If you’ve explored our website, you’ve likely seen forms urging you to sign up for a site consultation. But what exactly does that mean?

If you’re purchasing cleaning equipment for the first time, or if you’re upgrading your current equipment — say, from a vacuum cleaner to a large-area sweeper, or from a walk-behind scrubber to a ride-on scrubber or even an autonomous machine — we recommend you always have your supplier perform a site consultation. This allows you to evaluate not only the equipment, but also the supplier. New cleaning equipment can be a significant investment, and you’ll want to be sure that you’ll have the support you need to get the most out of it.

Here’s what happens when a Nilfisk cleaning expert visits your school:

1. A walk-through of your school and questions so we can understand your cleaning challenges
2. Equipment recommendations tailored to your applications
3. Product demos and an opportunity for your staff to test drive the equipment

Each of these steps provides specific benefits that ensure the equipment you purchase will meet your needs.

Understanding your cleaning challenges

Our cleaning consultants have been in a lot of schools, from small K-12 buildings to massive college campuses. They’ve talked to custodians across the country and done walk-throughs of everything from classrooms and cafeterias to gymnasiums and sports centers. So, we have a good idea of the cleaning challenges schools often face. In particular, we know that most custodial teams don’t have enough time to get everything done, at least not as often as they’d like.

But, we also know that every school has its own unique set of challenges — some have a considerable amount of square footage that needs cleaning, some have specialty classrooms such as wood shops, and others double as community centers so the foot traffic is non-stop. Of course, your biggest challenge might be something else entirely.

That’s why our main focus during the walk-through is to understand your cleaning needs from your perspective.

Providing customized equipment recommendations

One advantage of being in this business as long as we have (more than 100 years) is that we have an extensive portfolio of equipment that includes vacuums, carpet extractors, scrubbers, floor machines, restroom cleaning machines, and more. So, rather than selling you a generic package, we can tailor our recommendations to your needs.

We offer equipment in many different sizes to optimize your productivity based on square footage. We have equipment with a variety of beneficial features, such as systems that minimize chemical usage to support your green cleaning initiatives, technology that enables you to strip floors in a single pass, and even silent cleaning technology for those times when you have no choice but to clean when people are around. 

We also have equipment designed for particular environments, like explosion-proof vacuums for collecting combustible dust in wood shops, as well as a wide assortment of accessories, so you can easily reach all surfaces, whether overhead or under tables and desks.

Demoing the equipment

Finally, you and your cleaning staff should always have a chance to try the equipment, either during the site consultation or as a follow-up. This helps you get buy-in from everyone who will be involved in the cleaning effort.

Most school custodial teams are already struggling to perform all of their cleaning tasks on a regular basis. They need equipment that will help them do their work quickly, effectively, and with as little hassle as possible. So, before investing in any new equipment, make sure your employees get some hands-on experience to ensure it’s really as easy to use as the marketing brochure says it is.

Here are a few questions to ask:

• Does it pick up the material effectively without leaving any residue?
• Is it faster than the current cleaning method we’re using?
• Can my employees easily turn the equipment on and off, as well as maneuver it?

If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” you should probably keep looking.

We know that cleaning equipment is an investment — of time, money, and human resources. That’s why it’s critical that you make the right decision. To learn more about Nilfisk cleaning site consultations, or to schedule one at your facility, contact us today.