What Should I Use
a Floor Pad or a Brush?

To determine which cleaning accessory you should use on your floor machine or automatic scrubber, lets look at the benefits of both floor cleaning pads and brushes.

Floor cleaning pads offer a wide selection of aggression levels in a multitude of sizes for a very low up front cost. Low speed cleaning pads are typically divided into three classes of pads. Washing pads attack surface soil without removing floor finish. Scrubbing pads with the appropriate cleaner can easily remove one to two coats of floor finish. Stripping pads when used with an appropriate chemical will remove all coats of finish on a floor. It is very easy to adjust to changing soil or finish removal conditions with pads by simply putting the next aggression level of pad on your machine. Pads also provide the greatest surface contact when cleaning hard surface floors.

The more aggressive a cleaning pad is will typically shorten its useful life. Washing pads can normally clean about 100,000 sq. ft. before being discarded. Scrubbing pads can remain effective between 20,000-40,000 sq. ft. depending on conditions and stripping pads can normally accomplish between 5,000-10,000 sq. ft. Of course this requires care and of the cleaning pad during its life. Pads that are allowed to dry with imbedded soil or finish can become ineffective or actually damage remaining finish when reused. Flipping of pads during use is also important to gain the full use of a cleaning pad. During heavy finish removal pads can easily become clogged and will require work frequent cleaning to remain effective. Unfortunately many pads are discarded before their time due to lack of care.

Floor cleaning brushes also offer many benefits to the cleaning professional. Although they require a larger investment at purchase one brush can replace as many as 50-100 cases of cleaning pads in its lifetime. Unfortunately it would be cost prohibitive to for the average contractor or facility to purchase a brush to replace each pad for each application they have. Also even if two machines can utilize the same size brush the clutch plate required to attach the brush may be different requiring a separate brush for each machine they have in service. Floor care brushes in many instances will also out perform cleaning pads. Floor care brushes are best suited for uneven flooring, surfaces with recessed features such as ceramic tile or contoured flooring, heavy soil conditions where constant pad changing and cleaning is impractical, finish removal on uneven surfaces and removal of multiple coats of floor finish that would cause pads to clog.

Floor cleaning brushes require very little cleaning. Their design allows soil and finish to easily flow out between bristles to be recovered. For this reason heavy soil and finish conditions will not effect a brushes cleaning ability. Under normal conditions a brushes performance will not out weigh that of a pad. Brushes become superior to pads when soil and finish conditions are heaviest. Both pads and brushes have their place in a modern floor care program.