Floor Scrubber vs Mop: Why Mopping Isn’t Enough for Commercial Cleaning

Quick Summary:

Learn how floor scrubbers outperform mops in cleaning performance, speed, and safety. See the cost and labor comparisons between floor scrubbers vs. mops, and get quotes on scrubbers suited for your space and budget. 

Upgrade Your Cleaning Methods 

Mopping vs. Scrubbing

If you're still mopping a facility over 10,000 sq ft, you're probably falling short on hygiene standards and wasting labor hours you could be saving with a stand-behind or sit-on scrubber machine. 

Traditional buckets and mops can’t clean at the same speed or efficiency that floor scrubbers can. Mops simply spread dirt around on the surface of the floor, leaving them drenched in the process. Floor scrubbers can provide a deep clean, removing grime, bacteria and the dirty water in a single pass. They leave floors dry as they clean, reducing the risk of falls.  

“After switching to a scrubber, we reduced labor by 40% and improved floor safety overnight.”

— DeShawn R., Regional Retail Manager

The Hidden Costs of Mopping Large Facilities

Mopping may seem cheaper upfront, but it can cost you more in labor, productivity loss, and health and safety risks over time. Cleaning a 50,000 sq foot facility with a mop can take 6 - 8 hours. During that cleaning shift, there's a high risk of slip-and-floor incidents because floors take up to 30 minutes to dry.

Unlike floor scrubbers, which have separate tanks for clean and dirty water, mops use the same dirty water bucket. If your cleaning staff doesn’t replace the dirty water with clean water frequently during their shift, mopping can actually spread floor bacteria instead of eliminating it. 

Factoring in labor costs, the main drawback of a floor scrubber vs. mop is you’re paying more staff for less efficient work.

How Floor Scrubbers Clean Better

Unlike mops, which re-use the same dirty water, floor scrubbers ensure sanitary, streak-free results using a 3-step process:

1. Dispense fresh water and a cleaning solution from the solution to the floor.
   
2. Scrub the floors with rotating brushes or pads.
   
3. Vacuum the dirty water into a recovery tank, leaving floors clean and dry.

Get more details on how commercial floor scrubbers work. →

Health & Safety Advantages

Aside from their clear cleaning advantages, floor scrubbers offer greater health and safety advantages than mops, too. Using a floor scrubber vs. mop can help you achieve:

• Cleaner Floors: By removing bacteria, oils, dust, and allergens, not just pushing it around.
  
• Fewer Accidents: By suctioning up dirty water to remove moisture and slippery residue.
  
• Compliance: By meeting OSHA cleanliness and floor-dryness standards.
  
• Eco-Friendliness: By using less water and fewer harsh chemicals to clean.

Floor Scrubber vs. Mop Time Savings

See how much time and labor you can save switching from a mop to a floor scrubber using our real-world comparison chart:

Signs You’ve Outgrown Mopping

• Your facility is larger than 10,000 sq feet

• Your cleaners spend 3+ hours per day mopping

• You have tight cleaning schedules between shifts

• You’ve had slip-and-fall incidents

• Your floors are visibly dirty, even after cleaning

If you checked yes to any of the boxes above, it’s time to upgrade to a commercial floor scrubber. 

When Is Mopping Still Okay?

Mops still work great for small spills, spot cleaning, and tight, irregular spaces with low traffic. If you work in a small residential space, chances are mopping is still okay. 

For all other applications, a scrubber saves time and improves results.

Ready to Make the Switch?

ScrubberShop makes it easy to find the best commercial floor scrubber for your facility. Compare pricing on walk-behind or ride-on scrubbers and get quotes from the top-rated dealers in your area in minutes. 

FAQs: Floor Scrubber vs. Mop