What Types of Floors Can You Clean with a Floor Scrubber?

Using a floor scrubber in Australia is a great way to transform dirty floors in your home or workplace in a short period of time. However, it’s important that you do your research before you start cleaning a range of floors to avoid damaging any surfaces or the floor scrubber itself.

You might be wondering then, what types of floors can you clean with your floor scrubber, and which types of floors should you avoid?

In this piece, we’ll break down the wide range of surfaces that can be cleaned with your floor scrubber machine in Australia, as well as floor surfaces that can be harmed with the wrong chemicals, brushes, or pads fitted to your floor scrubber.

What Types of Floors Can You Clean with Floor Cleaning Machines?

A typical floor scrubber is effective at lifting dirt and stains from a wide range of floor surfaces, including:

- Vinyl & Lino
- Tiles
- Slates
- Terracotta tiles
- Smooth concrete
- Marble
- Cork
- Granite
- Travertine
- Ceramic and Porcelain tiles
- Limestone
- Epoxy non-slip floors
- Rubber

Many modern floor scrubbers combine scrubbing and drying functions in a single process, allowing you to clean and dry floors efficiently in one pass.

Virtually any hard floor surface can be cleaned and returned to its showroom finish. Because of this, floor scrubber machines remain effective for nearly all common types of floors. If you can mop it, you can clean it with a scrubber machine with far superior results, in a significantly shorter period of time. Floor scrubbers are easy to operate, even for those new to the equipment, and are ideal for cleaning large spaces efficiently.

If you would like to read a more detailed breakdown on the best pad, brushes, and chemical combinations for each specific type of floor, you can read our informative guide here, which covers all the major areas mentioned above.

Read this blog to see if you want to know if you can use the i-mop on timber floors.

How Floor Scrubbers Work

Floor scrubbers are essential commercial floor cleaning machines designed to deliver efficient and thorough cleaning across a wide variety of floor types in industrial and commercial facilities. These machines are built to tackle the demands of large areas, making them an ideal choice for commercial spaces such as shopping centres, offices, hospitals, warehouses, and airports throughout Australia.

The cleaning process begins with the floor scrubber’s integrated water tank, which stores a cleaning solution specifically formulated for optimal results on surfaces like tile, vinyl, and concrete. As the machine operates, this solution is evenly distributed onto the floor, ensuring comprehensive coverage. The scrubber’s rotating brushes or pads—available in an extensive range of types and sizes—then agitate the surface, loosening and lifting dirt, grime, and even stubborn stains. This scrubbing action is highly effective on hard floors, delivering a deep clean that manual methods simply can’t match.

Once the dirt is dislodged, the machine’s powerful vacuum or squeegee system collects the dirty water and debris, leaving the floor clean and dry in a single pass. This not only improves efficiency but also enhances safety by reducing slip hazards, a crucial consideration in busy commercial buildings and industrial environments.

Modern floor cleaning machines are designed with user comfort and safety in mind, featuring ergonomic controls, low noise levels, and easy maintenance. The product range includes both battery-powered and corded options, allowing businesses to choose the best fit for their specific application—whether it’s cleaning confined spaces or covering expansive areas. With solutions suitable for everything from daily maintenance in offices to heavy-duty industrial floor cleaning in warehouses, there’s a machine to meet every need.

Selecting the right floor scrubber involves considering the type of floor, the size of the area, and the level of dirt typically encountered. With the right choice, businesses in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, and across Queensland can enjoy efficient, low-maintenance cleaning that keeps their facilities looking their best. By investing in industrial floor cleaning machines, companies not only achieve superior cleanliness but also promote improved safety and a professional image in their commercial spaces.

Types of Floor Surfaces You Should Avoid Cleaning with a Floor Scrubber

While floor scrubbers remain one of the most effective methods of removing dirt and stains from your floors, they have their limitations when it comes to cleaning some floor surfaces. As a general rule, it’s not advised to use any type of floor scrubber machine on:

• Carpeted floors
• Unsealed concrete floors

The reason for avoiding cleaning surfaces like carpeted floors is that they can quite easily get caught up in the machinery, and either damage the floor surface itself or the machinery that you’re using. For carpeted or highly porous surfaces, sweepers or a floor sweeper may be more suitable, as they are designed to handle such materials without causing damage.

We also advise against cleaning unsealed concrete and pavers as they require large volumes of water to be cleaned effectively. As a result, a portable floor scrubber – which is designed to be water efficient – simply doesn’t offer the volumes of water that porous floors require to be properly cleaned. Rather than resulting in any physical damage to the floor scrubber, cleaning highly porous surfaces with a floor scrubber can be a waste of your time and requires equipment offering far more water and pressure than a floor scrubber can muster. In these cases, pre-sweeping or pre-cleaning the area with sweepers before using a floor scrubber can help remove loose debris and improve cleaning results.

It is also important to remember that not all floor types are tolerant of the same chemicals, and the same applies to the types of pads and brushes that you’re using with your floor scrubber.

If you are not sure if you’re using the right equipment and products on your floor, please check the manufacturer’s guidelines for your floor scrubber, and refer to the comprehensive guide we’ve listed above for more information.

Common Questions Answered

What do you use a floor scrubber for?

A floor scrubber is a machine designed to efficiently clean large spaces. It applies cleaning solution, scrubs thoroughly, and dries the floor all in one pass. Many establishments choose floor scrubbers because of their speed and effectiveness. Floor scrubbers are widely used across various industries, including hospitality, healthcare, and retail, due to their versatility and performance. They are a valuable addition to any cleaning team, improving efficiency and delivering superior results. Floor scrubbers support cleaning teams in maintaining high standards of cleanliness and hygiene. Compact floor scrubbers are ideal for use in hotels, where maneuverability and efficiency are important for cleaning high-traffic, furnished areas. These machines are also suitable for cleaning large commercial spaces such as shopping centres, ensuring thorough and consistent results. Floor scrubbers are often available for sale with promotional offers, making them an affordable investment for businesses.

Can you use a floor scrubber on laminate floors?

Using a hard floor scrubber on laminate floors can be an efficient and effective way to remove dirt, grime, and scuff marks. The scrubber combines water, cleaning solution, and brush agitation to thoroughly clean and maintain laminate surfaces.

Can you use a floor scrubber on concrete?

Floor scrubbers are an excellent option for effectively cleaning concrete surfaces.

References:

https://www.hakoaustralia.com.au/blog/how-do-you-use-a-floor-scrubber#:~:text=Generally%2C%20a%20floor%20scrubber%20is,is%20because%20of%20their%20efficiency.

https://cleaningequipmentservices.uk/top-3-best-cleaning-machines-to-clean-laminate-floors/#:~:text=Cleaning%20laminate%20floors%20with%20a,clean%20and%20maintain%20laminate%20flooring.

https://www.wet-inc.com/how-use-floor-scrubber-concrete/#:~:text=Floor%20scrubbers%20are%20an%20excellent%20solution%20for%20effectively%20cleaning%20concrete%20surfaces.