floor care apparatus is disclosed wherein a powered brush assembly having a multiplicity of rotary brushes is suspended within the apparatus such that the brush assembly floats freely upon the surface being cleaned without supporting any of the machine &# 39 ; s weight . the rotary brushes are generally configured as spur gears and function in a gear train wherein one brush drives all other gear brushes in the system . axially projecting brush bristles are embedded in each gear tooth such that there is no unbrushed area between adjacent brushes in the brush line . the portion of the gear tooth wherein the bristles are embedded includes a recessed profile to allow for circumferential expansion of the tooth , upon insertion of the brush bristles , thereby preventing gear tooth interference . the brush assembly is particularly suitable for hot water carpet extractors of the upright design .