Types of Mop Buckets and Wringers

Parts of a Mop Bucket

Before choosing which mop bucket would work best for you, it's important to be familiar with the basic parts of one, as well as certain variations and options available.

Wringer

With safety being a top priority for any business, keeping excess water off the floor during mopping creates a safer environment for your employees, and your guests. The wringer on the bucket allows the user to easily press excess water out of the wet mop, preventing floors from becoming overly saturated and slippery. While plastic wringers are the popular, economical choice, metal wringers provide a more durable construction for a longer life, but are costly and prone to corrosion if not rinsed and dried properly.

Bucket

Use the bucket on wheels to effortlessly transport warm, soapy water without the spills and drips often caused by carrying it by hand. Choose a bucket size appropriate for the square footage of the area you want to clean. The larger the bucket, the less time is needed to drain and refill.

Dirty Water Bucket

As its name suggests, some cleaning buckets with wringers include a dirty water bucket designed to keep soiled water separate from the clean, soapy water. This feature increases efficiency with less water changes required, making it an ideal option for large, commercial establishments.

Metal vs. Plastic Wringers

Use a metal or plastic wringer to optimize your cleaning routine and get the most out of your mop bucket. They differ in construction, but both will allow you to quickly and easily remove water from your mop head while cleaning.

Benefits of Plastic Wringers

Plastic wringers are a more economical alternative than their metal counterparts. Their lighter-weight construction makes pushing a mop bucket around your establishments less burdensome on employees. Plus, they will never corrode or rust thanks to their chemical-resistant makeup. However, they may not last as long as metal wringers.

Benefits of Metal Wringers

There are several types of metal wringers currently on the market. The most common include stainless steel and zinc. While more expensive than plastic, stainless steel wringers are more sanitary and boast a longer lifespan. Plus, stainless steel wringers are corrosion-resistant, although it's recommended to take caution when using metal wringers with extremely corrosive chemicals.

How Much Square Footage Can Each Mop Bucket Cover?

There is no set amount of square footage per gallon a mopping bucket will cover. Often, the determining factor is how dirty the water gets before needing changed.

There are several reasons why it's hard to estimate how much space can be cleaned before needing to refill your bucket with clean water. The larger the cleaning mop bucket, the more warm, soapy water there is to dilute the dirt and grime. However, a routine, low-risk cleaning will get more use out of water than a high-risk, or heavily soiled mess or spill. This is because you'll want to empty the bucket much sooner to avoid cross-contamination while cleaning up heavily soiled messes.

For smaller establishments, using too large of a bucket can cause unnecessary water waste. Plus, more water requires more cleaning solution, which is costly and inefficient. With smaller establishments, there is likely less distance needed to travel between water sources, which puts much less burden on the user when a water change is necessary.

Larger establishments typically see more day-to-day foot traffic, which allows for more outside contaminants or messes to occur. With larger area to cover, a higher-capacity bucket could allow the user to travel a longer distance before needing a water change. This, however, is still dependent on the type of cleaning being done and what type of mess is being cleaned up.

Mop Wringer and Bucket Accessories

Although you have might the perfect mop bucket with wringer for your establishment, you need to consider the right accessories and cleaners to complete your cleaning process.

• Wet Floor Sign - These allow you to alert other employees and guests of a possible slipping hazard. These signs give others notice when a floor is being cleaned so that they can avoid potential injury.
• Wet Mop - Choose the best wet mop to meet the needs of your establishment. Use this wet mop buying guide to learn more about each type.
• Mop Handle - Complete your wet mop with an appropriate mop handle depending on your preferred length, material and personal needs. Learn more with this types of mop handles buying guide.