FAQ: Industrial Brushes and Brooms
Common Questions about Brushes and Brooms
Learn more about brushes and brooms and their application in industrial floor cleaning equipment.
What's the difference between a brush and a broom?
In industrial floor cleaning terms, brushes are used in floor scrubbers, brooms are used in sweepers.
What's the difference between a sweeper and a scrubber?
A sweeper is an industrial vacuum cleaner that is used to clean floors of dust and debris. It is ideal for cleaning warehouses and manufacturing plants that produce a lot of dust. A sweeper may be the best choice when dealing with light, bulky, heavy, or wet debris.
On the other hand, a scrubber relies on scrubbing pads to loosen grit and grime and remove them from the floor. It is ideal for cleaning fine dust or dirt like what is brought in by foot traffic, floor marks, or grease. Scrubbers operate with water and cleaning chemicals and are more labor-intensive than sweepers.
So, sweepers are best suited for cleaning large debris while scrubbers are ideal for cleaning fine dust or dirt.
(references: sanitmax.com, thesweeper.com)
What kinds of brushes and brooms are there?
There are several types of brushes available for industrial sweepers and floor scrubbers. The most common types of brushes are:
1. Side broom: A side broom pushes debris in front of your sweeper for the main broom to pick up.
2. Main broom: The main broom is built around a heavy-duty core, with staple-set tufts aligned in spiral rows. This design always keeps bristles on the floor. It increases the efficiency of your vacuum and improves pickup.
3. Rotary brush or “side scrubber”: A rotary brush or ‘side scrub; is designed to spin and loosen debris from the ground. It has dense, stiff bristles.
4. Cylindrical: A cylindrical scrubber always keeps the bristles on the floor, moving cleaning solution to the center of the scrubbing path and loosens debris from the ground.
5. Pad driver or pad drive board: The pad driver is set with stiff 1/2” long polypropylene bristles. They are trimmed unevenly and widely spaced to give them a firm grip on floor pads.
The materials used for brush bristles include nylon and polypropylene. Nylon has an excellent brush lifespan when used for sweeping in dry conditions, performs well on rough surfaces and in high-temperature environments because of its durability and high melting point. Poly brushes are amongst the most popular, mainly due to their affordability.
(references: bing, tvh.com, thesweeper.com, scrubbershop.com, www.mhwmag.com.)
When should I replace my scrubbers brushes and brooms?
We recommend replacing brushes and brooms at least yearly, as a preventative measure, depending on how much use your floor machines receive. Keep your eyes open for signs of reduced cleaning ability as well.
When’s the best time to buy floor cleaner brushes and brooms?
Forklift of Michigan’s Brush and Broom Sale in November, of course. Save up to 40% on brushes and brooms for all makes and models of industrial floor cleaners, sweepers and scrubbers.
