In 2009, the Connecticut State Legislature passed a bill requiring school districts to implement green cleaning programs using environmentally-friendly products by July 1, 2011. Steven Twitchell, Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds of Simsbury Public Schools in the state, responded by revamping his already forward-thinking green program, which includes ProTeam high-efficiency backpack vacuums for improved indoor air quality (IAQ).
ProTeam backpack vacuums, the Super CoachVac and Super QuarterVac, have given Twitchell’s team of 36 the mobility and flexibility they need to clean a mix of seven old, new and renovated school buildings in Simsbury, Conn.
The facilities, which make up a total of 632,866 square feet, take a beating in the harsh Connecticut winter.
“When we have terrible winters, we change the bags almost daily,” said Twitchell, largely referring to the dual-motor ProTeam upright vacuum, the ProForce 1500, that his team uses to remove sand tracked into the high-traffic lobby. “Before you know it, the filter bags fill up with sand.”
All three vacuums feature ProTeam’s Four Level Filtration that captures 99.9 percent of all indoor pollutants and irritants 1 micron or larger. The four filters sift particles down to the smallest dust mites or pollen, and prevent them from blowing back into the atmosphere. In a school environment, capturing and removing particulates is key to good IAQ, reducing risk to those with asthma or allergies.
“We are vacuuming with high-efficiency vacuum cleaners. The proof is looking at the exhaust and seeing what’s coming out. With the ProTeam vacuum there isn’t any dust or debris blowing back out,” said Twitchell.
Simsbury Public Schools used to budget 2,500 dollars per school for replacement vacuums. For seven schools they were spending 17,000 dollars per year to replace vacuums from two different high-end brands. After switching to ProTeam vacuums, the district’s annual replacement budget is down 14,000 dollars and annual repair costs are down 15,000 dollars.
Comments