Floor Cleaning 101: Cleaning Hard Floors & When to Use Different Machines

If you are new to floor cleaning, or just interested in amping up your facility’s floor care regimen, we’re here to help. This guide will explain when to use each type of floor cleaning machine. In order to understand when to use the various types of floor cleaning equipment, we’ll be walking through a brief description of the floor care process, from cleaning the floor to polishing it to a finished sheen.

Step 1: Sweep

The floor must first be prepared to be cleaned by removing all the large debris such as cardboard, banding material, paper cups, bottles, cans, etc. If there are small pieces of debris remaining after the area is cleared of the large debris, the floor should be swept using a floor sweeper or by hand using a broom or vacuum.

Click here to learn more about floor sweepers.

Step 2: Scrub

Once the floor has been cleared of debris, it can then be scrubbed fully clean using a floor scrubber. Allow the floor to fully dry before using the area or continuing on to the following steps.

Click here to learn more about floor scrubbers.

Optional Advanced Floor Care:

These following steps are considered advanced floor care and are not necessary for unfinished floors. If your only goal is to have a clean floor, then you can stop reading here.

However, if you are working with a finished floor such as tile, marble, granite, terrazzo, etc. that is still in good condition and does not need to be re-coated with wax, you can skip to Step 5. If you want to revive worn away, dull, or scuffed floors, continue on to Step 3.

Step 3: Strip

If working on a finished floor that is showing signs of wear such as scuffing or is simply not as shiny as it used to be, the next step would be to strip the old wax or finish off the floor.

This is done by applying a stripping solution and then using a buffer or single disk floor machine (or swing machine) to buff off the old finish or wax.

Click here to learn more about buffers/single disk floor machines.

Step 4: Recoat

Once fully removed, a new layer of finish or wax can be applied to the floor using a clean mop or a wax spreader. Sometimes multiple coats are required to obtain the desired level of sheen.

Tip: There are many types of floor wax, so you might need to do some research to determine the best option based on the type of flooring you have and the level of sheen you desire.

Step 5: Polish

After the wax has been applied (or the floor has been cleaned and dried, if stripping and recoating is not necessary), a burnisher can then be used to polish the floor to a high sheen.

Click here to learn more about burnishers.