Introduction
“Is it better to rent or buy floor cleaning equipment?”
“Does it make financial sense to buy versus rent versus Lease? “
The questions have often been asked when it comes to investing in floor-cleaning equipment by building managers and owners.
If you have the same confusion, in this article, we will discuss some basics about these options that you can apply to your unique situation. We’ll also compare the cost to rent, lease, or buy a floor scrubber.
Table Of Contents
- Why Invest in an Autoscrubber?
- What are the benefits of Rent, Lease, or Buy a Floor Sweeper/ Scrubber?
- Cost Comparison to rent, lease or buy
- Would you Buy quality Chinese scrubbers Not Rent OR Lease at the Same Even Lower Cost？
Why Invest in an Autoscrubber?
Industrial floor scrubbers and sweepers are often used in: Schools, Shopping Centers, Hospitals, Kitchens and other food-prep areas, Gyms, Parking Lots, Factories and Warehouses, Office buildings, and more.
No doubt the most common reason people invest in an automatic scrubber is to save money. The right equipment—the correct size machine, with the right features—can save thousands of dollars each year in labor costs.
E.g. For contract cleaners, labor is the number one cost factor on floor jobs. We’re invented to improve cleaning efficiency, so the savvy contract cleaner will utilize the mechanical advantage of auto scrubbers every chance he gets.
What are the benefits of Purchasing Floor Cleaning Equipment?
When buying a floor cleaning machine is best?
If you intend to clean your floors regularly, purchasing your floor care equipment may be the best choice. You will likely save money in the long run.
Paying cash for a scrubber is great if you have the working capital to do it.
Buying floor cleaning equipment is going to be a much larger investment up-front, but it can pay for itself within a few jobs potentially.
You pay no interest and many times you can keep the machine going for years and years.
You’ll have the cleaning equipment you need at your disposal without having to worry if your machine of choice is available or not.
e.g. Floors that experience heavy amounts of foot traffic naturally require more frequent cleanups. Hospital floors need to be constantly cleaned to prevent the spread of germs and chemical residue needs to be immediately removed from laboratory floors. Such types of facilities will benefit from having their own floor scrubbers and other mechanized cleaning equipment.
Another benefit to owning your machine is the ease of use. It’s much easier for a building maintenance manager or janitor to become familiar with a machine that is owned by the building. This is also an important safety consideration. When using the same machine every time, the machine operator will become more accustomed to the appropriate safety precautions for one particular machine.
Besides your company will receive a higher tax deduction when you purchase outright.
So, If you plan to use the equipment for more than five years, buying a machine outright may make
the most financial sense. Also, medical buildings and some food-handling operations can’t bring in a
machine that’s been operated somewhere else due to cross-contamination concerns. For these
customers, buying is the only option.
Purchasing floor cleaning machines have advantages over renting because over time it will actually cost less to you or your company, especially if it is being used more often.
Besides, you can sell floor cleaning equipment after your need for it ends or when you want to upgrade.
There Are Some Downsides.
You’ll typically have higher costs upfront, and the value of the machine will depreciate over time. Additionally, it’s more difficult to upgrade than with a leased machine, and you are responsible for the costs of any repairs or maintenance while you own the floor-cleaning scrubber/sweeper.
On the other hand, when owning your own equipment you will be responsible for any repairs outside of the warranty and must depreciate the cost of the purchase over the IRS guidelines for several years rather than the year you made the purchase.
So there are ups and downs to buying your own floor care machines, but the pros tend to outweigh the cons for most cleaning professionals.
One item to consider keeping your machine in good condition and in its best operating condition is to have Preventative Maintenance or Routine Maintenance performed by a service professional.
What Else To Know When Buying
Before you choose to spend the investment on your own floor cleaner, make sure you buy the one that’s right for your building. For large spaces, you will likely want a ride-on model. A push scrubber is more suitable for smaller spaces.
Whatever type your floor is – linoleum, wood, tiles, or concrete – a floor scrubber is a good option especially when the floors require extensive maintenance. Instead of heavily spending on cleaning supplies, tools, and manpower to clean and maintain your floors, having an efficient floor scrubber can help cut these costs down.
Different types of flooring will require different treatments. For example, if you have hardwood flooring, you will need a machine with a hardwood setting. Laminate flooring should not be waxed, so you can
opt out of this feature if your floors are primarily laminate.
- What are the benefits of Renting Floor Cleaning Equipment？
Renting a floor scrubber is the most flexible way to go, and it is a great solution for a deep spring cleaning or when your in-house machine is down for repair. You can rent by the day, week, or month, and when you no longer need your machine then send it back.
Floor scrubber and sweeper rental prices get better if you are willing to commit to longer periods of time, but it can often also be the most expensive way to go. The good news is that your costs are typically fixed. When you rent from a reputable floor cleaning company, all maintenance including PMs, brushes, and squeegees is included.
Customers who rent rather than buy usually only need floor cleaning equipment for a short time. These customers might do a large-scale cleanup every couple of months, or rent a machine to clean up after a completed job — I see this most often in the construction industry. Many construction companies choose to rent because they only use a machine once to clean up after a large job.
Good Equipment Can Save You A Lot of Time and Money.
Others might rent to save on labor costs. The labor costs of deep cleaning can be reduced by purchasing the right scrubber or cleaner. Auto scrubbers can get the job done in a fraction of the time it can take a cleaning crew. A floor scrubber can often save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars because you can get more cleaning done in less time.
Besides, some building managers will rent floor cleaning equipment as a trial before purchase. This is an excellent way to find the right fit for your needs.
Maintenance Needs
While it is useful to have efficient floor scrubbers to maintain cleanliness in your office buildings, owning one means having to properly maintain them to extend their service life. It is important to call on floor scrubber service professionals for any maintenance and repair needs of your machines. If you choose to avail of floor scrubber rentals, however, the supplier takes care of any repair and maintenance requirements.
The terms of the rental plan
The term of the rental plan depends on your requirements. The length of terms varies from Long Term and Casual & Short-Term.
Another advantage to renting is that maintenance is included, the equipment is fully maintained on a regular basis. Thus avoiding any possible extra expenses and time hassles that may occur with equipment that was company-owned.
Long-Term Scrubber / Sweeper Rental
New and Used machines are available for Long Term Rental.
Casual & Short-Term Sweeper Rental
Our Rental Fleet of Sweepers and Scrubbers is available for Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Rental.
The supplier will deliver the machine and instruct Operators on its proper use.
They can also provide Cleaning Chemicals to suit most applications.
Besides, if you’ve been thinking about getting a floor scrubber, but want to test it out before making a commitment. Renting would be the perfect option for you because it gives you the option to rent by day, week, or month. It’s completely up to you.
- What are the benefits of Leasing Floor Cleaning Equipment？
Leasing a piece of floor cleaning equipment requires a much longer commitment. The price will be a lot lower per month. Many lease-to-own programs are available with little or no down payment. Leasing a scrubber or sweeper makes a lot of sense if the machine reduces your labor costs. Typically a scrubber can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in labor costs. Your lease payment will be a fraction of that. Depending on how you set it up this payment will also be a business expense. Some leases allow you to deduct the total cost of the equipment upfront.
However, you will need decent credit to qualify because banks look at equipment leases as “no collateral” loans. There are two major things to remember about leasing. You cannot get out of a lease or transfer them most time. Paying them off early is almost never a good option.
Leasing your floor care equipment comes with some distinct advantages. While you will not own it and you will pay on it regularly, those payments
are a fixed expense that can be easily worked into your budget. In other words, you’ll know what your expenses will be each month.
You are still responsible for repairs and maintenance of a leased machine, but it is easy to upgrade from one model to another. Leasing is a great option for companies that need high-performance, quality floor cleaning equipment, but don’t have the capital to purchase it upfront.
The cost to rent, lease or buy
Choosing to rent, lease or buy a floor sweeper/scrubber is usually based on how long you plan to keep a machine. To illustrate this, let’s compare the cost to rent, lease or buy a (hypothetical) large scrubber.
Here is the cost breakdown for a (hypothetical) ride-on unit:
Cost to Buy a Large Rider Floor Scrubber: <=$50,000
Cost to Rent a Large Floor Scrubber: around $3500 – $4000 /month.
Cost to Lease a Large Floor Scrubber: around $750-$800 /month
e.g. To Buy, Rent or Lease A Rider Floor Scrubber (Tennant T7, 32″ )
| Cost/ Month | A Rider Floor Scrubber (Tennant T7, 32″ ) |
| Buy | $29000 ( Roughly) |
| Rent | Monthly (1+) $1080 Monthly (6+) $540 |
| Lease | Monthly $750-$800 |
Here is the cost breakdown for a (hypothetical) walk-behind unit:
| Cost/ Month | A Rider Floor Scrubber (Tennant T7, 32″ ) |
| Buy | $8,000 – $10,000 |
| Rent | $90-300/day $1200 – $1600/month |
| Lease | $200 ( 5-year Lease ) |
Besides, you may have a 3-day minimum along with those delivery fees. Even though you only need the scrubber for one day, you may be looking at a $1000 bill.
If you’re a contractor finishing up a building and only need the machine for a month, renting is the cheapest option. Seems expensive, right? The good thing is all wearables such as squeegees, brushes are included with a rental. In the unlikely event the machine needs repair or maintenance, this is also provided at no additional charge.
Of course, the final cost depends on what machine you decide to rent.
Would you Buy quality Chinese scrubbers Not Rent OR Lease at the Same Even Lower Cost？
As we all know, Chinese cleaning equipment might be not as expensive as the US and European ones. You might have a question: “How much difference then? ” Actually it depends on different suppliers, you can’t find the cheapest Chinese cleaning equipment, even if you can find the cheapest while you do the comparison on your selection list, you might dare to make decision to choose them, right? Since you are looking for good value machines, which can indeed meet your needs, or your customers’ need if you are a distributor.
What should be done next then? It really takes time to find the right one who can supply good value machines like Karcher, and ICE but at an affordable price.
Ask a Quick Quotation of CY Scrubber
An easy way to find quality China cleaning equipment suppliers?
For example, you might come across Karcher and ICE’ scrubbers in Guangzhou South Railway Station，and the Jieba‘Floor air dryer in the washing room as well. At the same time, you also can find CY scrubbers at Chongqing Railway Station,
Also, you will find CY scrubbers and sweepers at the Canton Fair of Pazhou Complex.
Believe it or not, there are tons of cleaning product suppliers in China, but only high-quality cleaning products can be seen in famous public places for the long term.
Conclusion / Summary:
If the equipment is being used on a regular basis the probability of purchasing the same will be stronger than renting or leasing it. If renting costs higher than owning the equipment, perhaps it would be wise to purchase.
When renting a sweeper or scrubber, the equipment is fully maintained and serviced and is returned to the supplier at the end of the term. Generally, if you only need floor cleaning equipment for a short time, renting is the better option for you. Even if you need to do a large-scale cleanup, if it only needs to be done every few months, you’re better off renting.
A lease is slightly more expensive than renting, but at the end of the term you actually own the equipment.
Deciding Between Floor Scrubber Options
| Option | Rent | Lease | Purchase |
| Responsible for maintenance cost and repair | No | Yes | Yes |
| Pay for only when needed | Yes | No | NO |
| Ablility to upgrade to a different model | No | Yes | No |
| More upfront costs/capital expense | No | No | Yes |
| Depreciates love time | No | NO | Yes |
