9 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Cylindrical Brushes

Managing Cylindrical Brush Wear

To keep your floors looking their best, you’ve invested in equipment, personnel, and training. What about the brushes that are on the floors every day? They’re an investment too, and here are some tips to get the most out of cylindrical brushes:

1. Raise brushes before travel from one area to another. This eliminates unnecessary wear from dragging the brushes.
   
   
2. Keep brushes in the up position when the machine is not in use to prevent the weight of the brush from causing the bristles to develop a bend or “set.”
   
   
3. Set the main brush adjustment so bristles buff a 2 in (5 cm) wide swath when contacting the floor, unless otherwise directed in your operator’s manual.
   
   
4. Use the low down pressure setting whenever possible, especially when replacing worn brushes or converting to a new brush bristle material.
   
   
5. Adjust side brush so the only bristles contacting the floor are from 10 o’clock to 4 o’clock as you look down on the brush from above.
   
   
6. Rotate brush end-for-end after each 24 hours of sweeping. This ensures the brush will wear evenly and prevents bristles from developing a bend, or “set,” in one direction. This also ensures the bristles wear evenly across the entire length of the brush.
   
   
7. On machines with two cylindrical scrub brushes, exchange front and back brushes. This will ensure the brushes wear evenly and will help get the most life out of your brushes.
   
   
8. When rotating, remove any material that may have become caught in the brush.
   
   
9. Store brushes on end rather than on their sides.