vacuuming in a commercial setting

[brettsomers]

using the Heavy Duty Eureka i got short while ago. i purchased it in St Louis at the VCCC meeting and it looked to have almost NO use! the cord was pristine, as was the Vibra-Groomer and cloth bag. i was DYING to have a good cleaning session with my new Eureka, and since my small apartment hardly allows for fun vacuuming, i thought i would give it a whirl at work.

 

[brettsomers]

the cleaner used at the Marriott Rivercenter is the Windsor *Sensor*. very durable, but not a great carpet cleaner. the smaller of the lobby carpets can be seen to the far right of the first picture above. here is view from above of (most) of the larger rug.

 

[brettsomers]

and the results of the first real cleaning job this 30+ y/o Eureka has seen. took about an hour and a half to do a good job. these are the same rugs where parents let their toddlers crawl and lay.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bellhopsa2000/album?.dir=c876scd&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

 

[dixieland]

I would be careful posting pictures of where you work - especially since it is a major hotel chain. I would think your employer's ethics policies would prohibit you from this. Just an FYI though.

 

[neptunebob]

Do any hotels actually use Oreck vacuums? I have never seen any, but I usually stay at budget motels.

 

[brettsomers]

Gee, Aaron

thanks for giving me the creeps! i have only seen Oreck used at a hotel once or twice. i just dont see how those 8lb Orecks can hold up to commercial use.

 

[dalangdon]

When I worked for Four Seasons, they used Oreks in the Banquet department. I'm not sure what housekeeping used.

Brett, when I worked for Marriott, they kept trying to transfer me to the Marriott on the Riverwalk. Is that the same hotel?

 

[gansky1]

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

What a mess - imagine what's in the rooms!

 

[urarachu]

Looks to me...

like heavy sandy dirt that only a true deep cleaner could pull out...

Corey

 

[brettsomers]

Dan

i get to explain this very question a good dozen times a day. the *Riverwalk* Marriott is separate from the *Rivercenter*. the *riverwalk* is older and has fewer rooms (but many balconies). the *rivercenter* is newer (1988, and the lobby decor is looking very tired) and has 1001 rooms. was this in the 80s when you were offered transfer?

 

[hooverwheelaway]

Wow!

That's amazing!

I've heard stories of Stan Kann doing a similar thing in the lobby of the Fox theatre... as they used the Spencer (suction only) central vac. Stan apparantly took his Hoover 972 and did what you did with the Eureka. I imagine he got similar results.

~Fred

 

[dalangdon]

Brett, it was 1990, and it was funny: I gave notice and told them I was moving to Seattle (where there was nothing but an airport Marriott that I was not interested in working at)

They chewed that over for a day or so and came back with the San Antonio offer. I told them I was quitting and moving to Seattle.

A few days later they asked me why I hadn't submitted my tranfer information. I again reminded them of my intentions.

I moved to Seattle and started working for Westin. For all I know the are still waiting for my paperwork.

 

[jasonl]

Eureka!

I grew up on a plain white/green Eureka upright. Those were and still are workhorses.

 

[mixfinder]

Orecks in Hotels

I worked for Stouffer Hotels and they used Orecks. We opened the Waverly, in Atlanta and the designer chose really cool, wool tapestry carpets. The poor Orecks kept choking on the loosing milling from the carpet yarns. The head of housekeeping was tearing them apart and cleaning out the handle tube all day long. He couldn't get anything else done. The dumber housekeepers kept running them until they stopped the brush and warped the plastic fan from excessive heat. They finally bought Eurekas.
I saw Orecks fully apart and they are a just a brush, a squirrel cage fan about the size of a hair roller and the dirt goes up the handle and falls into the bag.

Yep, I want to pay 300.00 and up for that.

kelly

 

[westytoploader]

WOW, just goes to show you how well one of these can clean; Eureka and Sanitaire both can really pull out that "fine" dirt, I've seen it myself! Same with a good Hoover Convertible as well. Are you using a Disturbulator or Vibra-Groomer in that particular machine?

And it's the Marriott Rivercenter, how neat! We were at that hotel a few years ago for some event being held there at one of the convention halls; stayed at a different location (the historic Gunter if I remember correctly) but on our next trip to SA, I would definitely like to stay there as it was very nice and well-kept.

--Austin

 

[eluxomarty]

David

Very impressive. I'm glad you got to put the St.Louis find through it's paces. Your hotel really is beautiful. I see no reason not to take pictures as long as no guests appear in them. We take pictures all the time at the hospital, we just make sure halls are clear. What is it with people letting their kids play and crawl on the floors in public buildings? It boggles my mind how many toddlers are allowed to crawl on our carpeted halls. We tell visitors to pick their kids up. Oh the stuff that is coughed and sneezed and "falls out of people", i wouldn't let our dog walk in our halls! But i digress. Your Eureka really is a great vacuum.

 

[dixieland]

Sorry David

Forgive me. I did not mean to frighten you. I work at the corporate level for a major competitor. I would just think twice about saying you work there since someone may think you're blowing the whistle on them. Too many tv news shows like to expose things like that to John Q. Public - just to make some noise. It doesn't matter where you go - Carpet is dirty but try to tell that to people who have phobias about hotel cleanliness. LOL

We used to have Oreck's at one of the hotels I managed. they were okay but they didn't hold up to the daily wear and tear that a room attendant puts them through. We switched to Sanitaire which has been rated as a best performing cleaner for hotels.

I have also seen a lot of Hoover commercials and Windsors used in hotels over the years. The Windsors would be my choice because of the onboard attachments.

 

[brettsomers]

Aaron, no problem, we are all friends here, i hope.

Austin, i used a VG I, which is the agitator that is original to this machine. i was very shocked to see in the *Heavy Duty Eureka* owners manual (sent by Rick Asquith) that heavy duty models were also equipped with wooden brushrolls. i had considered using the wooden *Disturbulator*, since it has THREE rows of brushes, i thought it would be fun. i decided it was "too vintage" for such a demanding cleaning session. the VG I was just adequate for straightening the very heavy nap on these hotel rugs. if i did it again, i woulda used the VG II, since the bristles are a bit firmer AND they seem to stick out of the machine just a kiss more. too bad the VG II pictured here is sleeve-bearing. the VG II vibrates less too!

 

[tolivac]

The Sanitaires are good-but you have to keep up on the brush strips on their rollerbrushes-they wear fast and their plastic fans and fan housings-these can wear fast too in commerical settings esp around here with our sandy soil thats gets tracked in-and not to mention pebbles and gravel that gets tracked in from parking lots-these can bust the fans.I see and help with MNAY Sanitaires-the ECU schools out here use them.The other schools have Royals-and you hardly see them.They hold up better.Orecks-as Kelly pointed out their tiny fans and tiny motor-not much bigger then whtas in a canister power nozzle-their fans get busted or worn down in commerical use-and the fan housings get busted when the fan breaks.Oreck should make these out of METAL-would last longer.And to get that sueful power Orecks really have to REV that tiny fan-puts a big load on the small motor-their motors don't hold up as well as the larger Eureka and Royal motors.Kirbys would do well in the commercial setting-they would have to be equipped with three wire cords to meet OSHA and ANSI safety standards.Now if only I should take one of my Backpack vacuums in to work for transmitter PM..Better than the HORRIBLE SMELLY SHOP VACS we have.