Incorporating Various Types of Vacuums In Your Program

There are a lot of factors to consider before investing in expensive equipment. In this Manufacturer Roundtable, Facility Cleaning Decisions took the compilation of questions we received from in-house custodial professionals and asked carpet equipment manufacturers to weight in. Here are their responses:

Is it practical for departments to offer various types of vacuums (uprights, backpacks, canisters) in their cleaning arsenal?

Many cleaning programs use a full range of vacuum types to meet any situation. Others prefer program-wide consistency, which allows ease of training and savings in equipment maintenance. If you clean buildings with mostly low-pile commercial carpet and hard flooring, a backpack vacuum can meet all your needs. If you are constantly switching environments, flooring types, and soil levels, it might be beneficial to have more variety.
— Jacalyn High, Director of Marketing, ProTeam, Inc., Boise, Idaho

If a facility has the cleaning budget to offer a variety of vacuums, it is ideal to do this. Vacuums are designed for specific cleaning applications, and with the proper use of each vacuum-type for each unique cleaning application, you can maximize your efficiency, facility cleanliness and health. For example, the first 50 or 60 feet in a facility near entryways is the dirtiest area of a facility, and is where the most debris is tracked in on people’s feet.  It is important to use an upright vacuum with a brush-roll on the carpet and floor mats to suction up all of the soil and particulate. For areas that are more than 50 ft. away from entries, such as long hallways, meeting rooms, etc., productivity is vital and where a backpack vacuum or wide-area vacuums are designed to tackle these cleaning challenges. You’ll want to use a wide-area vacuum, usually offering a 30 in. wide cleaning path, for your large banquet rooms, hallways and open spaces.  For cleaning stairs or smaller spaces, a canister vacuum can be a nice alternative to uprights or backpacks. Canisters offer the flexibility to clean stairs easily due to the long hose, and also offer a wand to reach under desks, partitions and smaller spaces.
— Jolynn Kennedy, Marketing Director, Tacony Corp, Tornado Industries, Chicago

Absolutely! This is what we call a "No-brainer." Backpacks are for quick surface cleaning of large carpeted and hard surface areas. They are an excellent tool for daily cleaning of high traffic areas leading to good facility appearance as well as minimized labor, saving time and money. Traditional upright vacuums utilize a motorized brushroll to not only clean carpet surfaces but also provide deep down dirt removal and grooming as recommended by leading commercial carpet manufacturers. Look for the CRI certification. Canister vacuums offer users the ability to reach into tight spaces such as office cubicles where an upright or backpack might be too large and bulky. Canister vacuums are also typically the lightest weight in the user’s hand.
— Larry Hartley, GM Field & Commercial Sales, Electrolux Small Appliances, and Tony Van, National Director Sales/Commercial, Electrolux Home Care Products North America, Charlotte, N.C.

Many upright vacuums come in bagged or bagless versions. In what situations/facility types is it best to use one over another?

This is primarily user preference. The trade off is the inventory and expense of bags versus the more dusty experience of emptying a bagless unit.
— Larry Hartley, GM Field & Commercial Sales, Electrolux Small Appliances, and Tony Van, National Director Sales/Commercial, Electrolux Home Care Products North America, Charlotte, N.C.