Can You Strip Floors With an i-mop?

The simple answer is yes, you can strip your floors with an i-mop! To be clear: You would not buy an i-mop for the sole purpose of stripping floors, there are machines better suited for this. However if you’ve already got an i-mop and are wondering whether you can use it for stripping a sealed floor, yes you can.

Simply fit your i-mop floor scrubber with one of our black stripping pads, which are designed for stripping sealer, and you’ll emulsify the sealer and vacuum the solution off with a single pass.

For areas like kitchenettes, bathrooms or compact office spaces, the i-mop scrubber machine is a great tool for stripping the floors in these small-to-medium spaces. The suitability of the i-mop as a floor stripping tool, however, depends on the size of the floor space that you’re intending to strip.

For small spaces, an i-mop floor scrubbing machine is fine. For large areas – say 200 sqm and upwards – you would be better to use a conventional walk behind floor scrubber or a 40 cm swing scrubber. These machines, with their larger pad size and potentially heavier pad pressure, will give faster results than an i-mop .

Instead for large area floor stripping we would recommend using the maneuverability of your i-mop specifically for stripping the edges in your office or workshop, and using a larger walk-behind floor scrubber to tackle the large open areas.

The i-mop 's compact and maneuverable design lends itself perfectly to the task of cutting-in the edges that you’re stripping, allowing you to completely clean to the edge of surfaces that a large scrubber can’t reach.

What is the Best Floor Scrubber for Stripping Large Floors?

If you’re looking to strip the floors in a large retail store, supermarket, or high-traffic walkways in a large office setting, utilising a larger walk-behind floor scrubber (auto scrubber) in the 66 – 120cm size range is a good option.

With wider coverage and the corresponding higher pad pressures typical of these larger machines you will get a faster, better result, and the inbuilt vacuum system allows you to recover the dirty slurry and rinse the floor.

For the sole purpose of stripping agitation though, you can’t go past the sheer productivity and grunt of a gas powered stripping machine such as a Pioneer Eclipse Barracuda or Polivac Shark. These beasts have Tynex brushes and are designed for the sole purpose of stripping floors. You’ll still need a means of picking up all the liquified sealer and stripper though, which is where your auto scrubber or i-mop floor scrubber comes in.

What are the Advantages of Stripping Floors?

Stripping and re-sealing your floors is a great way to save significant money on cleaning costs in the long-term, and provide your staff and stakeholders with a clean, hygienic floor surface in the short term.

Not all floors require sealing. Common types that do include older generation vinyls, and terrazzo, granite or marble floors in commercial applications.

Once sealed, a floor that is designed to require sealing will maintain a clean appearance better than an unsealed floor. Unsealed floors will tend to grab dirt and get dirty quickly.

The major benefits of stripping and re-sealing floors include:

- Providing a new, attractive, and shiny floor surface
- Removing significant scuffs and stains that aren’t lifted with normal cleaning
- Making the floor significantly easier to clean
- Protecting the floor surface for a longer lifespan
- Providing a barrier against future stains, discolouration & contaminants

Read what you should look for in an industrial floor mop.

Typically, relevant floors should be stripped and re-treated every six-to-twelve months in busy, high-traffic areas like supermarkets, retail stores and hospitality venues. This ensures that your floors are hygienic as possible for your customers and staff members.

For any further questions please feel free to contact us directly.