Scrubber Dryers for Retail and Supermarkets

Retail and supermarket floors need machines that are quiet, manoeuvrable and safe to use around customers, because cleaning usually happens while the store is open. Presentation and slip prevention matter as much as productivity, which makes this a very different specification from an industrial floor.

Why is retail cleaning different?

In most sectors the floor is cleaned when the facility is empty. In retail it frequently is not. Cleaning happens during trading hours, in front of customers, in aisles that people are walking through. Everything about the machine choice follows from that.

The floor is also part of the customer experience. A dull, marked or streaked floor affects how the store presents regardless of how clean it technically is, so the finish a machine leaves matters more here than almost anywhere else.

What matters most for daytime cleaning?

Daytime cleaning around staff or the public will require a quiet, easy-to-use machine. Noise is the first consideration, because a loud machine disrupts the shopping environment and makes staff reluctant to use it during busy periods.

Manoeuvrability is the second. Aisles are narrow, displays project into walkways and customers move unpredictably. A machine that has to be reversed and repositioned constantly is slow and awkward in a public space.

The third is drying. Because a scrubber dryer leaves the floor virtually dry, an aisle can be cleaned and returned to use immediately, without cones, barriers or a wet floor for customers to walk across.

How does floor cleaning affect slip risk and ability?

Slip incidents in retail are a genuine commercial risk as well as a safety one, and wet floors are the most common cause. Mopping a shop floor during trading hours creates exactly the hazard a retailer is trying to avoid, and it leaves a wet area that has to be signed and monitored until it dries.

A scrubber dryer removes that exposure. The floor behind the machine is dry, so there is no interval during which the surface is hazardous. For spillages, a compact machine can be brought to the area quickly, deal with it properly and leave the floor safe within minutes.

Which machines suit retail floors?

Compact pedestrian machines such as the Nilfisk SC100 and SC250 and the Viper AS4335C suit smaller stores, aisles and back of house areas. The articulated I-MOP XL and XXL are particularly effective in stores broken up by fixtures and displays, because they reach close to edges and around obstacles that a conventional deck cannot.

For supermarkets and larger stores with wide aisles, the Viper AS530R micro ride-on offers considerably more productivity while remaining compact enough for a trading environment. Larger pedestrian machines such as the Nilfisk SC530 also work well where aisles are generous and cleaning happens outside peak hours.

What about back of house?

Stockrooms, goods-in areas and loading bays have entirely different requirements from the shop floor. They see pallet traffic, grit brought in from outside and heavier soiling, and there is no need for quiet running.

Many retailers end up with two machines: a compact or articulated machine for the shop floor and a more robust machine for back of house. Where the stockroom is large, the specification looks much closer to a warehouse than to a retail floor.

→  Scrubber Dryers for Warehousing and Logistics

How do entrances and matting affect cleaning?

Entrances take the heaviest soiling in any store, because everything walked in from outside arrives there first. Grit, water and dirt concentrate in the first few metres and are then carried further into the store on shoes and trolley wheels.

Good matting at the entrance reduces the load considerably, but the entrance area will still need more frequent machine cleaning than the rest of the floor. Where the entrance uses textured or safety flooring, a brush or cylindrical configuration will clean it far more effectively than a flat pad.

What flooring is typical in retail?

Vinyl, tiles and polished or sealed concrete are the most common. Vinyl and polished surfaces need a lighter pad at low downward pressure to protect the finish and maintain the sheen. Tiled areas need a brush to reach the grouting, otherwise the tiles look clean while the grout lines darken.

→  Choosing a Scrubber Dryer by Flooring Type

See a machine working in your store

Noise and manoeuvrability are difficult to judge on paper and matter enormously in a trading environment. We will bring machines to your store so you can see how they perform in your own aisles, with no obligation.

Call CFM on 01677 426699  or request a no obligation demonstration online.