ProTeam Vacuums

ProTeam Supports Green Cleaning Award

ProTeam supports 8 out of 12 winners of the Green Cleaning Awards sponsored by American School & University, The Green Cleaning Network and the Healthy Schools Campaign.

The American School & University's Green Cleaning Award recognizes education institutions for their healthy and sustainable approaches to cleaning to protect health without harming the environment.

To learn more go to http://asumag.com/green_cleaning_award/index.html.

Who's the hero in your facility cleaning up your IAQ?

In celebration of World Asthma Day, May 3rd, ProTeam is giving away a Super QuarterVac HEPA to a deserving school or university custodian.  Nominations are being accepted now on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ProTeamvacuums).  The winner will be announced May 3, 2011.

Any person associated with a school or university in any location across the nation with and world can nominate a custodian by posting on the Facebook fan page or by emailing jacalyn.high@emerson.com. In the posting, the nominator should list name of school, name of custodian being nominated, and one reason why that person deserves a ProTeam Super QuarterVac HEPA, with a focus on improving lung or overall health.

Backpack Vac Improves Health, Speed at Bee Clean

Stuart Bryan became the owner/operator of Bee Clean Janitorial Service six years ago, but his experience in the commercial cleaning world stems back to his twenties, when he first began working for janitorial firms. His company focuses on commercial office buildings, carpet cleaning, stripping and waxing floors, and construction cleanup. With over 12,000 square feet to cover in a typical weekday, and 24,000 square feet to clean on weekends, Stuart takes all the measures he can to make his sizeable daily workload go by faster and with better results.

Six months ago, Stuart found an innovation that made a big impact on his overall productivity, health and bottom line. After years of experimenting with commercial uprights, Stuart bought the ProTeam Super CoachVac, the workhouse backpack vacuum of the commercial cleaning industry with a durable body, powerful motor and advanced filtration system.

“I’ve owned nearly every commercial brand of upright vacuum in the market,” says Stuart. “Sure, they vacuumed OK, but I was continually replacing beater bars, axles and wheels. They could only vacuum for a short amount of time before the bags would fill up and they would lose power.”

Stuart also noticed a few detrimental side effects the commercial uprights had on his health. During vacuuming, his allergies would act up, and afterwards, he noticed a chronic fatigue in his shoulder and arm.

“As the beater bar wore away, the more effort it would take to push, and the more stressful it became on my body,” notes Stuart. “Also, when moving from one pile of carpet to another, or to hard floors, I would often need to bend down to make adjustments to the powerhead, a huge repetitive stress.”

The ProTeam backpack instantly shaved off a third of the time it took him to clean floors. Stuart can now clean the floors of a 7,000 square foot building in 35 minutes, instead of the hour or more the same job once took.

“The backpack has attracted so much attention from staff, people in offices and especially construction crews,” says Stuart. “They’re amazed at what it will pick up. Dirt clods. Construction wire. There’s no beater bar or motor before the filtration system. So there’s nothing to get caught. It sucks up anything and puts it in the bag without damaging the machine. I only need to remember to clean the filters.”

Stuart has also noticed a decrease in his allergies and dusting routines since using the ProTeam backpack. In fact, the green and health benefits of the vacuum’s Four Level® Filtration system were a major consideration in the purchasing decision.

“I used to smell the dust as I was cleaning. I would sneeze throughout the building,” notes Stuart. “Filtration has a lot to do with dust. I felt like my old uprights just spread around dust. I noticed the difference of the backpack right off the bat. I’ve definitely cut down on the need for constant dusting.”

Without even a whisper of a repair issue in six months, Stuart is certain the ProTeam will save him big in the long run.

“My only complaint is that I didn’t get one of these six years ago,” Stuart notes. “Imagine all the time, repairs and body strain I wasted? But I’m glad I have the ProTeam now.”

Backpack Vacuum Gets Fitness Center in Shape

Sonya Price and her husband own Anytime Fitness in Smithville, Missouri—a full-scale workout facility that spans 4,200 square feet. On an average day, 90 to 100 members utilize the gym. With steady daily traffic and dust-emitting exercise equipment of all shapes and sizes, cleanup is critical, but no easy task.

The fitness center was only three months old when the couple decided to look beyond the attachment-laden upright vacuum they had been using. Their sales rep offered an onsite demonstration of the ProTeam backpack vacuum.

“We didn’t realize how dirty our new carpet had gotten in the short amount of time since we opened,” says Sonya. “The amount of dirt and other debris in the filter after just a few minutes of use was unbelievable.”

They purchased a ProTeam Super QuarterVac HEPA for Anytime Fitness, with the knowledge that in a workout facility, a healthy environment is a must. Weighing only 10 pounds, the compact but powerful backpack features Four Level Filtration with HEPA media—a multi-stage, high-efficiency filtration process that extracts and eliminates 99.97 percent of dust, pollutants and allergens down to 0.3 microns in size.

“The filters collect the dirt and dust, not just move it around, and the suction power is awesome,” Sonya remarks. “The overall cleanliness is exceptional. It was hard to get around the equipment with the upright vacuum. Now, not only is it easier to move through the space, but all the attachments are right on the belt, so it’s easy to switch over to handheld detail work.”

Members have taken note of the backpack, calling it the “ghostbuster.”

“Our members love it, and several have asked us where we purchased,” Sonya comments. “I could be a walking billboard. I love the ease and efficiency of the ProTeam vacuum.”

She has become somewhat of a word of mouth marketer, recommending the vacuum to Anytime Fitness owners throughout their footprint. In fact, when a new Anytime Fitness opened up 20 minutes from their location, she made sure they knew all about the health benefits of the backpack.

Wet Productivity

Wheels make the wet/dry vacuum ride, especially on hard floor surfaces.

Soft-ride, swivel caster wheels make turns and traversing with a wet/dry much easier. One company offers 15- and 20-gallon wet/drys with two built-in variable swivel caster wheel patterns that allow for better maneuverability. A maintenance worker can switch out one variation for the other with just a few simple tools and a few minutes. One wheel figuration option allows the swivel caster wheels to easily rotate the vacuum 360 degrees, while the other is more traditional, and allows for ease of transportation and mobility over stairs and curbs.

With wet/drys vacuums, emptying out water and sludge is a key concern and time sink. Sometimes a worker will have a floor drain to empty into, and at other times only a slop sink or toilet will be available. In larger units without adequate draining features, the hassle and weight of dirty water can cause a literal pain in the neck. Look for wet/dry vacuums with draining versatility—by dumping the unit through either a bottom drain spout or an easy-to-attach drain hose.

In commercial spaces, hard floor surfaces are built to last, and a wet/dry vacuum should help sustain and extend their lifespan. So look first for a wet/dry that’s built to perform—with indoor air, ergonomics and ease of use in mind for the space and the worker. Then make sure to get a wet/dry that’s built to last too, with high-grade motors, commercial hoses and closures, and an extended warranty.