Floor Scrapers Guide

Floor scrapers are a great tool for removing items, buildup, and residue from your floors without damaging them. These easy-to-use tools are extremely common in warehouses and flooring installation, to remove debris from the floor prior to cleaning and other maintenance. 

Handheld Floor Scraper

For most jobs, a manual floor scraper is all you need to strip your floors. They typically come with weight classifications to help identify their intended use, including light-duty for removing gum, stickers, and set foods, medium-duty for industrial scraping, tape, and heavy dirt, and heavy-duty for stripping floor tiles, and removing carpet and adhesives. 

These scrapers are outfitted with an angled head and a dual-sided blade. The sharp side is designed for smooth, flat surfaces, while the blunt side is more useful for delicate or uneven flooring. When it comes to handheld scrapers, make sure you look at the intensity needed, as well as the length of the handle when selecting the right tool. A scraper handle that is too short can force staff to bend or reach in ways that could lead to injury. 

Ride-on Floor Scraper

A ride-on floor scraper provides a much faster job completion when taking up the carpet, VCT, ceramic tile, hardwood floor, and more. In large-scale flooring removal, a good floor scraper can do the work of five to ten employees, significantly reducing the project timeline. Especially in larger spaces, a ride-on scraper is the most efficient and comfortable option for the operator. 

One of the main considerations when looking at ride-on scrapers is weight. The weight of a machine determines the amount of pressure it can leverage when removing flooring – if you have a heavy-duty job, you will likely need a heavier machine. However, in many cases, the variability of the pitch and angle of the scraper blade, as well as speed, can be even more important than the weight of the machine. The ability to adapt depending on the job and type of flooring can be a huge asset when trying to maintain the flooring below. 

Of course, the power source can also greatly hinder the usability of the machine. When outdoors, propane-powered equipment can be used to minimize the time required for fuel changes. However, for indoor removal, contractors should choose a battery-powered scraper to avoid emissions and eliminate the noise of a gas-powered motor. The battery life is also an important factor to consider since some batteries will drop to a lower discharge rate after some time, slowing down the machine and removal process. 

Let’s Come Clean…

We want to ensure your business has all that it needs to run cleanly and efficiently. Looking for help on your next job or simply have questions? At Lawton Brothers, one of our trained professionals will be happy to walk through a free cleaning audit with you and help answer any questions you have. We understand that it can be confusing to traverse the commercial cleaning world, so leave the tough stuff to us. Lawton Brothers has been serving the Central Florida business community for over 67 years, so you can have confidence in our expertise. Give us a call today and see how we can assist you: 800.432.0813.