Floor Buffer Maintenance Guide
You might believe that floor buffer maintenance is some kind of esoteric task that can only be carried out by custodial wizards with years of experience. If that’s the case, then you’re wrong. Floor cleaning and regular maintenance go hand in hand, to increase your machines’ shelf life in the long run. Our experts at Performance System Janitorial compiled their favorite tips into a floor buffer maintenance guide.
Floor buffer maintenance can actually be rather simple provided that you catch potential problems before they mushroom into major issues. We have outlined what preventative methods you can implement, and how to create a cleaning maintenance schedule.
Preventative Care For Maintaining Your Floor Buffer
Each time you use a floor buffer, you’ll want to wipe it down. Make sure it’s properly clean. Grit and grime can cause clogs, which will affect various coats of finish. Eventually, you’re going to need to spray just a little bit of lubricant on the handle adjustment assembly to keep it moving well.
Maintain all of your parts as well. Pad holders have to be taken off the machine and stored individually. It’s always a good idea to examine the electrical plug as well. Those who use battery-powered buffers will also want to make sure that the contacts look good and safe.
Common Issues With Floor Buffers – And Solutions
Perhaps the most common problem people have is a floor buffer that refuses to turn on. Check the wall outlet first, because there’s a good chance that it could be having issues. Don’t be embarrassed if you find that you haven’t plugged it in either, because this is a common mistake that can happen to even the experts.
There’s also a pretty good possibility that you could have moved a floor scrubber forward so far that you’ve ended up removing the plug from the outlet. This happens to people who are working on larger floor spaces and try to move their floor scrubbers around. Simply relocating the scrubber or switching over to battery power is more than enough to solve this problem.
Assuming that it isn’t something as simple as that or perhaps a loose wire going to the battery compartment, you might want to consider the possibility that your unit has been overheating and maybe shutting itself down in the process.
Is Your Floor Buffer Machine Overheating?
Overheating is another major cause that might take a little more work to resolve. Does the unit seem abnormally hot? If it does, then it might be kicking off to prevent damage caused by an overheating condition. While it’s a serious problem, there’s a good chance that your system is doing its best to prevent any further damage if you notice that it’s happening.
Make sure that the unit is completely powered off and not moving before you try anything. You’ll want to clear out any air vents and make sure nothing is caught. At times, a fiber can get stuck on the lower motor assembly and make it overheat. If you’ve ever worked with a vacuum cleaner that got carpet fibers stuck in the rotatory bar, then you might want to envision this as much the same sort of scenario.
Most maintenance guides will advise regular cleaning in order to reduce the risk of this happening to begin with. You’ll want to always give your unit a good overall inspection when you first put it into service on any given workday. That’s generally the best way to prevent this issue from occurring in the first place.
How To Install A Floor Pad On A Floor Buffer Correctly
Each floor scrubbing pad has to be carefully balanced when you install it. Don’t allow the pad itself to get biased toward one direction or the other. Some pads tend to be a little more flexible than others, which can make this problem much worse. If you find that to be an issue, then make sure you use even pressure on all sides when putting the pad in. Once you get used to the motion needed to install them, you won’t have any issues at all in most cases.
Ease the pad down and apply force to all directions equally so that the floor scrubber pad doesn’t end up spinning more on one side than the other and messing up the floor finish. Depending on the condition of the unit, you may wish to clean up the underlying surface so that the new pad fits on there nicely.
Once you’ve gotten this sorted out, you’ll want to take a look at the power system as well. Cleaning the equipment might be advisable here as well, for extending the life of all your tool.
Battery Operated Floor Burnisher Problems
You’ve probably seen household AA batteries that get crusty on one side when they’ve been left in a device too long. Once you’ve completely powered down your unit, check for any corrosion. Clean up the contacts and see if that helps. You may want to use a gentle wire brush or another tool that will help you to reduce the amount of metallic corrosion that’s made it onto the terminals. In some cases, it will simply fall off. If that’s the case, then you don’t want to come into contact with it directly.
Fortunately, replacing batteries isn’t difficult at all. At PS Janitorial, we include fresh ones with our machine to ease your convenience. That makes it much easier to get going with any new to you refurbished device that you purchase from us. Those who have propane-powered gear will want to also take a look into this area.
How To Troubleshoot The Propane Floor Burnisher Engine
Check that the tank and piping size is correct for your particular piece of equipment. You’ll also want to make sure that the emergency shutoff valve hasn’t been unintentionally set since this would keep the gear off even when you want to activate it.
Of course, it’s also important to make sure that any propane tanks that you’re working with are in good condition. If you’re starting to see corrosion, then it’s more than likely time to phase out the container in question to switch to a safer model.
While it might sound silly, you’ll also want to check to make sure that the unit itself does have propane in it. Just like some of the issues associated with electrically-powered gear, there’s always a chance that you might just be out of fuel. The problem is easily rectified, merely by replacing the cylinder and then checking to ensure that the everything is attached safely.
Shop New and Refurbished Floor Buffers At Performance Systems Janitorial
PS Janitorial is ready to find your high-speed burnish or buffered floor. If you want a deep scrub from other floor machines, we have new and refurbished scrubbers, burnishers, and more. You can trust our experts to help you find the right buffer for your flooring surface. Contact us online today to see what’s in store. We can also hook you up with all of the parts you’ll need to keep your units maintained longer than you ever thought possible.