It’s the little things that can produce the biggest headaches for commercial property managers.
Unexpected spills, clogged drains, and even trying to thread a small line through a pipe for an intercom system are just a few of those events that can become troublesome.
Yet, when you have a 12 gallon shop vac for your maintenance department, you can solve quite a few of these problems without spending more hiring outside help.
There are some incredible things you can do with an industrial vacuum cleaner, sometimes referred to as a wet-dry vacuum cleaner. Of course, not all vacuum cleaners are the same and there are different brands, models, and sizes.
Don’t miss this: What is a Wet and Dry Vacuum?
The most important thing to remember when you’re looking for a shop vac is that quality matters most.
It might not feel like it at the time, but when you’re willing to invest an additional $50, on $100, or slightly more, you’ll enjoy lasting power, durability, consistency, flexibility, and operational ease. You’ll get a higher quality machine which can make a huge difference in the long run.
Now, there are far more than just three (quirky) things you can do with a wet-dry vacuum, but below are just some of the things we’ve heard other business owners tell us they were glad to have invested in a quality shop vac at some point.
Cleaning up big spills or floods
As almost any small to mid-sized facility care person can attest to, there are going to be moments when you have water or other fluids spilling out onto the floors of your facility.
It could be from a busted pipe, backed up drain, or some other reason.
And when you have water flowing throughout your building or threatening to cause damage somewhere else, a wet vac is a great way to help stem the flow or clean up after a disaster.
Now, twelve gallons might not seem like a lot, especially if you have water still spilling out, but once the spigot is stopped (the water is no longer flowing into your facility), that high capacity shop vac is a lifesaver in helping you get cleaned up quickly.
Not all spills can be picked up with a 12 gallon shop vac, though.
Anything that requires proper environmental attention, like an oil spill, should be done according to local, provincial or state, (or even national, federal) laws.
For spills like water, milk, or other fluids, an industrial vacuum cleaner will be a great asset for you to have.
Don’t forget this blog: 4 Reasons an Industrial Shop Vac May Be Just What You Need
Running lines through a pipe
If you or your maintenance crew are certified to do electrical work or you have another purpose to run something through a long pipe, it can get frustrating, especially through tight spaces.
However, the power of a larger shop vac is enough that you can tie small filament fishing line to a wadded-up piece of paper, and then create a tight section on the other and with the shop vac hose, turn the commercial vacuum cleaner on, and pull the line through.
Once you have the fishing line all the way through the pipe, you can then tie the other end to the wire or other item you need to run through, making it so much easier to run electrical, phone, Internet, or even speaker wire through those lines.
Cleaning out drains
Instead of calling a plumber every time one of the drains in your facility clogs or backs up, you might be able the use your high-capacity shop vac to help free it up.
You need to use some caution here, though.
If you apply too much air pressure into the drain, trying to force the clog down the line, there is a risk of popping the S-trap off the pipe, creating a bigger mess.
However, if you draw the pressure up into the sink, for example, you might even be able to retrieve items that were dropped down those drains.
This can also apply to storm drains around the parking area of your facility. Maybe a client, customer, or somebody else dropped their car keys down one of those grates. You can see them, but you can’t reach it.
All you have to do is bring out your 12 gallon shop vac, run the hose down as far as you can, and try to snag them.
Of course, you will want to empty the shop vac container before you do this, so the keys remain at least somewhat clean once they are retrieved.
As you can see, these are just a few ideas of amazing things you can do with a 12 gallon shop vac. When you have yours, you may also find a few ‘new’ friends from other businesses looking to borrow it from time to time. Use your discretion, of course, but remember, you may be using that shop vac a lot more often than you think!