The right tool can make all the difference when it comes to doing a task, and the 2024 ISSA Show North America delivered. The event was packed with products that can help staffs tackle big and small cleaning issues quickly and with less hassle. BUILDINGS found these three innovations in the cleaning space on the show floor.
1. Efficient, Ergonomic Machines
“For us, if you’re not removing, you’re not cleaning. That’s the key to everything,” explained Marc Ferguson, vice president of global sales for Kaivac. That’s why the company’s machines include vacuum extraction that removes soil from floors after it’s been broken down by cleaning solutions. Kaivac’s No-Touch Cleaning system allows workers to clean restrooms efficiently, even removing black buildup from grout, while protecting the workers themselves with an ergonomic design. Another machine on display, the UniVac, is engineered specifically for the needs of commercial kitchens.
“We have basically declared war on grease, and we feel like we’ve won it,” Ferguson said of the UniVac. “The machine is a very simple three-step process: we dispense, we spread, we recover. It’s simple for anyone to be able to use, plus the machine survives the abusive grease environment.”
“At the end of the day, it’s all about soil removal,” Ferguson added. “Clean, safe, and dry.”
2. Equipping Workers with the Supplies They Need
Rubbermaid Commercial Products shared its updated housekeeping cart with many new features for ease of use, including:
- A fifth caster that allows it to have 360-degree mobility
- 20% more storage space
- Modular shelves that can be reconfigured to fit different supplies, depending on your facility’s cleaning needs
Workers can carry more materials on the cart, which allows them to focus more on actual tasks instead of taking side trips to restock the cart, explained Dylan Brooks, key account manager for Rubbermaid Commercial Products.
“You’ve got such a big turnover rate, especially in hospitality, and this helps every individual worker accomplish tasks more efficiently,” Brooks said. “It allows them to keep a really organized and efficient space to do the tasks they need to do, and you can customize it to your facility.”
3. Robotic Cleaning Assistants
The staff shortage in cleaning is no joke, as anyone who’s tried to hire cleaners can attest. One way to supplement human staff is to invest in cleaning robots that can take care of simple floor cleaning, freeing your human cleaners to focus on more complex tasks.
Pudu Robotics shared its robotic cleaning solutions at the 2024 ISSA Show North America. The PUDU MT1 is suited for large environments like warehouses and convention centers, while the PUDU CC1 combines sweeping, scrubbing, vacuuming, and mopping into one unit. When the CC1 is done cleaning, it docks itself, drains dirty water, refills with clean water, and recharges its battery. The robots learn the layout of the space they’re cleaning, then generate a cleaning route that they can follow automatically.
The units can clean 7,000 to 10,000 square feet per hour, explained Raymond Pan, general manager of the Americas and Australia for Pudu Robotics.
