Street sweepers' brushes serve as the core component for maintaining cleanliness on roads, lanes, and paved areas. With their efficient debris clearance capabilities and adaptability to diverse road surfaces, they play a pivotal role in ensuring environmental aesthetics, traffic safety, and ecological sustainability. However, during operation, the bristles undergo continuous friction with the road surface. Soft-material bristles, in particular, are prone to wear over time, not only reducing sweeping efficiency but also increasing equipment maintenance and replacement costs. Therefore, mastering scientific selection, operation, and maintenance methods is crucial for extending brush lifespan and reducing operational expenditure.
Selecting the right brush is fundamental, requiring vigilance against ‘low-price traps’. While premium brushes may carry a higher price tag, their durable materials and design tailored to sweeping requirements ensure longer service life and enhanced cleaning quality. When selecting, consider the operational environment: match the bristle material, hardness, and size to the road surface type and common debris (such as grit, leaves, or dust) to minimise unnecessary wear from the outset.
Standardised operation is key to reducing wear, requiring control over three dimensions: pressure, angle, and speed. For pressure adjustment, consult manufacturer guidelines to set optimal values before operation. This ensures effective cleaning while preventing excessive friction from over-pressure. Regarding angle calibration, take the gutter brush as an example: adjust the forward and outward tilt angles according to the task to avoid excessive contact or pressure from improper angles. For speed control, adhere to recommended travel speeds to prevent additional strain on the brush from overly rapid operation.
Routine maintenance requires three steps: inspection, cleaning, and storage. Before and after operation, spend a few minutes checking the bristles for wear, breakage, or loss. If the drainage channel broom bristles are worn below 7 inches, replace them promptly to prevent failure and accelerated wear. After use, thoroughly clean debris and grime from the bristles to prevent abrasive particles accelerating wear. When not in use, store the brush in a dry, well-ventilated, shaded location to avoid material degradation from extreme temperatures, rain, snow, or direct sunlight.
Furthermore, enhanced operator training is essential. Through systematic training, operators should become familiar with the configuration specifications outlined in the equipment manual, master correct methods for pressure adjustment and angle calibration, and acquire operational techniques for diverse scenarios. Concurrently, cultivate their maintenance awareness by integrating inspection and cleaning into standardised operational procedures.
The organic combination of these measures will effectively extend the service life of the brushes, reduce replacement frequency, and ensure the sweeping vehicle maintains optimal operational performance over the long term, providing reliable assurance for road cleaning.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

