What is the introduction of floor cleaner?

Electric powered floor cleaning machines were first introduced in the early 1900s, right around the same time vacuum cleaners came out. The first floor machines were known as divided-weight machines. With these machines, the bulk of the weight of the machine was on its rear wheels, which remained on the floor during operation. The buffer rolled in a push-pull fashion over the floor for both scrubbing and polishing.

The brushes used on these early machines were made of vegetable fibers that had been used for centuries as floor scrubbers and also for polishing. To polish wood floors, carnauba wax would be applied to the floor, and then polished to a shine by going back and forth over the floor with the buffer.

These early divided-weight machines were slow and heavy to push but not heavy enough to put sufficient pressure on the brush. They did not clean terribly well and proved difficult for most people to maneuver. The major benefits for the user were that the machines were faster and less strenuous to use than polishing a floor by hand.

It didn’t take long for the machine manufacturers to realize that more pressure on the brush was necessary to properly scrub and polish floors. This led to the birth of the swing machine, which centered its weight on the brush; the rear wheels lifted off the floor during operation.

At first, users had a difficult time using them. More often than not, a cleaning professional’s first time on a swing buffer was more like riding a wild bull at a rodeo. These machines seemed to have a mind of their own, and if the nearest wall was where they wanted to go, only training and skill could stop them.

The first high speed and variable speed machines were introduced around the late 1950s. An operator could adjust these machines to rotate at 175 to 350 rpm. During the 1960s, chemical manufacturers began introducing new types of floor finishes that produced a higher gloss shine if polished by a faster rotating floor machine.  The finish could also be spray- buffed which helped maintain the shine and the floor’s appearance for a longer period of time.

Floor cleaning technology continued to advance; the longer a floor looked good in between cleanings and refinishing, the better. By the 1970s, rotation speeds of 750 to 1,000 rpm were common. Because of the higher rpms, some floor finishes fractured or were otherwise damaged, and often pads would quickly degrade. Improved floor pads were introduced, and new finishes produced an even higher-gloss shine. Ultimately, the pad and chemical manufacturers introduced products that would hold up well with electric machines producing 1,500 to 2,000 rpm.

These machines and technology continue to advance to this day. Centaur utilizes the latest models and technology to offer top of the line floor machines, brushes, and accessories to give your floors the care they need with minimal work.

Occupation

Swabbing by Rudolf Kremlička

Floor cleaning is a major occupation throughout the world. The main job of most cleaners is to clean floors.

Reasons for cleaning floors

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The principal reasons for floor cleaning are:

• To prevent injuries due to tripping or slipping. Injuries due to slips and trips on level floors are a major cause of accidental injury or death. Bad practice in floor cleaning is itself a major cause of accidents.[1]
• To beautify the floor.
• To remove stains, dirt, litter and obstructions.
• To remove grit and sand which scratch and wear down the surface.
• To remove allergens, in particular dust.
• To prevent wear to the surface (e.g. by using a floor wax or protective sealant).
• To make the environment sanitary (e.g. in kitchens).
• To reduce ingestion/inhalation rates of microplastics.[2][3]
• To maintain an optimum traction (e.g. for dance floors).
• Reduce workload inbetween shifts (e.g. dedicated cleaning crew).

Methods of floor cleaning

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Carpets cleaned and hung out to air. Kathmandu, 1979

The treatment needed for different types of floors is very different.[4]

Slipping is a common safety hazard for cleaning methods that involve water or other liquids, especially if the floor is left wet.[5]

Sawdust is used on some floors to absorb any liquids that fall rather than trying to prevent them being spilt. The sawdust is swept up and replaced each day. This was common in the past in pubs and is still used in some butchers and fishmongers.[6]

It used to be common to use tea leaves to collect dirt from carpets and remove odours.[7]

There are also a wide variety of floor cleaning machines available today such as floor buffers, automatic floor scrubbers and sweepers, and carpet extractors that can deep clean almost any type of hard floor or carpeted flooring surface in much less time than it would take using a traditional cleaning method.

Wood flooring

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Different types of wood flooring may require completely different care depending on whether they are waxed, oiled or have a polyurethane coating. It is important to determine the type of finish of a wood floor and always treat it in the proper manner, for instance it is difficult to clear wood floor wax from a floor coated with polyurethane. Simple cleaning instructions:[8]

1. Clear the floor of any furniture that is easy to move.
2. Sweep or vacuum all loose dirt and debris.
3. Mop the floor, going along with the grain. For a polyurethane coated floor, dampen a mop with water and a few drops of dishwashing liquid. Be sure to ring out the mop thoroughly before using it on the floor. Run the mop back and forth, going with the grain of the wood in smooth strokes. Do not use water for lacquered or shellacked floors, as it can stain the wood and cause buckling.
4. Buff the floor with a soft cloth to remove any soapy residue. Cloth diapers work well for buffing since they are very soft and absorbent.

Tile and stone

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Tile and stone flooring is common in kitchens, stairs, and bathrooms. Its cleaning process can be divided into three steps:

1. Dirt or dust should first be removed with a vacuum cleaner or a broom.
2. Have a floor cleaning solution or spray bottle for the appropriate floor. If you are cleaning stone floors (marble, granite, travertine, etc.), make sure the cleaning agent states that it is for stones. An acidic tile cleaning solution can be used on ceramic and porcelain floors
3. After spraying the tile or stone floors in a small area, use a mop to clean and scrub floors. Then wipe it with dry cloth.

Vinyl composition tile

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Vinyl composition tile or VCT is a common commercial floor type. Cleaning this type of floor is done with either a mop and bucket or with a floor scrubber.

VCT requires a polymer coating or floor finish to protect it. This needs to be kept clean with dust mopping and wet cleaning (i.e. wet mopping or floor scrubber).

Cleaning agents

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For cleaning floors, when a type of floor wiper is used, a liquid of cleaning agents is usually added to the water that is used with it. The product used may also depend on the floor-type such as parquet or tiles as some products can damage the floor.[citation needed]

Floor cleaners whose formulation includes certain fragants (certain monoterpenes) can cause indoor air pollution equivalent or exceeding the harm to respiratory tracts when the time is spent near a busy road according to a study.[9][10]

Reducing the need for cleaning

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A well-maintained entrance matting can dramatically reduce the need for cleaning. For public and office buildings, about 80 to 90% of the dirt is tracked in from outside. Installing a total of 15 feet of matting consisting of both indoor and outdoor sections will remove about 80% of this.[11] Thus, about two-thirds of the dirt can be removed at the entrance.

See also

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References

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