Open hard floor is where an 18-inch felt Sidewinder pays for itself. Lobbies, gymnasium floors, wide corridors, ballrooms and cafeteria floors are long uninterrupted runs, and three extra inches of path width across a shift is a real reduction in passes. The felt face is the gentlest option in Sandia's Sidewinder hard-floor group, meant to glide across sealed hardwood, polished tile, VCT and vinyl plank picking up fine dust and hair without touching the finish underneath.
Built for
- Lobbies, atriums, corridors, gym floors, cafeterias and ballrooms with long open runs
- Sealed hardwood, polished tile, VCT and luxury vinyl where the finish has to be protected
- Hotel, school, church and healthcare crews maintaining floors between burnish or scrub cycles
- Operators already running a Sandia Sidewinder wand on a Raven backpack vacuum
How the Sidewinder design works
A Sidewinder head mounts on a flexible neck and swings through a full circle, so the face of the tool stays flat on the floor no matter what angle the wand is held at. Instead of pushing a vacuum head forward and back, the operator sweeps it side to side the way you would run a dust mop, standing upright rather than bent over the wand. Crews that vacuum long corridors and open floor for hours at a time generally report that the sweeping motion is easier on the lower back than push-pull vacuuming and covers a run of floor in fewer passes.
Felt versus scalloped felt is the main decision inside this size. Plain felt presents a continuous face and gives the smoothest wipe across the floor. Scalloped felt has a notched edge that vents air along the sides, which makes the head easier to push on very smooth or freshly finished floors where a continuous felt skirt can seal down and drag.
On a high-gloss floor the case for felt over a bristle head is straightforward. A finished floor's gloss is a maintained surface, and the fewer things dragged across it that can leave a witness mark, the longer it holds between restorations.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Sandia Products
- Part number: 10-0185-F
- Tool width: 18 inches
- Cleaning surface: Felt
- Attaches to: Sandia Sidewinder wands (1-1/2 inch)
- Cleaning motion: side-to-side sweeping
- Machine family: Sandia Raven backpack and shoulder vacuums
Fitment
This head is part of Sandia's Sidewinder accessory group and attaches to Sandia Sidewinder wands, including the 59-inch one-piece and two-piece wands. It is an accessory head, not a complete wand assembly, so you will need a Sidewinder wand on the machine to use it. If you are not sure which wand is on your backpack, call us with the machine model and we will check it against Sandia's parts list.
Frequently asked questions
What floors is the felt head meant for?
Finished and smooth hard floors: sealed hardwood, polished or glazed tile, VCT and luxury vinyl. It is the gentlest face in the Sidewinder hard-floor group.
Should I get plain felt or scalloped felt?
Plain felt gives a continuous wipe. Scalloped felt vents air at the edges and is easier to push on very smooth floors where a solid felt face tends to seal down.
Will it pick up grit out of grout lines?
Not well. Felt glides rather than agitates. For grouted or textured floors Sandia's nylon Sidewinder head is the one specified for that job.
Does it come with a wand?
No. This is the head only. It mounts to a Sandia Sidewinder wand such as the 59-inch one-piece or two-piece wand, which connects to the vacuum.
Discount Cleaning Products is an authorized Sandia dealer. We stock the full Sandia Raven backpack and Sidewinder accessory line, so replacement heads, wands and brushes come from the same catalog as the machine they attach to. Our US-based staff works with commercial cleaning contractors and in-house facility crews every day and can confirm fitment against your machine and wand before you order.
