Thread: Pad Driver....etc

I am looking for a floor machine. What I am noticing is a lot of these used 175 machines do not have pad drivers.

Are all the pad drivers universal?

What can I use for carpet?
example: a brush what kind? or pad What color?

What can I not use for carpet?

What is good for tile and grout?

Do I need different attachments?

I am looking to buy one...ummm... yesterday...
Thanks for your help in advance.

First person to answer all the questions gets a surprise.... ?!?!?!?

The key to what will fit on your machine is called the Clutch plate. Frequently the cluth plate is attached to the brush or pad driver with 3 screws. It can be changed out to fit different machines.

About 80% of the machines all use the same clutch plate. We used to call them type C. I think that came from Clarke brand that first used that style of clutch plate. (Not sure, but passing on what I was told.)

A pad driver will usually have short stiff bristles that hold on a pad rather like sticky Velcro. They can be used for all manner of VCT pads to polish, scrub or strip VCT floors. A pad driver can also be used to turn a pad when cleaning commercial glue down carpet with an encpasulation process. Usally a white or beige pad, but some use a more aggressive red pad.

BTW- In general, the darker the color of the pad the more aggressive it is.

Brushes are measure by the diameter of the bristles and the type of fiber. For tile or carpet, I prefer nylon bristles. .022 (22 one thousandth of an inch) is suitable for most synthetic carpet. USe a bit smaller and softer bristles if cleaning wool, maybe .018.

For tile and grout, use a more aggressive bristle (larger number like .028 or even higher) plus select a brush that has bristles of varying lengths. The different length bristles allow the brush to get down into the grout lines instead of riding across the top of the tile.

You may also want to consider a shampoo tank to hold your cleaning solution. A Shower feed style brush allows the liquid to pass through holes in the brush down into the carpet or floor you are cleaning.

Another option is a CRB (Counter-rotating brush) machine that is great for getting into grout lines and also encapsulating commercial carpet.

So what did Scott get? It looks as if he answered all your questions.

A six pack of 1 foot, inch and a half vacuum line.

No but seriously thank you!

So a pad driver is a different attachment than what I would use to agitate carpet?So then the brush replaces the pad driver right?

Originally Posted by Matt Strader

A six pack of 1 foot, inch and a half vacuum line.
No but seriously thank you!

I should have known