Eight to appreciate

Too many buyers make the leap from hand-mopping to mechanised cleaning without considering all the options, says James White, Managing Director of Denis Rawlins Ltd. Here he lists eight key innovations to look for.

There was a time when facilities managers and contractors with floors to clean had a pretty simple calculation to make. Have we got enough mops and cleaners to go round?

The cleaning industry has moved on. (Although even still, in a shockingly large number of premises, today’s equivalent of the 19^th century charlady is labouring on.) The technology available for floorcare continues to advance, so it pays to keep abreast of developments.

One such leap forward was the invention of the scrubber dryer. However, the design and build quality of these machines has been variable. Many users of cheaper scrubber dryers in particular have discovered that the ongoing cost of maintaining unreliable equipment outweighs the benefits of mechanised cleaning, not to mention the false economy of a lower capital outlay.

This intensified the dilemma of deciding when it was worth investing in a scrubber dryer or persevering with the old ways. But this quandary has been eased by the more recent arrival of Crossover cleaning machines.

With the capability to dispense untainted cleaning solution and vacuum-dry floors, these put scrubber dryer standards of performance within reach of a modest cleaning budget. Simpler in design and cheaper to run, this alternative has suctioned away any lingering excuse for labour-intensive and unhygienic hand-mopping. (Hence the Denis Rawlins campaign for our industry to give Mrs (and Mr) Mopp the chop.) This lower-tech solution should also remove the temptation to opt for an over-engineered machine.

However, in buildings with large expanses of hard flooring, awkward areas to clean, or high intensity of traffic, the need for a high-performance scrubber dryer is more clear-cut.

The priority then for the specifier becomes a question of procuring the reliability, effectiveness and above all, productivity, of a new-generation scrubber dryer.

As labour costs still account for 80-90% of the typical cleaning budget, high productivity is key to securing an early return on investment.

So what are the hallmarks of a cost-effective scrubber dryer? There’s a range of technical advances to look out for, along with features to avoid. I have seen scrubber dryers on the market recently that come with mops attached. This, to my mind, is an admission that cleaning performance has been compromised. If the manufacturer knows operators will regularly have to resort to cleaning by hand, then their machine is not up to the job.

By contrast, here are some of the innovations and capabilities to look for in a scrubber dryer if you’re aiming to maximise productivity and return on investment:

• Can it clean up to edges and reach into crevices and corners? The more you reduce manual cleaning, the higher the output your cleaning team will achieve.
• Does it have the flexibility to clean backwards as well as forwards? This avoids the wasted time spent turning and manoeuvring. On a ride-on machine that allows the user to work longer shifts and cover more ground, multi-directional cleaning is a major boon.
• Will it pass through doors and narrow spaces? A scrubber dryer that can adjust its cleaning width avoids the trade-off between coverage and compactness.
• What about shelving, racks and other obstacles? A machine with scrubbing deck wings will be able to clean under and around such obstructions, obviating delays and more cleaning by hand.
• Are you making the most of battery power? The benefits – in safety, flexibility and quietness – are obvious, but all too often swopping batteries is fiddly and wastes time. Operatives too will be glad their machine has a quick-change battery system so they’re back up and running for continuous use.
• How will it clean and dry differing floor types? Squeegees designed for a variety of surfaces and a powerful vacuum are essential for effective cleaning and fast drying of large areas.
• Have you considered the environment? When cleaning lightly soiled floors, an eco mode is invaluable – especially on more powerful machines – to conserve energy for when it’s really needed.
• And what about longevity? A well-engineered scrubber dryer built to last 10 years will need less downtime, reduce the cost of use, and keep paying back in productivity.

This list isn’t exhaustive. But these are eight key features that the canny facility manager or contract cleaner should learn to appreciate.

www.rawlins.co.uk

Published in Tomorrow’s Cleaning – January 2016