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How to Choose the Right Floor Scrubber | Commercial Cleaning Machines

Shaun Herman
9:55 pm

A guide from the team who work with these machines every day

If you’re looking for a floor scrubber, the choices can get overwhelming fast. Different floors, brands and price points. Everyone claims theirs is the best.

We spend our days in hospitals, aged care homes, schools and hotels across South East Queensland. One thing we’ve learned is that the right machine is the one that actually suits your site, not just the spec sheet.

Here’s how we help customers pick the best commercial floor cleaning machine for long term performance, low repair costs and reliable results.

1. Match the floor surface

This is the first and most important step. We often see sites buy a machine that looks great on paper, only to find it won’t clean or pick up water properly on their floor type.

Safety and non-slip flooring

Commercial kitchens, event vennues and aged care usually have grippy, textured floors that trap dirt. The Duplex 340 and Duplex 420 are built for this. Their rotating brushes dig deep into the ridges to clean this type of surface.

We’ve replaced plenty of cheap imports that just skim over the surface and leave black marks and puddles of water.

Smooth vinyl and tile floors

In hospitals, you want streak-free cleaning and minimal downtime. The Tennant T300 and T500 are ideal ,quiet, powerful and easy to handle. They’re a proven workhorse in healthcare.

Epoxy and concrete floors

For larger spaces such as halls or warehouses, the Tennant T7, T12 or Nilfisk BR755 are our preferred options. They’re heavy duty, comfortable for operators and designed for long daily use.

See our full range of floor scrubbers for sale

2. Match the duty cycle

How many hours a day your team runs the scrubber makes a big difference.

If you’re only cleaning a couple of classrooms, you don’t need the same unit as a hospital that runs seven days a week.

Light-duty

The Duplex 280 is fine for small or domestic jobs. It’s not something we’d put in a hospital, but it’s great for homes or small offices.

Medium-duty

Schools usually sit in this bracket. The Nilfisk SC500 or Tennant value range like the T290 deliver reliable results at a fair price, and parts are easy to source locally.

Heavy-duty

For hospitals, airports or large industrial sites, we usually recommend the Tennant T7 or T12. They’re built tough, have long battery life and world-class squeegee recovery, and are made for serious daily use.

3. Think about total cost of ownership

We often hear, “We just want the cheapest one.” Unfortunately the cheapest machine often costs the most over time.

The main hidden expense is repairs, usually linked to poor water pick up. A weak vacuum or cheap squeegee setup leaves the floor wet and adds hours of extra work.

That’s why we lean towards Tennant. Their squeegee systems are in a class of their own, and spare parts are easy to get here in Queensland.

All Tennant and Duplex parts are available through our Brisbane & Sunshine coast warehouse, and our technicians carry most common spares in their vans. Hospitals rely on this because they can’t afford downtime.

View our service plans and pricing.

4. Keep up with maintenance

Even the best machines need regular servicing. We recommend a six monthly service for most sites, and more often for hospitals or high traffic areas.

Our team checks and services every major system:

Brushes and drive motors
Battery and electrical systems
Squeegee, vacuum and recovery system
Solution and water delivery lines
Test and tag inspection
Detailed service report for your records

Keeping to that schedule keeps your scrubber performing like new and prevents expensive surprises later on.

5. Try before you buy

If you’re unsure which machine fits your site, we offer free on site demonstrations for all products we sell.

We’ll bring the machine to you, test it on your actual flooring and make sure it’s the right fit.

We also hire out Tennant and Duplex models across Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast ideal if you want to trial a unit or cover short term cleaning work.

Site Type	Recommended Models	Notes
Hospitals	Tennant T7, T12	Maximum uptime and fast parts support
Aged Care	Duplex 340, 420	Ideal for carpet tile and safety flooring
Schools	Nilfisk SC500, Tennant T300	Cost-effective and reliable
Hotels	Tennant T500, Duplex 420	Compact, versatile and easy to use

Each of these machines is backed by strong parts availability and responsive local servicing, so you spend more time cleaning and less time waiting for repairs.

6. Why choose Commercial Cleaning Machines

We specialise in floor scrubbers, sweepers and commercial cleaning machines it’s what we do every day.

As a Queensland based business, we provide:

Local expertise and fast turnaround
Direct access to parts and accessories
Friendly technical support from people who know the equipment

Our team helps you choose the right machine, set up a service schedule and keep it performing at its best, whether you run a hospital, aged care facility, school or hotel.