Aftermarket replacement part — not a genuine OEM part. The squeegee blades and rubber parts on this page are aftermarket replacements made to fit Tennant machines. They are not genuine Tennant parts, we are not affiliated with or endorsed by Tennant, and brand names, model names and part numbers are used for fitment reference only. Confirm dimensions against your own sample or drawing before ordering.
The Tennant T3 is a compact walk-behind, and that is the whole reason its blades get mis-ordered. On a small squeegee the margin for error is thinner in both directions: a couple of millimetres of length or a slightly different hole pitch that would pass unnoticed on a wide ride-on assembly will refuse to clamp on a narrow one. Operators also tend to blame the blade for every wet trail, so a lot of T3 blades get replaced when something else is causing the streak.
This page is for distributors and facility buying groups ordering T3 replacement blades in volume. It covers what to confirm before you order, how to tell a genuine blade problem from a setup problem, and the commercial terms that apply.
Confirm the assembly before you order the rubber
Two T3 machines in the same building can leave the factory with different squeegee assemblies, and the most common ordering mistake is assuming they are the same.
| What to confirm | Why it matters on a compact machine |
|---|---|
| Straight or curved assembly | A curved assembly needs a curved blade. A straight blade forced into a curve lifts at both ends and streaks immediately. |
| Front or rear position | The rear carries the vacuum seal; the front takes the debris load. They wear at different rates and are not interchangeable. |
| Hole pitch and slot layout | Measured against your worn blade, not eyeballed. A narrow assembly has less tolerance for a near-match. |
| Thickness and lip geometry | Too thick will not clamp in the frame; too thin rolls under load and leaves a smear. |
The practical shortcut is to photograph the assembly in place before you remove anything, then measure the worn blade once it is out. Those two records are what let a supplier confirm a profile without the machine in front of them. Our cross-reference guide lists the models and brands we hold tooling for already.
On exact length, hole positions and thickness for your specific build, we work from a sample or a drawing rather than a published chart. Production runs and regional builds vary, and we would rather say we cannot confirm a dimension than ship a guess. Anything unverified goes back to you for confirmation before tooling is cut.
Before you blame the blade
A streaking T3 is not always a worn blade. On small scrubbers the same symptom comes from four or five causes, and replacing the rubber only fixes one of them.
- Frame not level. If the squeegee frame is bent or the mounting bolts have worked loose, one corner lifts and leaves a trail that no new blade will remove.
- Wrong down-pressure. More pressure does not fix a streak. On a light machine it tends to make a hard blade chatter instead.
- Debris in the recovery path. A partly blocked vacuum hose or a full recovery tank reduces pickup, and the floor dries slowly whatever blade is fitted.
- Worn casters or wheels. Height changes at one corner alter the angle the blade meets the floor at.
Run through those before you reorder. If the streak returns in the same place with a fresh blade, the cause is in the setup, not the rubber. Worn rubber, by contrast, shows as a rounded or feathered edge, a nicked lip, or a blade that has taken a permanent set.
One set is two blades
One set is one front blade plus one rear blade. It is worth stating plainly, because the shorthand “T3 blades” still produces orders for half of what the machine needs.
When you request a quote, name the split. Even when you are buying equal quantities of each, saying so removes the ambiguity later. On a mixed fleet the split is rarely even anyway: rear blades usually go first on machines working wet areas, while front blades abrade faster on gritty floors.
Grade follows the floor
There is no correct T3 blade material, only a correct material for the floor it runs on.
- Natural rubber, 65 ± 5 Shore A — the default for smooth tile, PVC and sealed epoxy. It conforms to flat floors and gives the cleanest pickup.
- Cast polyurethane, 85 ± 5 Shore A — rough or damaged concrete, expansion joints, oily and greasy surfaces. Higher cost per set, usually recovered on labour when floors are abrasive.
- Economy gum rubber, 45 ± 5 Shore A — light duty on smooth floors where the decision is price-led and the area is small.
Hardness is measured by the ASTM D2240 durometer method, and compound classification across batches is framed by ASTM D2000. Naming both in your enquiry costs two lines and removes most supplier wiggle room. A quote offering a bare “65 Shore A” with no test method, or promising tighter than ±5 Shore A, is describing a test coupon rather than a production batch.
The full trade-off, including where each grade stops making sense, is in our material comparison. The mistake worth flagging: harder is not universally better. On polished tile a hard blade chatters and leaves a haze, and a small walk-behind has less weight to hold it flat.
Service life in normal commercial duty is typically two to three months per blade, an industry figure rather than a guarantee. It shifts with cleaning frequency, chemical concentration, temperature and floor condition. A T3 running daily across a large site will sit at the short end. Our replacement cycle guide covers planning around that. Polyurethane generally lasts longest on rough or oily floors, but it is more sensitive to temperature and operating conditions than natural rubber, so it should be sold with that caveat rather than as a simple upgrade.
MOQ, tooling and mixed orders
- MOQ 20 sets per style on a profile we already hold.
- USD 60–120 tooling for a profile we do not hold, waived once cumulative volume reaches 500 sets.
- Mixed orders allowed, USD 3,000 minimum order value, so one shipment can cover a dozen models instead of committing the whole budget to a single profile.
For a distributor the margin usually sits in the spread against a captive OEM parts channel rather than in shaving unit price. That argument is set out in OEM vs aftermarket squeegee blades. For an end user the more useful number is cost per cleaned hour, because a blade that streaks costs a re-clean and a complaint, and under OSHA 1910.22 walking surfaces are expected to be kept in a safe condition — the blade is the cheapest line in that risk.
Samples and how claims are handled
Samples are chargeable, not free, and take 7–15 days to prepare and ship. Most importers order a sample set for one machine, run it for a few weeks, then place the volume order against a profile proven on their own floor.
Agree the claim rules while the order is still open, because blade complaints surface at goods-in weeks after manufacture:
- Claims raised within 7 days of receipt, counted from delivery, not from dispatch.
- Only the defective pieces are replaced, not the whole batch.
- An unboxing video is required, filmed from before the carton opens and close enough to show the defect.
- Freight on replacement pieces is on the buyer; most consolidate it into the next shipment.
Coverage is for manufacturing defects: damaged or feathered edges, wrong dimensions, defective material, hardness outside the agreed range. It does not cover ordinary wear, fitting damage, or early wear from specifying the wrong compound for the floor.
Request a quote
Send the machine model, how many units you run, your floor type, and whether the assemblies are straight or curved. We will confirm the profile against a sample or drawing, recommend a grade for your conditions, and quote a 20-set trial. Request pricing or a sample set and we will come back with lead time and freight options.
