Floor Scrubber Brush and Pad Guide: Get the Right Setup

An automatic scrubber is only as good as what spins under the deck. Choosing between pads and brushes, and matching aggressiveness to the floor, is what separates a clean floor from a damaged one. Here is how to set up your scrubber correctly.

Pads vs Brushes

Pads ride on a driver and are best for smooth floors like vinyl, polished concrete and coated surfaces. Brushes have bristles that reach into texture and grout lines, so they suit tile, rough concrete and safety flooring. As a rule, smooth floor means pad, textured floor means brush.

Choosing Pad Aggressiveness

• White and red pads: routine cleaning on finished or delicate floors
• Blue pads: medium scrubbing of moderate soil
• Green pads: heavy soil and deep scrubbing
• Stripping pads: removing old finish, paired with stripper

Start with the least aggressive option that cleans the floor. Stepping up only when needed protects the surface.

Choosing Brushes

1. Soft nylon brushes for polished and delicate floors
2. Medium brushes for general cleaning of tile and sealed concrete
3. Grit or aggressive brushes for textured safety floors and grout

For deeply textured restroom tile, a grit brush reaches into the grout where a pad cannot.

Match Solution and Water

The pad or brush works with the cleaning solution. Use a neutral cleaner for routine work and step up to a degreaser only for grease. Set the solution flow so the floor is wet enough to clean but not flooded, and let the squeegee recover all the water so the floor dries fast and streak free.

Maintenance

Rinse pads and brushes after every use and let them dry. Worn pads and splayed brushes clean poorly, so replace them on schedule. Keep the squeegee blades clean and undamaged so recovery stays sharp. A well maintained scrubber with the right setup makes any floor easier to clean. Stock the matching pads from our floor care equipment range.