Is There a Better Alternative to a Mop for Small Spaces?

February 07, 2023 11:12 AM by Tennant Company

Posted in Innovation & Technology, Robotic Cleaning Machines, Industry News & Trends,

The traditional mop and bucket approach was once the go-to for cleaning in tight, smaller spaces. But like everything, evolution, and transformation comes into play.

For example, in convenience stores and quick service restaurants, digital touchscreen point-of-service systems have replaced the cash register with keys to ring up a sale. In modern schools, interactive technology is used to present lessons to students instead of painstakingly writing on chalkboards.

Is there a better mop alternative for convenience stores, quick service restaurants (QSR), and school cleaning?

The short answer is yes. Floor cleaning has evolved alongside many practices that were once considered standard. The mop and bucket approach to cleaning is no exception.

It’s Time to Drop the Traditional Mop

Traditional mops are yesterday’s cleaning tools. Mops may have evolved a bit over the years, but they’re still inefficient, sloppy, unsanitary, and tough on the body and back.

If they’re still used, it’s likely because store owners, school administrators, and cleaning staff begrudgingly accept the traditional mop and bucket as the inevitable approach to cleaning in tight spaces.

Most retail outlets and schools have tight or narrow spaces that need to be cleaned regularly, like bathrooms, narrow aisles, kitchens, and entryways. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough space to maneuver a larger automatic scrubber in these spaces, so the mop and bucket approach has become the default.

But since studies show that consumers correlate cleanliness with buying preferences, floors cleaned with a mop and bucket can be a turn-off. Traditional mops tend to move dirt around, not lift it.

It’s also more labor-intensive to fill and refill the bucket when the water and cleaning solution gets dirty. In addition, there’s maintenance involved as the mop head needs to be thoroughly cleaned after each use.

What is Better Than a Mop

The mechanized mop is a much better mop alternative to clean in small areas. The Tennant i-mop® Lite has emerged as a more efficient, productive, sanitary, and ergonomic alternative to mopping.

This lightweight walk-behind floor scrubber provides robust cleaning, easily maneuvers through tight spaces, and doesn’t physically strain workers compared to a traditional mop. While deep and detailed cleaning will still require the human touch, many of the more routine floor cleaning tasks can be done with a mechanized mop. This gives your staff more time to focus on other higher-value tasks, such as interacting with customers in convenience stores or quick-service restaurants.

The i-mop® Lite is also an ideal alternative to mopping for retail operations and schools. It’s simple to operate with intuitive controls, operators can easily replace and change the cleaning solution, and it runs on an eco-friendly, rechargeable battery pack. It can maneuver 360 degrees for cleaning in tight spaces and comes with a stop and go parking stand. Maintenance is also a breeze with easily removable brushes, tanks, and batteries.

A mechanized mop provides a wide variety of benefits from:

maximizing cleaning performance
enhancing customer satisfaction
improving labor efficiency
elevating safety

With the ongoing labor shortage across most industries, having a mechanized mop can help speed up cleaning productivity and give staff more time to serve customers. While also ensuring your environment is clean and inviting.

A mechanized mop provides a wide variety of benefits from maximizing cleaning performance and enhancing customer satisfaction to improving labor efficiency and elevating safety. With the ongoing labor shortage across most industries, having a mechanized mop can help speed up cleaning productivity and give staff more time to serve customers. While also ensuring your environment is clean and inviting.

A Micro-Scrubber Built for Today

Another mop alternative is the Tennant CS5 Micro-Scrubber. The purposefully designed CS5 Micro-Scrubber eliminates the challenges of mop and bucket cleaning. It has separate 1.3-gallon / 5-liter solution and recovery tanks that ensure you always have fresh water for floor cleaning. In addition, its two-squeegee design enables your staff to clean and dry the floor in forward or reverse motions—helping to reduce slip and fall accidents.

This compact floor scrubber with a movable handle efficiently operates under and around obstacles in tight spaces. It also runs up to 50 minutes on a lightweight lithium-ion battery—and up to 75 minutes with an optional battery upgrade.

Schools Run Better with Clean Floors

It can be a real chore for custodial crews to keep school floors clean and safe, with students, faculty, and staff treading through hallways, bathrooms, and cafeterias throughout the day. Cleaning school floors with the traditional mop and bucket is ineffective and time-consuming.

Floors aren’t truly clean and sanitary; they can be slick while drying and it can be physically taxing on the custodial staff.

This is where mechanized cleaning shines. Smaller, lightweight mechanized mops and scrubbers help custodial staff clean faster, easier, and better in tight spaces than a traditional mop. They can be maneuvered efficiently around obstacles to ensure every inch of the school’s floor is clean and sanitary. They also don’t require much physical exertion because these systems are exceptionally lightweight.

Contact us for information on Tennant’s mechanized mops and micro-scrubbers for convenience store, quick service restaurant and school cleaning.

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