggressive of a brush. Youve got to be very careful not to strip off too much finish too aggressively. If that happens youll have to re-coat and that can get pricey.
Jim Keister is vice president and product manager for Carlisle Sanitary Maintenance Products, a company based in Oklahoma City that recently merged with the Flo-Pac Corp. Keister represents the Flo-Pac line of rotary grit brushes from Minneapolis. The big benefit of brushes vs. pads is you dont need to rinse them because they dont build up with wax or chemicals, he says. The bristles are nearly self cleaning. This is good for productivity because the operator of the machine doesnt have to stop to turn the brushes over.
Keister, too, notes that brushes can get into grout lines, whereas pads skirt over grout, concrete or brick. With brushes, the bristles get into the cracks, he says.
His company manufactures a blue-colored brush for light to medium scrubbing of vinyl, sealed concrete, terrazzo, slate and marble floors. It also has a rust-colored brush designed for medium to mildly aggressive scrubbing of resilient floors, non-slip flooring, terrazzo, quarry tile and concrete, he says.
For stripping floors, brushes include a rust-colored nylon brush impregnated with 36 silicon carbide for scrubbing heavy soil from concrete; a blue-colored nylon brush, also impregnated with 46 silicon carbide, for aggressive scrubbing of concrete and aggressive stripping of resilient floors; and a green-colored nylon fiber brush impregnated with 80-grit silicon carbide. For stripping and scrubbing of rough concrete surfaces, the company manufactures a wire brush constructed of high carbon steel.
Jack Krippel, vice president of sales and marketing for The Malish Corp., a 55-year old company based in Willoughby, Ohio, says hard surfaces are very popular now in commercial and residential structures.
Its very important to get the correct brush underneath a cleaning machine made by a good manufacturer. That same machine might have a half dozen different brush options available from the OEM or from someone who sells product on an aftermarket basis.
The key is matching the correct brush option with the correct floor surface to get the job done properly.
Ask The Experts
Krippel suggests spending time talking to the manufacturer of the products in order to prevent costly mistakes. Have them explain the applications. Take a look at the chemicals and equipment being used. Make sure you have everything that will work in concert and give you the correct results. The chemical companies are wonderful about providing information about their finishes and cleaners, he says. Machine manufacturers offer a wide range of floor equipment. Talk to professionals who handle machine sales and put these packages together for customers. Spend time with the experts and you will help customers achieve the best results and the get the greatest value.
Kripple agrees that simply pairing the correct brush or correct pad product with the appropriate floor product will provide good results.
A lot of the industry thrives on pad usage, and rightfully so, he admits. You want to use a pad on items such as propane machines and high-speed burnishers. There are places where a pad is more appropriate.
There has been a high degree of refinement and improvement in both the pad and brush products over the past 10 years, giving you the ability to get exactly what you want in a given product as you go in to care for any surface. The products today are better than they were a decade ago, and so are the results if the cleaning, burnishing or stripping are done correctly.
Jordan Fox is a Milwaukee-based freelance writer and editor.
A Colorful Array Of Choices
BY Jordan Fox
POSTED ON: 10/1/2003