How to Maintain an Autoscrubber in 10 Easy Steps: An Operator’s Manual

October 21, 2022

Keep your automatic floor scrubber in peak condition by following these 10 key autoscrubber maintenance steps.

Maintaining your autoscrubber doesn’t have to be exhaustive, in fact, we’ve put together a guide to the 10 steps that you can easily incorporate into your daily routine.

If you’re a visual learner, you can check out the video below for an overview of the article.

Otherwise, if you’re looking to learn about our ten easy steps to floor scrubber maintenance, keep reading!

Daily Auto Scrubber Maintenance: How to Clean an Autoscrubber in 10 Steps

Before jumping into the ten steps of our autoscrubber maintenance guide, let’s discuss why daily maintenance is important.

Some of the most common auto scrubber maintenance problems are: poor water pick up, poor scrubbing results, your machine brush deck will not scrub, it is not releasing water, the machine will not turn on, and poor run time. You may notice that each of these problems presents a huge roadblock for a floor scrubber to effectively perform its job.

We go in-depth on the various issues, and their causes, that can affect an auto floor scrubber in our article: Causes of the 6 Most Common Auto Scrubber Problems and How to Solve Them.

Beyond saving your machine from performance problems, daily auto scrubber maintenance serves as a preventative measure. Daily checks reveal small problems before they become too big to deal with. Everyday use for a big machine like an auto floor scrubber involves vibrations and friction, which lead to wear and tear.

It is crucial to the life of a machine that preventative maintenance be performed regularly, and not reactively. If you’re responding to a preexisting issue, it is not preventive maintenance.

In the rest of this article, we will teach you what to do to reduce the likelihood of having a problem occur altogether.

Daily Autoscrubber Maintenance Guide

Here’s an overview of each step so that you can jump around the article at your convenience.

Step 1: Drain the Recovery Tank
Step 2: Rinse the Dirty Water Tank
Step 3: Take Out the Debris Tray and Clean it Fully
Step 4: Take the Squeegee Off the Autoscrubber and Rinse it Thoroughly
Step 5: Clean the Pad Driver or the Brush
Step 6: Check Your Batteries
Step 7: Drain the Clean Water Tank
Step 8: Clean the Water Filter
Step 9: Charge the Batteries
Step 10: Prop the Recovery Tank Open While Charging

Step 1: Drain the Recovery Tank

There are two tanks on an automatic scrubber. One is a clean water tank and the other is the recovery tank.

After using an auto floor scrubber, the recovery tank should always be drained. Draining the recovery tank is necessary to keep a clean system, prevent sludge buildup and stop odors from developing

To drain, use the drain hose by detaching it from the machine and holding it to a drain. If your auto scrubber doesn’t have one, you can empty the tank directly into a mop drain.

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Step 2: Rinse the Recovery Tank

The recovery tank holds slurry and other dirty solutions collected from the floor. This is the tank on top of the machine, and it should be rinsed out after draining. By not rinsing the tank out, you risk odors, mold, or mildew developing over time.

Be sure to rinse the tank thoroughly; you can tell you did a thorough job if clear water comes out when you drain.

Step 3: Take Out the Debris Tray and Clean it Fully

On most machines, there is a debris tray. The debris tray collects small to medium size floor trash like paper clips, dirt clumps, and other refuse. The tray stores this material until you complete the cleaning procedure.

The tray should be emptied after each use. If you fail to clean this out, the debris buildup will inevitably plug the tank inlet up, which is why we recommend cleaning it daily.

Just don’t forget to put it back afterward; without the debris tray, bigger debris builds up and will plug the drain.

Step 4: Take the Squeegee Assembly Off the Autoscrubber and Rinse it Thoroughly

To collect water and soap or slurry from your floors, auto scrubbers use a squeegee in the back of the brush head.

The squeegee assembly needs to be removed, rinsed, and wiped down after every use. Squeegees are typically made from linatex, rubber, and urethane. Certain chemicals can break down these materials.

Rinsing the squeegee will help protect it from damage, extending the squeegee’s life. If you don’t properly clean the squeegee blades, it can lead to streaks or patches of water where the blade isn’t level with the floor.

Step 5: Clean the Pad Driver or the Brush

Similar to step four, you want to take the pad driver off and remove any debris that has built up by rinsing it off.

Normally, you a pad is used for several days between cleanings. This is not good practice. Ideally, you should always start the day with a clean pad, and that means cleaning it at the end of the day.

Take it a step further by cleaning it after each use. This dramatically extends the life of the pad.

Pro Tip: Want to know what else you can do to extend the life of a floor pad?

Step 6: Check Your Batteries

Another incredibly important step, open the floor scrubber up to reveal its internal compartment. This grants you access to the batteries so that you can monitor their water levels.

Monitor their levels by uncovering each vent on top of the battery compartment. Peer into the vent, and you’ll see a series of plates. You want to make sure that the plates are completely covered by the water, but by no more than half an inch. If it does not cover the plates, you should add more distilled water.

Be careful to never overfill the batteries, overfilling will cause them to boil over, resulting in a mess of battery acid leaking into your machine.

Step 7: Drain the Clean Water Tank

If there is any leftover water in the water tank that is contaminated with chemicals, always drain it out. Over time, chemicals can build up in the lines, which is normal, but if you don’t rinse often, it can lead to a blockage.

Take the sight line tube off the auto scrubber machine, and empty it out into a drain.

Step 8: Clean the Water Filter

Avoiding this step is another great way to ensure your auto floor scrubber gets totally plugged up. The clean water filter prevents mineral buildup from hard water by filtering the debris that comes through the freshwater supply.

All you need to do to clean the water filter is remove the filter from the filter holder, thoroughly rinse it out, place it back into the holder, and return it to the auto floor scrubber.

Step 9: Charge the Batteries

This step only applies if the auto scrubber machine was used for an extended period of time; charge the batteries.

You don’t want to charge the battery after every use especially if the machine is only used for short periods of time. We call that opportunity charging, and you want to avoid it at all costs.

Opportunity charging is when you plug the auto scrubber machine in just because you can. This results in overheating, which can cause significant damage to the battery. Even if the damage isn’t very noticeable, the auto scrubber will have fewer cycles in its lifespan, leading to a premature battery replacement.

Pro Tip: Learn more about the dangers of opportunity charging.

Step 10: Prop the Recovery Tank Open While Charging

Last, but certainly not least, while charging the batteries, leave the recovery tank lid propped open.

Most machines will come with a mechanism or prop built in, the ones that don’t can just be left with the hatch open or off, but it is important to let that recovery tank breath at the end of the day to avoid bacterial buildup and odors.

Final Thoughts

Taking proper care of your equipment is crucial to keeping up the life of your auto scrubber and the cleanliness of your facility. In this article, we gave you all the knowledge you need to begin taking care of your autoscrubber with an effective daily maintenance routine.

Whether you’re located in the United States or Canada, Imperial Dade locations can provide your business with the tools and guidance you need to keep your floor care equipment well-maintained. We offer a wide variety of commercial cleaning equipment including autoscrubbers, floor pads, brushes, and more. Reach out to us for more information today!