Floor buffer
Encyclopedia
A floor buffer is an electrical appliance that is used to clean and maintain non-carpeted floors, such as hardwood, marble, tile or linoleum. It is also known as a floor polisher or burnisher if it is a high speed floor buffer with a pad that rotates at over 1000 RPM.
Somewhat resembling a large upright, wide-based vacuum cleaner
Vacuum cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, commonly referred to as a "vacuum," is a device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt, usually from floors, and optionally from other surfaces as well. The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal...
with handlebar
Handlebar
A handlebar is part of the steering mechanism, in lieu of a steering wheel, for vehicles that are ridden on, instead of in, such as bicycles, motorcycles, tricycles, ATVs, snowmobiles and personal watercraft. It may also be simply the handles on a device such as a zip line trolley or a floor buffer...
controls and requiring two-handed steering, a floor buffer or rotary
Rotary
-Engineering and Machinery:* Rotary motion* Rotary engine, a type of internal combustion engine from the early 20th century* Rotary engine , other engines called "rotary"** Wankel engine* Rotary latch...
floor machine as they are sometimes called, use one or more variable-speed circular rotary brushes to dislodge dirt
Dirt
Dirt is unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin or possessions when they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include:* dust — a general powder of organic or mineral matter...
and dust
Dust
Dust consists of particles in the atmosphere that arise from various sources such as soil dust lifted up by wind , volcanic eruptions, and pollution...
from flat surfaces. They have a large, round scrubbing pad spinning in a circle in one direction which is powered by a small motor
Motor
Motor is a device that creates motion. It usually refers to an engine of some kind. It may also specifically refer to:*Electric motor, a machine that converts electricity into a mechanical motion...
, usually directly over the center of the pad.
Larger powered floor buffers are used in school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
s, hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
s, office
Office
An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the...
s and public buildings. These have wheels and are powered to allow user to easily move and clean items stuck on floors. Scaled-down versions are available for home use and often sold as hard floor cleaner.