Choosing the Right Vacuum

With so many vacuums in the market place how can we choose the right one? Are the better models than another? I will breakdown 3 basic vacs to help you make the right choice for you, your home, or your facility.

Upright - There are a few consistent problems with upright. First if the belt stops working then so does most of the suction, and as much as many vacs have a light to tell you that the belt is not turning these don't always work and most people won't notice. Second there are a lot of things that can go wrong with them, belts, brushes, broken bags, clogged hoses, and who can forget the person who tries to use it and a wet vac. Third they are heavy. You usually find yourself pushing 12-15lbs with one hand all day and this can lead to problems that require staff taking paid time off. There is a place in the market for uprights I just haven't found it yet.

Canisters - the biggest complaint you will find with canisters are that people don't like dragging them around. They bump into walls, furniture, and people. Hose get pulled but general these are built strong enough to with stand the abuse. Dry Canister are not made for wet pick up but if someone thought it would be a good idea to do a wet pick up generally speaking the bag will break and damage will be minimal. One tip for using a canister like the Henri vac is: Since they have a 20' hose place the vac in the middle of the room and you should be able to reach every point in the room without moving the vac once. An idea setting for using a canister is cleaning many small rooms or areas to get under desks.

Back packs - these are basically a canister without wheels strapped to your back. The biggest complaint you will get here is user discomfort. If you are looking for productivity this is the way to go. They weigh between 11-15lbs and are great for team cleaning and large areas.

The reality is no matter what you buy someone will not like it, and someone will demand for something different. But when possible switch all uprights for canisters or back pack vacs. If someone does not like the idea make them use the vacuum for 2 weeks with no option of switching, and at the end of 2 weeks they will usually ask you to give them back the canister if you try and take it away. Next week we will discuss filtration on vacs - this is another area many people do not understand.

Nothing is too filthy for Phil-T