Choosing the Best Floor Scrubbers: A Comprehensive Guide

The purchase of a floor scrubber is no small investment, which is why you must pick a product that offers the greatest features within the commercial floor cleaning machine segment, that is perfect for your needs. With several options out there, it can be difficult to know exactly which floor scrubbing machines meet your needs, while offering the right features to help you clean large floor areas in the shortest amount of time.

With that in mind, let’s unpack how you can choose the right floor scrubber to help you out with your next purchase.

Watch the video below where we compare a traditional floor scrubber with an i-mop:

Upright Floor Scrubbers vs Walk-behind and Ride-on Floor Scrubbers

Designed to be portable, agile, and adaptable, upright floor scrubbers are the entry-point into the market, and provide exceptional results for smaller areas like offices, kitchens, classrooms, and compact areas. These machines make light work of cleaning jobs in small spaces, allowing you to tackle stubborn messes with minimal effort.

Upright floor scrubbers offer a healthy balance between powerful cleaning, in a compact, manoeuvrable package that can reach difficult-to-access spots in your workplace.

Automatic Walk-Behind Floor Scrubbers

These floor scrubbers have been designed primarily for those who need to clean large, relatively open spaces in a short period of time. A walk-behind floor scrubber can make the process easy for the operator with an assisted wheel-driven motor. These machines operate using electric motors or lithium-ion batteries, providing reliable power and making them simple to use.

Ride-on Floor Scrubbers

Ride-on floor scrubbers are the largest floor-cleaning machines on the market, making them perfect for cleaning the floors of warehouses, large lobbies, and high-traffic hallways. These machines are built to be durable, withstanding heavy use in demanding commercial environments. They make the process comfortable for the operator while offering high cleaning power and speed. Maintaining ride-on floor scrubbers through regular cleaning, inspections, and proper storage is essential to ensure optimal performance and extend their lifespan.

Single vs Dual brush design

An important factor to consider when purchasing a floor scrubber is the brush design. Brush speed, measured in RPM, significantly impacts cleaning performance—higher brush speeds can enhance both cleaning and polishing efficiency. While a single brush design is more than adequate for smaller areas, utilising a dual brush floor scrubber enables a larger cleaning area.

This means that a floor scrubber with a dual brush design can decrease your cleaning times and increase your overall efficiency and productivity. It also offers better penetration into grout lines, while offering nearly double the downward pressure per square centimetre. The design of the cleaning head, including its width and maneuverability, is crucial for effective edge-to-edge cleaning and reaching into grout lines.

The i-mop , for example, uses a dual brush design that offers cleaning coverage between 37-62cm while applying more pressure to lift stubborn stains from your floor. The inclusion of rollers in the cleaning head further enhances cleaning coverage and helps separate debris and liquids for improved results.

How to Work Out the Cleaning Power of Your Floor Scrubber

Sometimes it can be difficult to get a clear picture of just how much power is on offer in your chosen floor scrubbing machine. Cleaning power is often tested through specific performance tests, such as stain removal and debris pick-up, to provide a standardized measure of effectiveness. Manufacturers also test their machines using standardized tests to ensure reliable and consistent results. Thankfully, there’s an easy way to work this out.

To find out the cleaning power of your floor scrubber, you simply multiply the revolutions per minute (RPM) of the brushes by the weight applied to those brushes. These figures are based on rigorous tests and have been tested for accuracy to reflect real-world performance.

You can see below that the high-speed brushes result in a significantly larger cleaning power figure than a conventional floor scrubber that has brushes spinning at a lower RPM.

Edge Cleaning & Maneuverability

You can have all the cleaning power in the world, but if you need to clean tight, compact areas, having a floor scrubber designed with edge cleaning and manoeuvrability should remain a key priority. It's essential to choose a machine that can effectively clean edges and tight spaces, ensuring no dirt or debris is left behind.

A traditional floor scrubber/drier often requires you to leave a gap between the unit and the edge of the wall so it can be turned around. This means that there’s a sizable gap that needs to be either mopped by hand or with a smaller unit.

This is a great example of a flexible, manoeuvrable package that is able to turn 360 degrees on the spot, allowing easy access to tight areas.

Size & Weight

As you move from upright scrubbers to larger walk-behind units, they are significantly bulkier and heavier. It's important to remember that a larger unit doesn't guarantee a better cleaning result, so opt for a scrubber that meets your needs and comes in a reasonably-sized package.

As you can see, the i-mop XXL offers brush coverage of 62cm, which is more coverage than a 200kg walk-behind floor scrubber. This becomes an important consideration when we think about moving the floor scrubber, with a more compact unit offering far more flexibility than a hefty unit.

Battery Technology

A number of floor scrubbers are powered by a lead/acid or a gel battery pack, which are overall less suited to regular use and long lifespans than lithium-ion battery packs offer, and also require more maintenance.

It's essential to consider the depth of discharge, or DOD figure, which simply means the percentage of the battery being discharged relative to the runtime capacity of the battery. Lead/acid and gel batteries experience significantly reduced cycle life if they're discharged below 50% of their overall capacity.

This means that while some floor scrubbers advertise four hours of use time, but have a recommended DOD figure of 50%, you should be fully recharging the battery after two hours of use to maintain the health of the battery.

Lithium-ion battery packs, on the other hand, require zero maintenance and can be continuously discharged up to 100% DOD with no impact on the cycle life, meaning they last 3-4 times longer than a gel or lead/acid battery.

Run-time and Charging Times

Regular floor scrubbers fitted with lead-acid or gel batteries often offer 3-4 hours of run-time, while requiring at least 8-10 hours of charging time, due to their battery chemistry. The lithium-ion batteries powering the i-mop, however, offer around one hour of run time, requiring one hour to recharge the batteries. More expensive models often offer advanced battery features such as longer run-time or faster charging, providing additional convenience for users.

Better still, the i-mop features an interchangeable battery design which allows you to change packs on the fly, for uninterrupted cleaning of your floors. In fact, the i-mop can be used continuously for 24 hours a day, if required, due to its one-hour run and charging times.

Read: Floor scrubber costs vs ROI

Emptying and Refilling Tanks

To make the process of cleaning large floor areas as seamless as possible, you have to consider how the scrubber is emptied and refilled while in use. Large dirty water tanks are important for uninterrupted cleaning, as they reduce the frequency of emptying and refilling. Large walk-behind and automatic floor scrubbers often require a hose or dosing station to refill and need to be taken outside to empty their waste or recovery tanks.

Clever floor scrubber designs like the i-mop , however, can be refilled using any standard kitchen or bathroom tap, while the process of emptying the recovery tanks is just as easy thanks to the portable tank design. The machine efficiently manages liquid during the cleaning process, separating clean and dirty water to ensure optimal performance. After use, make sure the tanks are thoroughly cleaned to maintain hygiene and keep the equipment in top condition.

Read top 5 floor scrubber problems and how to avoid them.

Maintenance and Repair

Regular maintenance is the key to getting the best cleaning performance and longest lifespan from your floor scrubber or hard floor cleaner. Whether you’re using a compact upright model or a heavy-duty commercial floor scrubber, keeping your equipment in top condition ensures your floors stay spotless and your investment is protected.

Start by emptying and rinsing the dirty water tank after each use to prevent buildup of grime and odors. It’s also important to clean the brush roll and floor head regularly, removing any tangled debris or residue that could affect cleaning efficiency. For most hard floor cleaners, checking the solution tank and clean water tank for any blockages or leaks will help maintain consistent operation.

Inspect your floor scrubber’s brushes and rollers for wear and replace them as needed to ensure maximum power and effective cleaning, especially when tackling dried-on stains or heavy dirt. Periodically check all hoses, seals, and connections for signs of damage or leaks, as even small issues can impact the machine’s performance over time.

If your floor scrubber or hard floor cleaner starts to lose suction, leaves streaks, or isn’t cleaning as efficiently as before, consult the user manual for troubleshooting steps. Many minor repairs, such as replacing a worn brush or tightening a loose connection, can be done with minimal effort. For more complex issues, or if your equipment is under warranty, it’s best to contact a qualified technician to avoid further damage.

Finally, always use the appropriate amount and type of cleaning solution recommended by the manufacturer. Using the wrong detergent can damage internal components and reduce cleaning performance. By following these simple maintenance and repair guidelines, you’ll keep your floor scrubber running smoothly, ensuring clean floors and reliable operation for years to come.

Meet the Range of i-team Commercial Floor Scrubbers

The i-mop range comes in lite, XL, and XXL sizes, combining the cleaning power of advanced floor scrubber machines with the targeted agility of a mop. The i-team range is designed to clean a wide variety of surfaces, including vinyl, tile, tiles, wood, and carpets, making them suitable for almost any flooring type. These machines are compatible with a range of cleaning solutions tailored for different flooring types, ensuring optimal results and protection for each surface. They are highly effective on hard floors and can handle diverse flooring materials with ease. The i-team machines excel at removing tough stains, such as coffee, and efficiently manage dry messes, providing thorough cleaning performance.

Specialising in cleaning hard-to-reach areas, the i-scrub features a 360-degree adjustable head, making it perfect for tight quarters cleaning. The i-scrub also offers mopping capabilities, allowing users to both mop and scrub various surfaces for a complete clean.

For those looking for the ultimate in large-scale floor scrubbing technology, the i-drive makes cleaning open floor spaces and warehouses a simple, streamlined experience and features an onboard i-mop Lite mount. The i-drive is equipped for both mopping and scrubbing, making it versatile for different cleaning requirements.

The i-team range stands out as one of the best hard floor cleaners available, meeting a wide range of cleaning requirements for commercial and residential environments.

If you would like to see any of our products in action, book a demo , and we’ll come back to you within 48 hours.