Scrubber drying machines, efficient for cleaning large floor areas quickly and with minimum disruption, are perfect for businesses across diverse sectors such as retail, hospitality, warehousing, commercial buildings, and construction in Ireland. Our Dublin branch at Kärcher Hire also provides these machines to commercial cleaning companies for regular or one-off deep cleans.
Getting the right product is key for achieving the best clean. If you’re unsure about the right equipment for your needs, our rentals team is ready to assist you.
Understanding a Scrubber Dryer
Commonly known as floor scrubbers and scrubber driers, scrubber dryers utilise a moving ‘brush’ to ‘scrub’ dirt and grime from various types of hard floors. This intensive scrubbing is followed by a smooth squeegee action that leaves the floor spotless and dry.
Two primary types of scrubber dryer exist: pedestrian scrubber dryers and larger ride-on scrubber dryers. We’ll discuss the core differences between these machines later.
Benefits of Using a Scrubber Dryer
Scrubber dryers are a great alternative to the traditional mop and bucket. In addition to cleaning more rapidly, they’re safer and more practical, eliminating the need to cordon off ‘wet floor areas’ or otherwise disrupt your site’s smooth operation.
When used correctly, a scrubber dryer offers the following benefits:
- Speed: Automated floor cleaning ensures larger areas are cleaned faster.
- Cost-effective: Labour savings translate to both time and money saved.
- Safer: The equipment leaves your floor dry, reducing the risk of slips for staff and the public.
- More Hygienic: Unlike dirty mops which can spread germs, scrubber dryers eliminate them.
What Floors Can a Scrubber Dryer Be Used On?
Scrubber drying machines can be used on a range of surfaces, including hardwood, painted concrete, and ceramic floor tiles, typical in warehouses, factories, distribution centres, airports and hospitals across Ireland. In outdoor or industrial settings, they can be used on painted or smooth concrete.
However, if the floor is excessively rough or substantially uneven, you might be better off hiring an industrial sweeper. Industrial sweeping machines are also more suitable in dusty environments, where too much dust could clog your scrubber dryer.
Choosing the wrong type of industrial cleaning equipment can be costly, especially if you damage the cleaning pads or brushes and these need replacing. Water and chemicals from the scrubber dryer could also damage your floor if it’s not properly sealed.
Avoid damaging your floor or our equipment by speaking to our team about whether a scrubber dryer is suitable for your site in Ireland.
Choosing the Best Scrubber Dryer for Your Site
At Kärcher Hire Ireland, we have several industrial Kärcher scrubber dryer machines available for rent at affordable prices. Your first decision will likely involve choosing between a ride-on scrubber dryer and a pedestrian machine.
Ride on Scrubber Dryer Hire
If your site is large with wide-open spaces – such as a warehouse, factory, convention centre or aircraft hangar – you’ll benefit from the largest scrubber dryer possible. The Kärcher B 250 R is a large ride-on scrubber dryer for covering very large surface areas. This machine can clean 6,000 square metres per hour (m²/h) and is suitable for sites up to 15,000 m².
The Kärcher B 300 is even bigger, with a theoretical area performance of up to 16,550 m²/h. This unit also combines a scrubber dryer and an industrial sweeper into one machine, making for more efficient cleaning over different surfaces.
If you have a large area to cover and need a ride-on cleaner, but your site has lots of corridors and other tight corners – like a hospital or school – then you can choose a smaller unit. The Kärcher B 150 is a medium-sized ride on scrubber dryer with an area performance of 4500m²/h and the Kärcher B 90 is the smallest ride on machine available. This unit has an area performance of 3900 m²/h.
Ride on Scrubber Dryer Summary
| Ride on scrubber dryer size | Model | Area performance (m²/h) |
| Large | Kärcher B 250 R | 6,000 |
| Medium | Kärcher B 150 | 4,500 |
| Compact | Kärcher B 90 | 3,900 |
| Very large (combination scrubber dryer and industrial sweeper) | Kärcher B 300 | 16,550 |
Our team is ready to help if you’re unsure which ride-on scrubber dryer is right for your organisation.
Pedestrian Scrubber Dryer Hire
Also known as walk-behind scrubber dryers, these machines are generally cheaper to hire than ride-on units. They’re perfect for covering large floors, particularly when there are many corridors, corners, and spaces to navigate.
Kärcher Hire Ireland has several pedestrian Kärcher cleaning machines available that can be hired for cleaning schools, hospitals, warehouses and other building types.
The largest pedestrian scrubber dryer is the Kärcher B 80. This machine has a working width of 650mm and has an area performance of 3,000 m²/h. The Kärcher B 60 also has a 650mm working width and can clean 2,600 m²/h.
The Kärcher B 40 and the Kärcher BR 45/22 are both medium-sized pedestrian floor scrubber machines. While the B40 machine is slightly larger, the BR 45/22 is easier to manoeuvre thanks to Kärcher’s KART steering technology.
Kärcher Hire also stocks two compact scrubber models for trouble-free cleaning in tighter environments. The Kärcher BD 38/12 has a max area performance of 1500 m²/h while the extra small Kärcher BR 35/12 is capable of 1400 m²/h.
Pedestrian Scrubber Dryer Summary
| Pedestrian scrubber dryer size | Model | Area performance (m²/h) |
| Large | Kärcher B 80 | 3000 |
| Large/medium | Kärcher B 60 | 2600 |
| Medium | Kärcher B 40 | 2200 |
| Medium/compact | Kärcher BR 45/22 | 1800 |
| Compact | Kärcher BD 38/12 | 1500 |
| Compact | Kärcher BR 35/12 | 1400 |
Most scrubber dryers use a rotating disc brush or disc pad to scrub or polish floors. This type of attachment is best for smooth floors that are easy to clean. However, some scrubber dryers can be fitted with rolling brushes, better for more uneven surfaces.
Different pads and brushes are suitable for different surfaces and types of dirt, so ensure you know which attachments will be most effective for your site in Ireland.
Kärcher Hire also offer a range of cleaning agents for use with scrubber dryer machines. These detergents are particularly useful for deep cleaning. Available cleaning agents include:
Should I Buy or Hire a Scrubber Dryer?
Although using a scrubber dryer could save you money compared to manual cleaning, these machines can be costly to purchase. That’s one reason why hiring services like ours at Kärcher Hire Ireland are popular.
There are a number of other reasons why you might choose a short-or-long-term hire agreement over buying a scrubber dryer.
- No upfront cost- Even if you purchase a scrubber dryer on finance, providers will typically require three-months of payment upfront plus VAT. With Kärcher Hire, you’ll only receive an invoice at the end of the first month.
- Get equipment fast – Kärcher Hire offers a nationwide next-day delivery service on all industrial cleaning equipment.
- Up to date equipment – Access the very best in modern cleaning technology.
- Fixed costs – For more budgetary control and better forecasting.
- No management time – Kärcher Hire take care of all the servicing, maintenance and any other equipment commitments.
- More flexibility – Equipment can be changed if your needs or contract alters.
- No disposal risk – No need to part exchange or sell privately.
- Core lines of credit kept open – Don’t tie equipment up as assets.
Looking to hire a scrubber dryer machine in Ireland? Speak to a member of our friendly rentals team today.