Reaping the benefits of the rotary club

For many establishments, and especially those with large areas of hard floors, rotary machines play an essential role in day-to-day polishing and burnishing. But cleaning teams can often harness these workhorses to spur more effective and efficient cleaning and maintenance, says Stephen Pinhorne, National Sales Manager of Truvox International.

Whether in an office block or supermarket, a hotel or a leisure centre, heavily trafficked hard floors are a never-ending challenge to keep clean, brightly polished and invitingly ready for use.

Maintaining high standards of hygiene and cleanliness is a central ambition for the professional cleaner and having the right equipment is a prerequisite when it comes to tackling floors which all too easily become dull and scuffed from everyday wear and tear.

Choosing the right rotary machine is important for any cleaning team as it is essential to have equipment that can tackle varying needs, from maintenance jobs to buffing and burnishing to a high-quality finish.

High-speed rotary machines are designed specifically to produce a sparkling sheen quickly and efficiently. Lower-speed rotaries can often offer a more versatile and effective choice when it comes to taking on a range of tasks, from scrubbing to stripping floors or even sanding wooden surfaces – while they can also serve to buff floors to deliver a more than passable lustre.

However, depending on the sizes of the areas within a property to be cleaned and maintained, and the range of different floor surfaces, teams may need to employ a mix of machines to address the full range of tasks at hand.

Rotary machines come in various shapes and sizes, with different and complementary strengths and abilities. Top of the list for high-speed rotaries, is the need for a powerful and reliable motor that can deliver those highly polished results rapidly and over large areas.

Irrespective of the rotary’s speed, to get the highest productivity from your team, the machines they use must be well-balanced and handle easily so operators can not only achieve a high-quality finish on different surfaces but do so consistently, where necessary over long shifts.

Orbis rotaries by Truvox International are designed – and manufactured here in the UK – with these needs in mind. Key features across the range are exceptional balance combined with simple and easy-to-use controls, making them comfortable to operate and manoeuvre.

Ergonomic design and adjustable handles, combined with built-in safety features, make the machines versatile and easy to use with powerful low-level motors that allow ease of access in cluttered areas and under furniture, while a centre wheel allows up-to-the edge burnishing.

There is also a selection of accessories designed to boost the machines’ versatility and make them more adaptable for different surfaces and tasks. A quick-fit spray attachment is a useful addition, usually deployed on lower-speed rotaries, to shift stubborn stains with cleaning solution.

Large and sturdy heavy-duty wheels make the rotary cleaners easy to transport and manoeuvre, while injection-moulded brush guards and motor covers add a layer of protection for a machine that is often used intensively.

Orbis rotaries are employed in a wide range of sectors, meeting challenging floor cleaning needs from hospitals, airport concourses and sports centres to supermarkets, shopping centres and factories. The wide range of hard floors they maintain range from vinyl and wood parquet to ceramic tiles, marble or concrete.

The high-speed Orbis UHS 1500 is designed to tackle a full spectrum of floor surfaces at an operating speed of 1500 rpm, spinning effortlessly to leave a shining swath of floor in its wake. Switching bushes and pads is straightforward, so the operator can move on to polish stone, granite, marble, terrazzo, vinyl and PVC as well as concrete, terracotta tiles or raised rubber safety floors.

Where hard floors are subject to heavy use so that soiling and ingrained dirt become routine problems, high-speed rotary machines may not be the most efficient or effective solution. In this situation, lower-speed rotary machines that can spray, scrub to clean and renovate floors tend offer a more suitable mix of capabilities. This may also include additional ‘soft skills- the ability to shampoo carpets and bonnet mop.

At this end of the spectrum Orbis rotaries operate at speeds between 190 rpm to 400 rpm, with cleaning widths ranging from 38cm to 50cm.

The more powerful Orbis 400 – which comes with three cleaning width options – still manages to dampen noise and vibration.

With half that spin speed, the Orbis 200 is particularly well suited to carpet shampooing and bonnet mopping spillages, as well as cleaning and scrubbing hard floors. But it can also be easily adapted for more aggressive cleaning tasks with the addition of an 8kg weight kit.

Those who want to tackle light cleaning and intensive maintenance with just one machine have another option: the two-speed Orbis Duo Low Profile. In 190 rpm mode, it is well capable of both heavy- and medium-duty stripping and scrubbing, and – with a flick of a switch – the 380 rpm setting is ideal for spray cleaning and polishing.

As a manufacturer, Truvox International is committed to meeting the full spectrum of floor cleaning needs in just about every application. The Orbis Eco range – which is launching in Q1 2017 – is designed around the demand from many cleaning contractors for streamlined rotary models.

Powered by a 1100W motor, the new Orbis Eco rotaries come with speeds of 200 rpm, 400 rpm and dual mode. They combine exceptional handling and productivity in a highly competitive and robust package.

While this round-up can only canter through some of the main attributes of rotary machines, it may serve as a pointer to the wider capabilities and permutations available to floor cleaning teams, which are sometimes overlooked. With rotaries, no less than with other equipment, it pays to take specialist advice when it comes to finding the right model or best combination of machines to meet the needs of your premises and help staff deliver the quality and consistency of cleaning performance we all want.

Published in Cleaning & Maintenance – January 2017