Feature: Scrubber Dryers: A look at

Co-Botics – autonomous cleaning through innovation

ICE has introduced its Co-Botics line, which it describes as the industry’s first comprehensive range of autonomous cleaning machines, from a small vacuum cleaner to a large sweeper and scrubber dryer.

Julie Kitchener, head of customer service and marketing at ICE, said: “We believe, based on recent events, that cleaning will change in the future - sanitising, infection control and measurement will be key areas that we will all need clarity and comfort around to ensure clean and safe environments. CoBotics is a very natural and progressive way of how we can help support and deliver these measures and improve wellbeing for hygienic environments - to co-exist, to collaborate, and to work cohesively within the workplace to drive standards, efficiency and sterility.”

ICE has a proven track record in being committed and invested in autonomous cleaning. Its credentials and investment span two decades of learning and understanding the market challenges and how to overcome them, the safety of people and environments, and the technical expertise and coverage to support them.

Julie Kitchener continued: “The navigation system in the ICE Co-Botics equipment is the closest to that of humans that exists, and the machines are fitted with a raft of camera and sensor technology making it very safe and reliable. It is extremely intelligent and can be fully operated, controlled, and managed by the teams on site. The equipment can be simply and easily incorporated into existing or new cleaning operations in almost any kind of environment - commercial, transport, warehousing, manufacturing or distribution, healthcare, retail, hotels, hospitality, and many more.”

Daniel Took, head of professional product at Kärcher Professional UK, looks at the range of scrubber dryers currently available, and considers the pros and cons of each.

Scrubber dryers – a buyer’s guide

ANYONE entering a building usually decides spontaneously whether he or she feels comfortable in it. The factor that influences this first impression most is whether the surroundings radiate a feeling of cleanliness or neglect. This applies to public buildings such as schools, town halls and swimming pools in general and to hospitals in particular.

Regular wet cleaning of hard and resilient floors provides the necessary cleanliness. It traps and removes not only dust, a potential carrier of germs, but is also indispensable because it helps reduce maintenance costs in the long term. Apart from operating theatres and other areas, which have to be protected against infections with scrupulous hygiene measures, there are many areas in a hospital with a potential for transmitting infections that hardly differ from other public buildings - such as entrance halls, corridors, kitchens, WCs, and washrooms.

A scrubber dryer can prove its worth in areas of this kind. Compared to manual cleaning with a mop and bucket, such a machine is often more thorough, faster and more economical. It performs three functions in a single operation: • Uniform distribution of detergent. • Mechanical removal of soil by means of disc or roller brushes. • Recovery of cleaning solution in the same pass.

In daily maintenance cleaning, a mixture of water and 1-3% detergent is generally applied, and the floor is then scrubbed with disc or roller brushes. The thorough mechanical action in this process easily removes even stubborn soiling/dirt. Another advantage is the fact that the squeegee immediately collects the dirty water and transports it into the dirty water tank. This means that the machine always uses clean, clear water and the floor can be walked on immediately, without any risk of slipping, which is particularly important in traffic areas open to the public.

ICE Co-Botics has been designed to integrate into cleaning teams, picking up the manual and repetitive tasks, which will then allow operators to focus on hygiene and sanitising activities to promote cleaner and safer environments. It’s not about replacing people, it’s about embracing technology to deliver higher cleaning standards, infection control and ‘proof of clean’. WWW.ICE-CLEAN.COM

Scrubber dryers quickly pay for themselves Generally speaking, about 85% of the expenses incurred by service providers in cleaning buildings are wages and ancillary wage costs. For this reason, the purchase cost of a machine which reduces cleaning times significantly is recouped within a relatively short period. At the same time the use of machines enhances the standing of the cleaning staff and allows an anatomically correct working posture. The motivation associated with this aspect also improves the cleaning results.

There are four basic types of machine as far as size is concerned: • Compact units are so highly manoeuvrable that they can be easily moved around obstacles. They are normally batterypowered but are also available in mainspowered versions. These very compact machines are particularly suitable for smaller, furnished areas. Continued on Page 30.

Continued from Page 29. • Walk-behind units feature a traction motor and are self-propelled. This makes it very easy for the operator to use and can cover larger areas, maximising performance and productivity. • Step-on units allow the operator to stand on a platform at the rear of the machine rather than sitting on it or walking behind it. These machines combine the safety and manoeuvrability of a walk-behind machine, whilst achieving the performance and productivity of a ride-on machine. • Ride-on machines are designed for effortless cleaning of large areas. Certain models also offer a ‘combination feature’ which combines sweeping and scrubbing in a single machine.

The choice of a suitable machine depends not only on the area of the floor to be cleaned, but also on the layout of the rooms as well as the quantity and type of dirt. Compact scrubber dryers are more manoeuvrable and easier to transport, over sills, around corners and obstacles as well as from one storey to another in a building. Step-on machines are relatively short and narrow, so they fit through doorways and into an elevator, if necessary. In addition, they provide a good view of the area to be cleaned and the operator can quickly step off to move obstacles out of the way.

Areas to be covered should not be too great where walk-behind machines are used. Models which allow the push handle to be folded over and operate in forward and reverse directions are very convenient for cleaning in narrow WCs and washrooms, for example. Furthermore, they can be stowed in a minimum of space.

Roller or disc brush? Choosing between roller brushes or disc brushes is an important decision because the contact pressure and speed of the brushes have a considerable influence on the cleaning action. At a comparable purchase price, roller brush technology is more versatile in its uses. The following applies as a general rule:

A good finish can be achieved in maintenance cleaning with disc brushes on smooth floors such as PVC and linoleum of the kind often found in entrance halls and corridors. Roller brushes have advantages on structured floors and where stubborn stains have to be tackled, since they have a smaller footprint and a contact pressure of up to 200 g/sq.cm which is up to seven times higher than that of a disc brush.

On machines with two contra-rotating roller brushes, the cleaning solution is not thrown outwards - it forms a continuous film. Less water is used in this way and the cleaning agent has a longer reaction time. Moreover, roller brushes adapt to irregularities in the floor, have a better deep cleaning action and reach up to edges and into corners so that there is less finishing work to do. Operating at speeds of up to 1500rpm, they can also be used for stripping, polishing and crystallising.

One side benefit of the enormous centrifugal forces is a self-cleaning effect. And on machines with a pre-sweep attachment, the roller brushes throw coarse and loose dirt into a bin in the scrubbing head. This saves time by eliminating the need to sweep the surface beforehand.

Flexibility ensures economical applications The perfect floor maintenance machine would be one which instantaneously adapts itself to the type of soiling, the floor and the specific requirements in the facility. In a hospital, after all, scrubber dryers have to accomplish a wide range of cleaning tasks –

for example, they have to work particularly quietly on smooth floors in corridors, but also reliably remove obstinate grease stains from rough kitchen tiles.

Modern machines offer a high degree of flexibility, including adjustments for varying the suction power of the machine as well as the contact pressure and speed of the roller brushes. For example, a scrub and dry setting of 60% is usually completely adequate to clean normally soiled floors. Stubborn encrusted stains can be reliably removed with roller brushes running at a maximum speed of 1400rpm. This power range can also be used for stripping, polishing and crystallising.

Cleaning agents can be added to the freshwater tank if required or a system with automatic metering may be used. An environmentally friendly and economical metering system enables the operator to quickly react to floors with different degrees of soiling by simply pressing a button during the cleaning process. The mechanical action of the brushes and the demand-oriented concentration noticeably reduce the consumption and cost of cleaning agents. A large number of specially formulated detergents are available for maintenance cleaning of normally soiled floors, for removing limescale and urine stone in WCs or stubborn encrustations in the kitchen, but also for disinfection.

When using on-board dosing systems, the detergent container can be quickly changed over for cleaning of different areas, without having to drain and refill the machine. Furthermore, on-board dosing systems exclude the risk of undesirable bacterial growth in the tank. Continued on Page 32.

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