How to Clean Hospital Floors

It’s no secret that cleaning hospital floors is an important part of your day-to-day operations. But understanding how to clean hospital floors the right way can save you a ton of time, cutting labor costs and keeping the facility sanitary day in, day out.

So what’s the best way to clean hospital floors? Most facilities invest in a commercial floor scrubber machine to work smarter instead of harder. These systems put down a concentrated floor cleaner, agitate the floor, and suck it all up in one pass to leave floors squeaky clean.

Some hospitals go even further with a floor sweeper scrubber that pulls double duty, doing a dry sweep and scrubbing the floor in a single pass. We’ll help you choose the right solution, including the ideal chemicals for your hospital flooring. 

SweepScrub is your one-stop shop for all things floor care. You can learn more about how to clean hospital floors below, or connect with our customer service team today for one-on-one support, outfitting your janitorial staff with the ideal equipment and supplies. 

Benefits of Cleaning Hospital Floors

Hospital floors take more foot traffic, spills, and contamination risks than nearly any other environment, so keeping them clean plays a direct role in patient care and daily operations. Here’s why you need to make time for routine cleaning.

Earning Trust Through Cleanliness

Patients, visitors, and staff judge a facility the moment they step inside, and floors are one of the first things they notice. Hospitals already have a bad reputation for germs, so why not do what you can to change the narrative and earn trust by keeping your facility spotless?

Consistently clean floors in waiting rooms, hallways, and treatment areas go a long way in easing concerns for patients who are already under stress. This will also improve employee morale!

The Compliance and Safety Side of Things

The obvious reason you need to learn how to clean hospital floors correctly is due to compliance and safety reasons. 

Liquid spills, disinfectants, tracked-in debris, and fast movement from carts and equipment all take a toll on flooring. Clean floors eliminate slip risks, keep walkways predictable, and help departments meet the sanitation standards set by infection-control teams. 

Regular cleaning also removes residues from cleansers and disinfectants that can build up over time. This prevents tacky surfaces, streaking, and traction issues that can quickly become a bigger problem in a busy medical setting. 

Protecting Your Flooring Investment

Hospital flooring is expensive to install and equally expensive to repair or replace. Dirt, disinfectant residue, and foot traffic all dull the surface, weaken coatings, or wear down seams long before their expected lifespan.

It’s up to you to remove the grit and chemical buildup that can accelerate this damage. But, what do hospitals use to clean their floors effectively? 

What Do Hospitals Use to Clean Their Floors?

Brooms and mops are not the best way to clean hospital floors. All they do is push debris around, leave behind residue, and can re-contaminate surfaces. The nation’s best healthcare facilities invest in floor sweepers and scrubbers to uphold impeccable standards. 

Floor Sweepers and Scrubbers

Sweepers and scrubbers effortlessly remove debris and clean the floor in one controlled pass. 

Walk-behind sweepers collect dust, sand, and lint before it spreads through hallways or gets tracked into patient rooms. Scrubbers follow with detergent, agitation, and vacuum recovery, leaving the floor dry within seconds.

A commercial walk-behind floor scrubber is a powerful solution in hallways, emergency departments, and operating room wings with tight corners to maneuver. On the other hand, a commercial ride-on floor scrubber is the smarter choice for expansive corridors, lobbies, and back-of-house spaces where you just want to work as quickly as possible.

The benefit is consistency: every pass uses clean solution, fresh pads, and strong vacuum recovery, so dirt and liquids aren’t spread across the surface the way they can be with manual tools. This translates to a cleaner, safer, and dryer floor with far fewer interruptions to workflow.

Common Chemicals Used to Clean Hospital Floors

The scrubber is nothing without the right chemical cleaning agent. Hospitals rotate a small set of chemicals based on soil level and room type, including:

• Neutral pH cleaners for day-to-day cleaning of VCT, LVT, and sheet vinyl
• Quaternary disinfectant (“quat”) cleaners for patient rooms and shared areas
• Peroxide-based cleaners for organic stains and odor control
• Enzymatic cleaners for bodily fluid spills in emergency and clinical areas
• Low-foam detergents formulated specifically for auto-scrubbers
• Finish strippers when floors need to be reset during scheduled refinishing cycles

Each serves a specific purpose. Using the right one keeps floors clean without breaking down coatings or leaving sticky residue. That’s why hospital janitorial teams turn to SweepScrub for the best chemicals to clean hospital floors.

Streamline Your Hospital Floor Cleaning Process With SweepScrub

We carry the machines and supplies that facility teams depend on every single day. Our inventory includes walk-behind and ride-on scrubbers from trusted commercial brands like Tennant, Karcher, Tornado, and even our own private label line for unparalleled value.

You gain access to the pads, brushes, squeegees, and replacement parts needed to keep these machines running around the clock. We also stock neutral cleaners, hospital-grade detergents, and low-foam solutions built for scrubbers.

Whether you’re outfitting a new wing or updating your current fleet, SweepScrub makes it easy to get the equipment and chemicals that match your cleaning program. Get in touch today and take the next step towards elevating your hospital floor cleaning arsenal! 

How to Clean Hospital Floors: Step-by-Step Guide

Cleaning hospital floors is something you’ll do daily, and you can’t afford to shut down a hallway or lobby for an extended period of time. A clear system helps your team move fast while keeping clinical areas safe for patients, visitors, and staff. Here’s how to clean hospital floors.  

Prep the Area and Set Up Safety Signs

Start by figuring out where you’re going to clean and block the area off with wet floor signs or temporary barriers. Clear away carts, chairs, IV poles, and movable equipment so the scrubber has a straight path.

The goal is to prevent staff or patients from walking through the work zone while the floor is still wet. Prepping the area also gives you a chance to spot spills, sharps containers, or clinical waste that needs to be handled before cleaning begins.

Remove Dry Debris With a Floor Sweeper

Running a sweeper first removes lint, grit, dust, and hair. These things would otherwise clog pads and reduce cleaning quality if left on the floor. Worse, they could have an abrasive effect on the floor when you start scrubbing.

So, take your time sweeping the floor effectively - ideally, with a machine rather than a broom. If you have to sweep manually, we suggest a wide cloth push broom so you’re not just stirring particles up into the air.

Choose the Right Neutral or Hospital-Grade Cleaner

Decide which cleaning agent makes the most sense for whatever floor you’re working with. Neutral pH solutions work well for cleaning hallways and rooms with vinyl flooring. A quat-based or peroxide-based cleaner may be necessary for patient areas or bathrooms, though.

Whatever you do, make sure you’re choosing a low-foaming detergent for use in your floor scrubber. This way, the recovery system stays efficient. You also need to double-check dilution ratios. Too much chemical can leave residue, while too little won’t get the job done right.

Operate Your Floor Scrubber Methodically

Take your time to learn how to operate your floor scrubber properly. It should come with detailed manuals for usage. Fill the machine with fresh solution and install the correct pad or brush. Run the scrubber in straight, overlapping passes to avoid missed areas.

The best way to clean hospital floors is to let the pad do the work. Pushing or rushing causes uneven cleaning. Make sure the vacuum recovery system is on so the floor dries fast behind the machine. This way you can reopen hallways quickly and not worry about slip risks.

Address Corners, Edges, and High-Touch Zones

Most floor scrubbers, even walk-behind units, won’t reach tight corners or areas around medical equipment bases. You’ll need to do some detail work in these zones with a microfiber mop or handheld scrubber.

Pay attention to door thresholds, nurses’ stations, elevator fronts, and room entrances. These are the areas in hospitals that tend to collect the most soil. They might need a quick touch-up after the main scrubber pass. 

Allow the Full Dry Time Before Reopening the Area

Floors need a short period to fully dry, even with good vacuum recovery. Keeping the area blocked off prevents slip incidents and keeps contaminants from being tracked into freshly cleaned spaces. It could very well save you a lawsuit! 

Parting Thoughts on the Best Way to Clean Hospital Floors

That does it for our guide on how to clean hospital floors. We hope you feel confident in the best way to clean hospital floors at this point - from the equipment to the supplies you need for a smooth, streamlined workflow.

You can learn more about how to clean concrete floors, cleaning warehouse floors, or school floor cleaning in our blog. We are proud to help janitorial staff across the country work smarter instead of harder.

But whether you’re looking for a tile floor cleaner machine or the best commercial carpet cleaner machine, we also stock the equipment you need to stay productive. Get in touch today for one-on-one support, and we’ll match you to the right floor care solutions!