Floor pads vs disc brushes

Should I use floor pads or brushes on my floor scrubber?  This can be answered almost instantly by asking what kind of flooring the autoscrubber is cleaning.  If the floor type is extremely smooth like VCT (vinyl composition tile) then floor pads will do a better job of removing soil.  This is because floor pads have more surface area than a brush.  This additional material is in contact with more of the floor surface which in turn removes more dirt.  If the VCT or other smooth flooring has floor finish or coatings on it, then the soils will be even easier to clean because these coatings keep all of the dirt on top and away from the pores in the floor surface. 

Floor pads come in a rainbow of different colors.  White will always be the softest followed usually by red which is a very common pad for general daily cleaning.  Blue and green are usually next, and these are often used in top scrubbing of floor finishes.  Black stripping pads are at the rough end of the scale, and then there are specialty stripping pads that are very abrasive for use in removing very stubborn floor finishes or sealers. 

Floor pads need to be monitored before every use of the floor scrubber to make sure they have not loaded up with dirt or other debris that could harm the flooring or floor coating.  Floor pads can be flipped to use both sides before being thrown away.  Because floor pads are relatively inexpensive, it is cost prohibitive to attempt cleaning them for reuse.  

Floor Brushes have some advantages over pads.  They have been tested to outlast pad more than 200 to 1 which will save time and money. This reduces packaging, storage and waste. Brushes eliminate the need to re-center a floor pad or the malfunction of the scrubber due to centering the floor pad incorrectly. Brushes perform well on all surface types regardless of whether the floor is smooth and/or flat, old or new. 

Soft brushes (like the nylon above) can be used on smooth flooring like floor pads, but they will not clean as well depending on the soil load due to their smaller surface area for cleaning.  Brushes will allow for more continuous use without changing floor pads, and they could save money over time versus floor pads if maintained.  Brushes still need to be checked before use with an autoscrubber to ensure they are clean and free of trapped debris that could affect the performance of the brushes or the floor or coating.

If the floor type being cleaning by your automatic floor scrubber is anything other than smooth or coated flooring, then scrubbing brushes are your best bet.  Floor pads will be torn up very quickly with uneven or rough flooring types regardless of the abrasiveness of the floor pad.  Floor pads simply are not made for us on rough surfaces.  Scrubbing brushes come in a wide range of materials to fit virtually every need.  Typically a manufacturer like Tennant will offer a soft white nylon brush, a black polypropylene brush and then a gray, super abrasive grit brush.

90% of most situations will be fine with the multi-purpose polypropylene brush (see above).  This is how the floor machines are shipped standard from the factory unless ordered otherwise.  They're not too soft and not too rough.  The soft, nylon scrubbing brushes have been discussed already above.  They can also be a good choice if the operator is concerned about damaging any expensive flooring they have invested in for their facility.  

The abrasive grit brushes (see above) are usually reserved for the roughest flooring types or for floors with lots of grout.  These floor scrubbing brushes will hold up longer, and due to their construction, these are usually the most expensive brushes.