You. Yes you, the cleaning operator using the fossilized cotton mop along with the bucket filled with dirty and contaminated water and manually dispensed chemicals. Please, stop right now! 

Have you ever realized that you are being counterproductive with the tool that you are using while claiming to ‘clean’ and potentially ‘disinfect’ floors?

Shocked? Please read further….

Sure, the mop and bucket is an age-old solution to cleaning and, potentially, disinfecting floors. It is easy to adapt to - there isn’t much training involved, and storing it is a no-brainer. But, please, stop to mop right now. Here’s why:

1. Misleading cleaning assumption: A floor that looks clean is clean - this is an unsubstantiated assumption and a claim that is irrelevant at a time when cleaning science is so advanced! Now, you can measure how clean your floors are with an ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) Meter that accurately gives you reading about the soil or contaminants present. Setting standards of a cleaned floor can now be scientifically proven. Hence, the mop-bucket duo sails very poorly on this parameter.

2. Counter-productive: Using a mop and bucket is essentially a task that actually spatters the floor rather than cleaning it, as one uses the same dirty water back and forth. Eventually, the floor is potentially dirtier than it was in the beginning! In simple words, a mop spreads soil rather than removing. If that wasn’t enough, the following is another curveball.

3. Labour-intensive & time-consuming: The mop and bucket cleaning method are tremendously labour intensive – even a good janitor using these tools can clean just about 1,500-2,000 sq ft per hour and yet be unable to perform any other task while on duty. It’s just beyond imagination how floors in an average-sized school can be cleaned with limited manpower and within a fixed time-frame.

4. Safety & health hazards: Mops leave a wet streak on floors, which take some time to dry. As a result, the wet floor can be a cause of slips and falls. Moreover, the risk of cross-contamination with mops is super high! Despite changing the water, the cotton on the mop is a hotbed for microorganisms, and using it in multiple spaces can only make the space more contaminated. HSE folks are you listening?

5. Cumbersome method: The entire process of using a mop and bucket is pretty convoluted - fill the bucket, add the chemical, dip the mop into it, wring out excess water, mop the floor, change the water (which may or may not happen) - mop, clean and repeat…you get the drift.

6. Unclean impression: And finally, any facility where a cleaning operator is seen using the mop and bucket gives the impression of being OUTMODED, UNCLEAN AND INEFFECTIVE. Adding to the complexities, dry solution and foot marks on the floor are an eyesore!

So what’s the solution? An Automatic Floor Cleaning Machine is the ideal solution to the above!

Automatic floor cleaning machines have been used for decades now. They come in two types - ride-on (self-driving) and walk-behind (where the cleaner directs the machine from behind - manually). Robotic auto scrubbers have also made a splash in the market, but that’s a topic for another time.

So, why should one use an automatic floor cleaning machine?

1. Time, labour and cost-efficient: At its most minimalistic level, an automatic floor cleaning machine can cut cleaning times by almost 50%! It is also faster and therefore frees the cleaning operator to engage him/herself in other tasks as well - thereby, enhancing productivity and reducing labour costs.

2. Cleans effectively: Operating a floor cleaning machine does away with the need to keep refilling the tank; it doesn’t reuse dirty water, and some machines are even smarter - in that, they do away with the need to even dry mop before disinfecting. With the removal of 99.99% soil, the floors are squeaky clean and hygienic.

3. Rapid floor drying: A floor cleaning machine’s squeegee and vacuum function leave the floor dry in a matter of seconds. This means cleaner and safer floors that people can walk on without the risk of slipping or dirtying again - almost instantly.

4. Ease of use: Floor cleaning machines are much simpler to operate. They allow for accurate dispensing of the disinfectant or cleaning chemical, the clean water tank stores water for longer, the dirty water tank stores all the dirty water. It helps cleaning operators work smarter!

5. A more eco-friendly option: Floor cleaning machines use lesser water than the traditional mop and bucket and just the right amount of solution. Over-use of cleaning chemicals and disinfectants can be detrimental to both the health of the operator and the visitor, not to mention that the floors are not effectively cleaned. Floor cleaning machines allow for accurate dispensing of chemicals according to the volume of the tank and area to be cleaned. That is a good amount of saving from a consumables’ perspective.

6. Prevents cross-contamination: Using an automatic floor cleaning machine ensures that the same dirt from, say, the lobby doesn’t get tracked into smaller rooms. Machines remove and collect simultaneously.

7. Forms a great impression: Using a floor cleaning machine means that your facility is serious about maintaining the strictest standards of cleanliness and hygiene. Especially in the pandemic, it is crucial to convey this message to anyone entering your facility.

So, what are you waiting for? Find the best option for your floor cleaning solutions right here!