If you run a cleaning business or you have some heavy-duty cleaning to do, the regular vacuum cleaner will not suffice. What you need is a commercial vacuum cleaner.
These are the big brothers of the ones we use at home. They are high powered and designed for everyday, heavy hitting jobs. If you use a domestic vacuum cleaner like you would a commercial one, it will die soon enough.
A commercial vacuum cleaner has a lot of suction power which lets it deep clean and meet its expected requirement. It is also built with tough materials to withstand the heavy use and this is why they last so long.
Commercial vacuum models operate pretty much like the regular ones in the sense that they are applied the same way.
They also have attachments and tools that you can use to extend their cleaning abilities. Commercial vacuum cleaners too can do some above the floor cleaning.
They are available in different types too, the wet and dry type works great for any heavy-duty cleaning job. You can use it to clear out water, clean up wet mess as well as the dry ones.
There are backpack models too. They are generally lightweight and are ergonomically designed to be comfortable regardless of your body type.
As you continue to read, you will learn more about commercial vacuum cleaner models and what they have to offer. We will also inform you on how best to select one.
Vacuuming On A Commercial Scale
It is easy to think that vacuuming is the same whether you are doing it in your home or you are vacuuming a hotel.
What is different is the actual equipment you will be using. If you use one of those fancy vacuums you have at home as often and as heavily as you would a commercial vacuum cleaner, it will break down in weeks. And that is even if the vacuum is rugged enough.
Most household vacuums are just not built for heavy-duty usage. On the other hand, commercial vacuums pack a lot more power to meet up to their expectations.
High-powered Suction
Commercial vacuum cleaner models have bigger and stronger motors which translate into more power. A powerful motor generally means stronger suction. And if you know about vacuuming, stronger suction means better cleaning.
One would expect nothing less from a commercial vacuum cleaner. Offices, hotels, professional cleaning services are the ones you will often find using these types of vacuum cleaner.
As highly trafficked areas, they need the extra-powered suction to handle that level of cleaning. Almost every part of a commercial vacuum cleaner is bigger and stronger than the regular ones for obvious reasons.
If you run a commercial vacuum cleaner over your home carpet after using a regular one, you will have a better understanding of the difference.
Durability
Commercial vacuum cleaner models are built for everyday use, the heavy type of use. It only makes sense that the materials used for them are strong enough to withstand the duty.
This is why they’re built tough. A commercial vacuum will stand the test of time while enduring whatever you have to throw at it.
For instance, the brush head of a regular vacuum cleaner is often made of plastic but that of a commercial vacuum cleaner is made of steel. This lets it truly handle the type of vacuuming expected of it without getting damaged.
Versatility
Maneuverability is an important feature these types of vacuums should possess. In reality, they do.
A commercial vacuum cleaner is pretty much convenient to move around.
Quite a number of the uprights are low profile and have swivel steering that can get under furniture easily.
You can use commercial vacuum cleaners for off the floor cleaning as well especially if you are using the canister type.
With the right attachments, you can clean drapes, furniture, the ceiling, etc.
They can work great on hard floors as easily as they would on carpets. Some even come with attachments to better clean specific floor types.
You can cover a lot more grounds at a time with a commercial vacuum cleaner. It is common to find these vacuum cleaners with electric cord reaching 75 feet in length. With that, you can clean an entire hall without switching sockets.
Variety
Some of the vacuum cleaner brands that make regular vacuum cleaners also manufacture commercial grade one. Oreck is one of such brands. If you read our Oreck vacuum cleaner guide, you will notice that it specializes in keeping its vacuums lightweight.
Even its commercial vacuum cleaner, the Oreck Commercial U2000RB2L-1 weighs in at just 9 pounds.
That is extraordinarily light for a commercial vacuum cleaner. Some regular vacuum cleaner even weighs more than that.
There are different types of commercial vacuum cleaners you can choose from based on your needs and preferences.
You will also enjoy the variety of brands that make these vacuums.
If you are loyal to a particular brand, they probably have commercial vacuum cleaner models too.
Of all the good things you stand to get from using a commercial vacuum cleaner, there are a few downsides. It might seem a bit unfair to call them downsides especially when such problems can be easily avoided.
One of such issues is noise. If you think your domestic vacuum cleaner is noisy, these ones seem to have speakers somewhere in them.
The powerful motor in them are the culprit and for so long owners have traded off the noise for the extra power.
You can easily avoid a really noisy vacuum by simply checking for the decibel rating before you buy. There are some commercial vacuum cleaner models that produce only 55 decibels of noise. That is equivalent to a normal conversation.
Weight is another problem you might have to deal with. Just as with the noise, you can easily avoid that too as there are vacuum cleaners that are relatively lightweight.
Types Of Commercial Vacuum Cleaner
As you might have guessed, there are almost the same types of commercial vacuum cleaner models as there are the regular ones. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as they are, well, vacuum cleaners too.
Each type has its advantages and whichever you go for will often come down to your preference and how you intend to use it.
Upright
Imagine having to go from one hotel room to another cleaning the floors. Wouldn’t an upright commercial vacuum cleaner be a good choice?
Considering it is a single unit vacuum, unlike a canister that requires you to carry a wand and pull the vacuum behind you.
This is an ideal vacuum to use for cleaning offices and open parts of a restaurant. They are easy to move around and the only thing you might have to deal with is the power cord that you need to plug in as you go from room to room.
When it comes to general floor cleaning, whether it is hard floor or carpets, an upright commercial vacuum cleaner is a way to go.
Canister
The maneuverability of a canister vacuum cleaner is the main advantage it has. When it comes to cleaning areas with furniture and obstacles, a canister commercial vacuum cleaner will make things easier.
This is due to the wand and flexible hose. They let you easily reach under furniture and beds. You can also use canister vacuums for above floor cleaning.
If you need to clean staircases, of course, using an upright will not be practical.
A canister vacuum cleaner is ideal for jobs like that. They are applicable in restaurants too as it is easy to reach under the tables and chairs without having to carry them around.
Wide Area
Wide area vacuum cleaners as the name implies are designed to cover a wide area in one pass.
They are best for open spaces such as ballrooms or halls that do not have permanent furniture.
This makes it easier and faster to clean up the open space as it covers a larger area at a time.
A wide area vacuum cleaner is designed just like an upright but this time, imagine the upright vacuum is on steroids.
Wet and Dry
Our guide on wet and dry vacuums shows how impressive these machines are. In this case of commercial wet and dry vacuum, they are way more useful.
They are designed to deal with any type of mess, whether debris and dust, liquid spills, or construction site mess.
If you run a cleaning service, your arsenal of equipment is not complete without a wet and dry commercial vacuum cleaner.
With this in your collection, you will be able to do almost any type of cleaning.
No other commercial vacuum cleaner is designed to do the type of jobs this one can which is why it is arguably the most useful type.
As a cleaning service, you know how long and tedious it is to do a job with mop and bucket, this one will get it done in a matter of minutes.
There is a downside though, it can be loud. You might want to look out for the decibel rating before you purchase.
Alternatively, consider getting ear protection for your employees to make things easier as they tackle dirt with these monsters.
Backpack
These commercial vacuum cleaners are just what the name says, you carry them on your back. These are lightweight vacuums and are ergonomically designed.
They have padded shoulder straps and back support and can be used by people with any body type.
If you have a job to clean a large area which would obviously take time, this is an ideal option to go for.
It makes vacuuming easier over an extended period of time without the exhaustion you might experience with other types.
Another advantage of the backpack commercial vacuum cleaner is that you can easily convert it into a blower. This makes its usage more versatile and applicable for outdoors.
Considering that you only have the wand to manage, maneuverability becomes even easier. This is also a great type of commercial vacuum cleaner to have if you run a janitorial services company.
Handheld
It might be surprising to see a handheld vacuum cleaner as a commercial type of vacuum. This is so because handhelds are known for the small jobs.
That line of thinking is valid but think the small jobs these types are used for as commercial level type of small jobs.
Cleaning the stairs in a hotel is not exactly the type of job a regular handheld vacuum can do.
Sometimes commercial spot cleaning does not require bringing in the big guns. That is where the handhelds become useful.
They are small and lightweight but powerful enough to handle heavy-duty jobs every day. Cleaning upholstery, drapes, molding, etc. on a large scale such as hotels and restaurants is not an easy task.
These handheld vacuum cleaners have extra-long electric cords that allow the user cover a lot of ground without changing sockets.
How To Choose The Best Commercial Vacuum Cleaner
Now that you know what commercial vacuum cleaner models have to offer as well as the available types, it is time to choose.
You wouldn’t just want to choose any type, you want one that will provide the highest value for your money. The first step towards that is to be clear on what you need and how you will be using the vacuum cleaner.
What type would be best?
We already highlighted the types of commercial vacuum cleaners available to you. If your business involves cleaning mainly open spaces, a wide area vacuum will be a good choice. Their design suits that type of cleaning and will get things done pretty fast.
If you provide different cleaning services and you often can’t predict what your client would want, a wet and dry vacuum is your best bet.
That way, even if your client wants you to clean wet mess, you have what it takes to pull that off. The Workshop WS1600VA Wet/Dry Vacuum is a good option.
Bagged or Bagless
It is easy to get lost in the fact that bagless vacuums help eliminate the cost of buying replacement bags. But these bagless ones have extra filters that you will need to clean out often.
Another thing to think about is that bagless vacuum cleaners use dust cups to hold in dirt. It can easily be a messy affair when it is time to empty these dirt cups.
It is important to have your workers aware of this as any of them might be allergic or asthmatic.
On the other hand, a bagged vacuum often has self-sealing bags that keep the dirt in once the compartment opens.
That way, there is no chance for any mess. Just bring out the bag, dispose of it and fit in a new one.
It is true that you will incur the cost of buying replacement bags. However, keeping users safe might be a trade-off you do not want to make.
Certifications
This might seem like a strange thing to consider but when you look at it from the commercial angle, it makes some sense.
You might want to look out for seals of approval and certifications from leading organizations concerning your commercial vacuum cleaner. This validates its authenticity and how well it performs and does what it promises to do.
This serves as a sort of guarantee that you will get your money’s worth from the vacuum cleaner.
For instance, the Carpet and Rug Institute test carpet cleaning equipment for their effectiveness at removing dirt while keeping the carpet safe.
A commercial vacuum cleaner with that seal of approval has the thumbs up to perform great on rugs and carpets.
Features
There are specific features you might want to look out for when deciding on a commercial vacuum cleaner. If you know exactly what you need one for, you won’t have any problem knowing what features you need.
Edge cleaning
Sometimes vacuum cleaners have a hard time reaching dirt along the wall and baseboards. If you want to eliminate this shortcoming, you can look out for a commercial vacuum cleaner that has side brushes. These brushes will help it reach and pick up dirt and debris on either side of its brush head.
Floor type
Not all vacuums cleaners are the same. Some are better than others on different floor types. If you will mainly be cleaning hard floors, be sure to go for commercial vacuum cleaner models that have the hard floor option.
You don’t want to get stuck with a canister vacuum that does not have any attachment that lets it clean and shine hard floors.
Depending on the type of jobs you will be handling the most, you want to go for a vacuum cleaner that has what it takes to do an outstanding job.
Capacity
This concerns how much dirt the vacuum can hold. You should look out for the bag capacity in case you want a bagged vacuum or the canister capacity if bagless.
Whichever you go for, you want a large capacity since you will be cleaning on a commercial scale. This makes sense since you don’t want to stop work every now and then to change the bag or empty the canister.
Noise
This is the bane of commercial vacuum cleaners. You will want to pay attention to the decibel rating. The higher the number, the noisier the vacuum cleaner.
If you have to settle for a noisy one, consider getting hearing protection for your staff. If you will be cleaning places people reside such as hotels, a quiet vacuum is your best choice.
There are commercial vacuum cleaner models that are as quiet as a regular conversation. The ProTeam QuietPro Commercial Vacuum is one of such quiet vacuums. This makes it ideal for daytime cleaning without disturbing the people around.
Attachments
There are lots of attachment and tools you can get for your commercial vacuum cleaner.
Normally, most of these vacuums come with some necessary attachments.
But if you want your vacuum ready for any job, you might have to buy more.
You can get additional wands that extend the reach of your vacuum so you can reach high ceilings or get under furniture easier.
There are upholstery tools that let you clean mattresses and chairs to get rid of dust and allergies. Dust brushes help you clean dust from furniture leaving it spic and span.
You have done a great job getting this far with us. It is our hope that you now have all the information you need. Now you can confidently decide on which commercial vacuum cleaner is best for your need.
Now go on and make that purchase and get your cleaning business to the forefront.
