I have read with slight interest about using the Cimex for cleaning hard floors.

Of late this interest has become more so.

Could someone please explain the theory and practice behind this method of cleaning??

What equipment is needed??

Presumably a Cimex, (doh), with scrub brush.

What chemical??

Problems with splash marks on walls??

Rinse and extract?? machine or mop and bucket??

Thank you al for your time and patience.

Cheers,

Shorty.

Hi Shorty,

The Cimex ROCKS for hard floor care.

1) For ceramic tile you'll need the 4807 brushes. The machine scrubs the tile well and naturally flows into the grout lines. These brushes can also be used on a variety of other textured floor surfaces.

2) For scrubbing vinyl tile flooring you can get nice results with the Max pads.

3) For stripping finish from vinyl floor tiles the Lightning strip pads are INTENSE. The Cimex/Lightning combination will strip a floor like nobody's business. I've been accustomed to seeing a a few small spots of finish left behind after stripping a floor. Not the case with the king of scrubbers - there's nothing left on the floor. Plus the Lightning pads last forever.

4) With the added weight set, Velcro drivers, and diamond discs, the standard Cimex can grind and hone marble and concrete flooring.

5) With the added weight set and scarifying brushes, the standard Cimex can scarify concrete flooring.

So you have more than a kick butt carpet scrubber. You also have a machine that can do some cool stuff on a variety of other floor surfaces.




Rick Gelinas
encapman

Rick, where would I get the added weight set, velcro drivers and diamond disks in order to grind/hone marble/terrazzo with the CR48? I looked at the Products page on your site but did not see them. Also, do you have an idea of the general cost of these items? Thanks alot -- David.

The marble products aren't on the website yet. They'll be on the site in the next few days. Please check back.

BTW, we were showing the new marble floor restoration products at Connections and they captured a LOT of attention!




Rick Gelinas
encapman

Thanks for the reply Rick.

I should have been a bit more explicit.

Ceramic and quarry tile floors are all that I'm interested in A.T.P.I.T.

After scrubbing the tiles, what becomes of the slurry??

Cheers,

Shorty.

PS: Looking forward to Connections NEXT YEAR, will it still be in Orlando??

I imagine dates will be posted on conclusion of this years event there.

Shorty
You will need to use a tile tool to rinse and extract the slurry. Well thats my understanding of how tile cleaning is done.

Also check with others more in the know about this...but i dont think you always have to scrub, sometimes using the cleaning detergent and then the rotary tile tool is all thats needed unless the dirt is really built up or you need to remove excess grout on edges of tiles.

Regards
George

Scrubbing Process)
Apply an appropriate detergent to the floor at the correct dilution. Brush it into the grout lines with the Cimex. Allow 10-15 minutes of dwell time (don't let the detergent dry on the floor during the dwell process). Then go over the floor again and slowly scrub away. You can add more juice to the floor as your cleaning to keep the floor wet.

Recovery Option 1)
Wet-Vacuum the floor and then do a final rinse with a mop.

Recovery Option 2)
Use a pressurized tool such as a Turbo to rinse and extract.

Final Step)
Put dry pads onto the Cimex and buff over the floor dry to remove any haze from any detergent residue.


Here's a link to an article that I wrote for CM magazine on this topic...
http://www.cmmonline.com/howto.asp?H_ID=1051


Shorty you've got the best scrubbing machine money can buy. The floor care world can be your oyster. Enjoy!





Rick Gelinas
encapman

I don't know if Rick carries them, but, you can get a set of grit brushes for stripping. These should also work on ceramic and grout. NOTE: anything you can do with a swing machine, you can do with a Cimex. You can even get a Cimex autoscrubber.

Rick et al,

As a final step, have you ever polished tile floors with a floor machine? A friend of mine recently did this on a bathroom floor. He added water to a polishing powder and whipped it into a slurry with a Centaur Rabbit weighted to 160 lbs. The Centaur has a built in splash guard which keeps the slurry off the walls and baseboards. The effect was dramatic, as long as he spent 5-10 minutes in an area (25 sq. ft). Before polishing, the tile and grout lines were clean but the tiles had lost their luster. After polishing, the wow factor was stunning. Does you final step of using the Cimex with a dry pad or bonnet serve the same purpose? If not, can the Cimex be used for polishing tile?