You have choice, Part II

In this article and on-going -You Have Choice Series,- we will be discussing choices of different specific models of cleaning equipment and how they relate to the size of the building. The introduction of the sweeper/scrubber in 1985 and the electric/battery machine in the early 1970s are just a few examples of technology that changed the industry forever and how companies look at the cleaning machine industry.

Let’s start by listing the major players in the industry. They would be Nilfisk-Advance, Tennant, Clarke, FactoryCat, Minuteman-PowerBoss and Karcher. There are some others out there such as Nobles and Windsor, but I want to try to keep this list at a manageable size. So there you have it.

These companies make cleaning equipment that perform almost any cleaning feat such as cleaning detergent recycling and double scrubbing. I consider these to be options to very specific environments. One example would be the recycling option. I would not recommend this, say for a very severe environment where oils/grease is to be cleaned up off the surface/floor. You are just asking for trouble.

So, I am going to list the square footage of companies and then give you suggestions of machines to look at when buying a new machine. Of course there are many machines to choose from, but hope this helps to begin your search.

Building size 10 -” 25 thousand square foot
– Tennant S10 walk-behind wweeper
– Clarke Focus II walk-behind scrubber
– PowerBoss Phoenix 3030 walk-behind scrubber
– Tennant 5700 walk-behind scrubber

Building size 25 -” 50 thousand square foot
– PowerBoss Armadillo 6x rider sweeper
– Clarke Focus II rider scrubber
– Factory Cat GTX rider scrubber
– Nilfisk-Advance SC6000 rider scrubber
– PowerBoss Admiral 30 rider scrubber
– Tennant T12 rider scrubber

Building size 50 -” 100 thousand square foot
– Tennant S20 electric sweeper
– Tennant T16 rider scrubber
– Factory Cat XR rider scrubber
– Nilfisk-Advance SC6500-48 rider scrubber
– PowerBoss Commander T82 LP sweeper/scrubber

You need to determine whether your needs are for a sweeper, scrubber or sweeper/scrubber. It is just my preference, but I have always preferred electric over LP when buying a machine. It is better for the environment and has less of a carbon foot print. So, keep that in mind. It is my hope that this reference lends a hand, however if you need additional help in deciding sweeper verses scrubber, I can help. Also remember that choosing the components such as the brushes and squeegees are just as important as the machine itself. The aggressiveness of the brush will determine how aggressive your scrubber actually scrubs the surface of your factory. You can always e-mail me and I can help with your due diligence for what makes sense in your situation. In the next article we will discuss the large buildings over 100K square foot.

Thanks for reading.
Creamer’s Corner is a monthly conversation with Hi-Gear’s Mike Creamer giving you advice, technical assistance, brand comparisons and on the job stories on repairing, maintaining or replacing your sweeper/scrubber. For your comments or questions, please e-mail Mike at networkeditorial@wcinet.com.