Best Commercial Vacuum Cleaner Competition

All Commercial Vacuums in this competition, in alphabetical order:

VACUUM WARS REVIEWS

Our Favorite Robot Vacuums

Our Favorite Cordless Vacuums

Our Favorite Upright Vacuums (Corded)

Our Favorite Carpet Cleaners

Our Favorite Air Purifiers

Our Favorite Hard Floor Vacuum Mop Combo

#vacuumwars

Timestamps
00:00 Best Commercial Vacuum Cleaner Competition
00:16 Commercial Vacuums
00:49 Power Tests
01:43 Carpet Cleaning
02:03 Debris Pickup
03:32 Filtration
04:04 Weight
04:27 More
04:53 Top Picks

On the rare occasion that Vacuum Wars does a sponsored video or receives a product from a manufacturer to review, we will be clear about that in the video. Otherwise, if nothing was mentioned, then this was an unsponsored review.

[DrakeShattuck]

For commercial vacuums, do a commercial test. Much of what you do does not really apply to a commercial application. Should have used paper clips and pennies for larger item pickups. Also, think about repairs and maintenance. The classic Sanitaire is easily repaired and parts are cheap. You can replace the roller brushes, or just the bearings, etc. This is one big reason why you'll still see a ton of these vacuums in buildings. The large debris kickback is not a huge issue for commercial cleaners. Most of us don't use uprights for hard floors, we use backpack vacuums or dust mops or autoscrubbers. You're using the same tests for commercial as you do for residential cleaning and they are not the same. Not many of us use a hose with tools, it is not efficient in the least.

[CodeXana]

The sanitaire is my favorite traditional style of vacuums of all time. So nostalgic lol

[gw]

I have the oreck xl commercial. No complaints whatsoever

[Eazyturk]

We use the Oreck for our daily commercial cleaning needs and it's done wonders. It's been so great because we have to continuously move from home to home, load and unload our truck, and carry it around the homes. The lightweight has been really good on our back and shoulders. I highly recommend it. Hoover hush tone looks great but too heavy to lug around. I have the red Sanitaire one as well, it's great but heavy. The Proteam vacuum died after a few years while the rest are still going strong.

[Theultrazombiekiller]

I have an Oreck XL. Though they might not be the best, they last forever. Mine is 29 years old, never been serviced, original belt and brush roller, still used 4-5 times a week, still works as good as it did 3 decades ago. Its nice that the new ones have a squeegee, mine from 1994 does not and is terrible on hardwood or tile.

[jloden]

I bought my proteam because of your review and I love it still today.

[scottamu]

I really appreciate the data you guys are collecting and comparing on these machines. It is really interesting and helpful, as I am looking to find a suitable replacement for the 'fleet' of 5 vacuums I've 'inherited' as a facilities director.  
I have been disappointed by the design, quality, but mostly the RELIABILITY of the PROTEAM XP1500. After the first 3 months of repairing various, repeated issues with each unit, I bought a new one and kept what parts were still worth keeping from the retired one. The beater brush motor failed on the new XP1500 in less than 9 months @ daily use of 1-2 hours on low-pile commercial carpet and entrance mats, and the 'wheels' were leaving black marks down the VCT corridors (not vacuuming, just traveling) by a year and a half. I've found that they are extremely top-heavy and prone to falling over (breaking the handle parts and power switch assy's). The suction path will clog All - The - Time over something as small as a 1/4 piece of a Post-It note. AND the plastic 'wheels' that have no bushings or bearings will wear out regularly and may require replacing the entire lower housing of the vacuum (and wheels) to fix the problem for another year or so.  TOO MUCH PLASTIC for commercial use.
I expect more reliability for $400 a piece. And I will probably end up spending more on Windsors in the future, since I experienced WAY fewer problems with them (and more hours/day) at a facility where I was previously employed.
I would be interested in some long-term testing/cost comparison of these models.

[TheTheo]

I have a Santanaire SC-887 which I found discarded this model had the dirt trap/half bag. It was in pretty good condition, motor communicator was clean, carbon brushes had little wear. I did have to add a new line cord, replace the fan and obtain an adapter to use a HD commercial cloth bag I had. Same time I replaced the handle with a spare one I had. Going a bit further I added a headlight, got a headlight brezel from the business neighbor vacuum store. Still working great to this day.

[jacqueline]

We have the Windsor ones at my work and I love them! So much better than all the other commercial vacuums we’ve had

[GAG]

Good commercial vacuums have a separate motor for the vacuum and the brush roll, which is one reason why they are heavy, but they are also one pass vacuums, meaning you use them like mowing the lawn, run in a straight line, not moving it back and forth like a home vacuum. This is one reason training is important to educate the cleaning staff on how to properly use them, when someone complains they are too heavy they are almost always using them wrong. Also surprised you didn't include Advance, back when I was in the business the Advance was always a good selling commercial vacuum, Advance only makes commercial equipment, no home products.

[TurboTomFour]

you should make a video on testing a vintage vacuum.That would be cool

[IanThatMetalBassist]

I like how most commercial vacuums look kinda retro

[p.maryyayabear]

I love the Sanitaire Quiet Clean. I use it on the job, and would buy it for my personal use.

[mattdotsonrailfanproductio]

The Sanitaire is the best, nothing can beat it no matter what ppl say

[HooverLux]

Definitely the Windsor for me as I’ve used them a lot, albeit a Windsor, Sebo, Ensign and others that are Sebos in disguise 🤣. Hoover Hushtone second as its so much like an Electrolux Professional and they are awesome. Lastly a Sanitaire Tradition because I love its look 🥰. Absolutely not a scientific reply from me 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[erichogan]

i just want to say thank you for making this easy. I've used a sanitaire commercial and found it to be very maintenance heavy. I am looking forward to trying the hoover.

[Zaviex]

I see that Hoover everywhere. Every building I’ve ever worked in.

[Raven]

Nice video. I worked in janitorial for a few companies through high school and college. Sanitaire was king at all places i worked. They lasted, were easy to get back in service if you had a problem, and left a beautiful groom job. All of the weight was low so you never really felt it and you typically took a shop vac in to do hard floors and edging so debris wasn't an issue, staples were the main thing you rant to into. I always wondered about that bag though, they would blow dust like the video right after they were emptied.

[Deklectic]

Everytime I look at a sanitare vacuum it brings me back to my childhood of watching my grandmother vacuum with her old 1950s style vacuum she had for YEARs 😂😂, only because they don't make vacuums that style anymore only for commercial use can you get that vintage vacuum look.. I will say the vacuums now a days are more practical for us home users because they are stronger with the suction plus come with 150, 000 different attachments which is so useful for spring cleaning and deep dusting all over your home.. How ever at the same time the new vacuums aren't as durable as the sanitare style vacuums of the past and present they made those things to last so for commercial use I can see it being perfect but for home use its probably not going to be as useful do to the lack of attachments which is essential to a good cleaning. 😉

[mattdotsonrailfanproductio]

The reason why the Sanitaire didn’t pass the filteration test was because it had a shakeout bag. Sanitaire does make another version with hepa bags.