Whether talking about the home or a high rise office building, when it comes to cleaning, the one task that demands the most time and energy is floor care. Fortunately, there are now tools that not only do a better job but do so with far less effort on the part of the one doing the cleaning. The floor polisher ranks right at the top of the list, with perhaps only the vacuum cleaner being more useful.
Often referred to as a floor buffer, polishers first hit the market with that initial wave of electrical appliances. Today’s models are more powerful and somewhat easier to operate, but, overall, are not that different from those early machines. Because they are shaped like an upright vacuum cleaner, novice users consistently make the mistake that they are as easy to operate. This is one misconception that lasts about five seconds after taking hold of the lever that puts the polisher into action. Although floor polishers are actually very easy to maneuver, the operation is not necessarily intuitive and requires paying attention to the instructions or training.
Floor polishing machines are typically used for a variety of projects, with some of the more common ones being stripping, cleaning and buffing. They are recommended for use on practically all types of flooring, including wood, ceramic tile, marble, granite, linoleum, VCT (vinyl composition tile) and even concrete.
In the past, buffers were even used on carpeting in a process that was referred to as bonneting. A cloth bonnet was attached to the polisher with the goal being for it to absorb the water out of carpet after it had been shampooed. The process often appeared successful for a short while, until the dirty water that was inevitably left behind started to come to the surface. Reputable commercial cleaning services no longer use this method. Not only are there far better ways of cleaning carpet, but floor polishers are powerful machines that often damaged the carpet it was meant to clean.
Despite their versatility, polishers may always be considered more of a necessity in a commercial or industrial setting than in the home. One area, however, where this is not the case is the garage. With the rise in popularity of garage floor coatings, polished concrete floors are now becoming quite common.
Whether in the garage or on the oak or walnut flooring in your den, floor polishing will most likely never become a favorite pastime. Nonetheless, it can certainly be made less onerous with the proper equipment. A floor polisher will save time, effort and make your floors look so great that you may find that it’s only drawback is that you will always be trying to figure out how to keep your neighbors from constantly asking to borrow it.
Recent Comments