What Colour Floor Cleaning Pads Should You Be Using?
Get the best out of your Scrubber Drier or Rotary Cleaning Machine by using the right colour floor pad.
Do you know that you can wreck a floor by using the wrong colour?
Make sure you and your team know the correct colours to use.
Emerald
This is a High Performance stripping pad. This is a colour you may struggle to find in the catalogues.
It’s an aggressive wet stripping pad, more aggressive than the standard black stripping pad. Ideal for floors with a build-up of old emulsion polish.
Use with slow speed Scrubbing Machine. 100-200 rpm. (You cannot effectively strip polish with a high speed machine)
Black
The standard stripping pad, for heavy duty wet stripping of emusion polish.
You can’t effectively use any other colour for stripping (Expect the Emerald, above) and you must use this wet. If you use this pad dry you will damage floors.
Use with slow speed Scrubbing Machine. 100-200 rpm. (You cannot effectively strip polish with a high speed machine)
Green
Green is the colour for wet scrubbing/cleaning. It can be used to “knock-back” polish before re-coating.
Perfect for deep cleaning, however you mustn’t use this dry. Don’t use on polished floors, unless you want to remove polish. That said, green is no good for stripping polish, it’s not aggressive enough for that.
Ideal for use on a Scrubber Dryer for cleaning a heavily soiled or hard to clean floor
Use with slow speed Scrubbing Machine or Scrubber Dryer. 100-200 rpm.
Blue
Often overlooked, when floor cleaning pads are talked about. Half way between Green and Red it is a Polishing and cleaning pad. A very useful pad.
Perfect for spray cleaning a polished floor with heavy scuff marks. Ideal for school corridors. Also can be used for scrubbing/cleaning delicate floors where you might be nervous of using Green.
Use with slow or high speed Cleaning Machine or Srubber Dryer 100-400 rpm.
Red
Red is best know as a spray cleaning pad. It polishes and cleans at the same time.
It’s a mild floor cleaning pad. Often recommeded for use by flooring manufacturers on a Scrubber Dryer as there is no risk of it dammaging the floor or coating.
Not aggresive enough for srubbing.
Use with slow or high speed Cleaning Machine or Scrubber Dryer. 100-500 rpm.
Tan
A mild polishing pad. Generally would be used dry for dry burnishing.
Very mild, won’t damage even the softest of dressings. Used for waxed wood floor with a high speed machine. (Not many waxed floors left now)
Use with high speed Buffing Machine. 350-500 rpm.
White
The mildest floor pad. For dry burnishing or buffing of soft floor dressing.
Will burnish a polished floor to a high shine. Only use on a clean floor, this is polishing only. Can be used on a Ultra-High-Speed burnisher as long as you keep moving (Will over-heat the floor if you stay in one spot too long)
Use with high speed Scrubbing Machine. 350-500 rpm.
Light Blue Thermal pad
This is specialist pad for use with an Ultra-High-Speed (UHS) buffing machine. With this combination you can get amazing high gloss results and it makes the dressing harder wearing.
It’s very simular to the White pad, expect it has less material in contact with the floor. This is to allow more air to pass through and reduce heat biulding up on the coating.
Only use with a UHS buffing machine. 1000-3000 rpm.
Melamine Floor pads
This guide would not be complete witout including these fantastic new floor cleaning pads.
If you have ever used a magic sponge or errazer sponge, these are the same material in the form of a floor pad. Excellent for deep cleaning of safety flooring. Not cheap, but worth their weight in gold and will save you valuable cleaning time.
Use with just water and whatever you do, don’t use them dry (they will wear out very quickly if you do). Check out the useage guide.
Use only with slow speed Cleaning machine or Scrubber Dryer 100- 200 rpm.
For further information and enquiries into the hard floor cleaning services and restoration solutions that we provide please contact us at Rainbow International, Canterbury.