It is not uncommon for people to assume that a floor buffer is the same as a floor scrubber. But, these two are different machines designed to carry different jobs, though cleaning basically. Perhaps, next time you happen to see some kind of a machine working on the floor of a big building, you could spare a minute to observe it closely and classify it as per the job it is performing there. Here, let’s understand the difference between the two. It will help, should you be thinking on the lines of getting into this business of building maintenance.
A floor buffer is a motorized machine that looks like a big potter’s wheel. It rests on the floor and on being powered by a motor it starts rotating. As a result, a scrubbing pad that is attached to its bottom also starts rotating. The motor is usually kept on its top, at central position of the pad. Some buffers are designed to include a solution tank. The cleaning agents kept in this tank are spread on to the floor thru the scrubbing pad. This is a helpful feature as it allows the operator to pour required volume of cleaner into it. That saves time as the cleaning agent is poured down the working machine without having to stop it. It further saves the strain of bending down to the floor for spraying of cleaning chemicals. However, the buffer is not capable of performing any vacuuming action on the cleaning solution on the floor.
So, you can make out that scrubbing surface on being driven by a motor starts rotating in a uniform circular motion. It rotates in one direction. No wonder then, that such machines are also addresses to as rotary floor machines. Therefore ‘floor buffer’ and ‘rotary floor machine’ mean one and the same thing. Some of the floor scrubbing machines may have a rotating head, which rotates along with the buffer. Others are provided with a cylindrical brush head. You’ll soon know the difference between the two.
Buffers are made to rotate at varying speeds, which may vary from 175-350 rpm. Obviously the kind of cleaning affected by a machine depends on its speed. Low speed buffers are meant for scrubbing jobs. These are suitable for cleaning floors that have in-ground dirt requiring muscle power for their cleaning. They are also ideal for removing old wax coatings from a hard surface, like a tiled floor that you often notice at grocery stores. Generally, a low speed buffer rotates at a speed of about 175 rpm.
Depending on its design, a low speed buffer can be employed for scrubbing, carpeting and bonneting. For performing such actions the machine should have a more powerful motor to perform these high friction jobs. Before performing any of these actions, check with the instructions provided by the manufacturer. Contrary to the instructions of the manufacturer, if you happen to use the machine for carrying out any of the jobs it’s not meant for; you lose benefits of warranty clause. That makes it all the more important to go thru the manufacturer’s instructions and if in case of any doubts, better to check up with the manufacturer.
High-speed buffers, on the other hand are meant for polishing of hard floor surfaces.
Typically they work at speeds higher of 1000 rpm to 300 rpm and can’t be used for any type of scrubbing work. Proper selection of the right polishing pad and the buffing spray delivers an excellent shine on a hard floor surface, something you can’t expect from a low speed or even a variable speed machine.
Floor buffers are generally power-driven, connected to main supply. Though, some are having internal batteries. Some of these machines are designed to work on propane engines too. The idea of internal batteries or propane is to do away with power cords while working. That helps, as there is no interference with the scrubbing job. Nevertheless, the advantage of working on an electric machine is uninterrupted supply for continued work without having to charge batteries or refill the fuel tank. But, battery powered models are preferred for LEED and green building maintenance programs.
Floor scrubbers or automatic floor scrubbers are just auto scrubbers meaning one and the same thing but work very differently than the machines described above. Apart from the scrubbing head, which in any case is needed, they are provided with an automatic dispensing of the cleaning solution and the subsequent vacuuming. That facilitates dispensing of cleaning or stripping solution, scrubbing it on the floor and finally vacuuming the whole affected area. All these actions are performed in a sequential order with the aid of a squeegee attachment provided at the back of the machine. Auto scrubbers have two tanks; a dispensing tank and a collection tank, so dirty water is stored separately from the clean water.
Well, automatic scrubbers are expensive machines, but it’s worth investing in these machines, as the time you save in cleaning your floors and the quality of output is worth the kind of money you put in them. One big reason for patronizing these machines for maintenance programs of big buildings is saving of operator time and hence expense.
You need to consider quite a few factors for deciding the type of machine i.e. a floor scrubber or a floor buffer, which will most suit your requirements. If you have very large areas with open and wide spaces, as in the middle of a mall, and tight areas, like say bathrooms, then perhaps you need to have both the types of machines.
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