Who this guide is for
For anyone maintaining resilient floors: in schools and nurseries, hospitals, offices, shops, and in production areas with ESD floors. The guide covers rubber and soft PVC rolls, vinyl with a wood or stone look, very thin PVC, and linoleum and VCT with a polymer coating.
For all of these floors the manufacturer’s table specifies Regular pads, and Heavy Duty for stripping. High Performance pads are meant for hard floors: concrete, stone, epoxy and tiles.
How to recognise your floor
- Rubber and soft PVC rolls: about 2 mm thick, laid in strips, soft and springy underfoot.
- Vinyl with a wood or stone look: tiles or planks printed with a wood or stone pattern.
- Very thin PVC: a thin covering that needs a gentler programme without coarse pads.
- Linoleum and VCT with a polymer coating: the floor is protected by a layer of finish that you renew or strip from time to time.
- ESD PVC: conductive PVC flooring in electronics production and similar areas.
The programme by floor type
The tables follow the manufacturer’s table of methods. Where a job is missing, the manufacturer does not specify it for that floor.
| Job | Pad | Machine |
|---|---|---|
| Deep cleaningmedium | RG 800white | Scrubber-dryer or single-disc machine |
| Gloss upgrademedium | RG 1800yelloworRG 3500green | Scrubber-dryer or single-disc machine |
| Daily maintenanceeasy | RG 3500greenorRG 1800yellow | Scrubber-dryer or single-disc machine |
| High-speed burnishingoptional | RG 8000silver | High-speed burnisher |
| Job | Pad | Machine |
|---|---|---|
| Restore and stripdifficult | RG 400red | Scrubber-dryer or single-disc machine |
| Deep cleaningmedium | RG 800white | Scrubber-dryer or single-disc machine |
| Gloss upgrademedium | RG 1800yelloworRG 3500green | Scrubber-dryer or single-disc machine |
| Daily maintenanceeasy | RG 3500greenorRG 1800yellow | Scrubber-dryer or single-disc machine |
| High-speed burnishingoptional | RG 8000silver | High-speed burnisher |
| Job | Pad | Machine |
|---|---|---|
| Deep cleaningmedium | RG 1800yellow | Scrubber-dryer or single-disc machine |
| Daily maintenanceeasy | RG 3500greenorRG 8000silver | Scrubber-dryer or single-disc machine |
For very thin PVC the manufacturer specifies neither restoring with RG 400 nor high-speed burnishing: deep clean with RG 1800, and clean daily with RG 3500 or RG 8000.
| Job | Pad | Machine |
|---|---|---|
| Restore and stripdifficult | HD 400redorHD 220brown | Scrubber-dryer or single-disc machine |
| Deep cleaningmedium | RG 800white | Scrubber-dryer or single-disc machine |
| Gloss upgrademedium | RG 8000silver | Scrubber-dryer or single-disc machine |
| Daily maintenanceeasy | RG 3500greenorRG 8000silver | Scrubber-dryer or single-disc machine |
| High-speed burnishingoptional | RG 8000silver | High-speed burnisher |
Coated floors: the manufacturer’s programme
For linoleum, VCT and other polymer-coated floors the manufacturer has a dedicated programme, with pads and water only. The pad cleans and polishes in the same pass, so the floor gains gloss during daily work.
- Every day: one pass with a scrubber-dryer and RG 3500 across all areas; RG 8000 on very soft coatings. According to the manufacturer, one pass lifts gloss by about 20 points.
- Every 1–2 months: a top scrub with RG 800. Two passes remove the dirty top layer of the finish.
- Burnishing: RG 8000 on a high-speed burnisher once new layers of finish have dried completely, to avoid scratching. Or alongside daily cleaning, when you want gloss up to 80 points or more, fast.
- Stripping: HD 400 or HD 220, chemical-free, with water only. For heavy stripping of emulsions and coatings and prep before renewal or permanent coatings, HD 220 is the best.
Step by step
- Identify your floor and find its programme in the tables above or in the pad finder.
- Fit the pad centred on the velcro holder of a scrubber-dryer or single-disc machine.
- Deep clean a very dirty floor first: with RG 800, or RG 1800 on very thin PVC. Restore worn vinyl and PVC with damaged PUR with RG 400.
- Switch to RG 3500 for daily cleaning, or RG 1800 on matt floors. Clean with water only, one pass a day.
- For more gloss on rubber and soft PVC, use RG 1800 or RG 3500, and RG 8000 to burnish. On a burnisher, stay at or below 1000 rpm and use a slightly wet pad.
- After work, rinse the pad and let it dry.
In practice
Electronics industry, ESD PVC. The company replaced its specialist ESD chemicals with two pads: RG 800 for deep cleaning and RG 3500 for daily cleaning. According to the manufacturer’s case study, it saved up to 80% of its annual daily-cleaning costs, and the customer valued the simplicity of a solution with only two pads.
VCT with a polymer coating. According to the manufacturer, a chemical-free mechanical top scrub with a scrubber-dryer can cut coating consumption by more than 50% and save 50% of the labour in periodic maintenance.
Common mistakes
- Too many rpm on soft floors. On rubber and soft PVC rolls, gloss upgrades and burnishing at no more than 1000 rpm.
- Burnishing fresh finish. New layers must be completely dry, or the pad can scratch them.
- Too coarse a pad on a thin floor. For very thin PVC the manufacturer does not specify RG 400; deep clean with RG 1800.
- High Performance pads on resilient floors. The manufacturer’s table specifies Regular pads for vinyl, PVC, rubber and linoleum.
- Detergent out of habit. Water is enough for daily cleaning, because the pad cleans and polishes at the same time.
- Stripping too soon. Try two passes of RG 800 first, which remove the dirty top layer. Keep the HD pads for real stripping.
Next step
Find the pad and size for your floor and machine in the pad finder. For coated floors, choose “Linoleum and polymer-coated floors”. If you are not sure what floor you have, send us an inquiry describing the floor and the machine.
