Museum carpet maintenance vaccum cleaner

[Melody Marshall]

Hi. I’m just checking with other members to see what type of vaccum cleaner their museum has invested in to clean their carpet flooring? We are purchasing a new one after nine years, it was a Windtunnel -bagged. Besides making sure that the new cleaner does not put dust back into the air, what other features should we look for? Any suggestions? Thank you.
Melody

[Barbara Appelbaum]

The only kind of vacuum cleaner that should be used in museums is one with a HEPA filter (“high-efficiency particulate air” filter). That’s the official name for vacuums that don’t spit out the dirt they take in.

[Karen Louvar]

Nilfisk has a HEPA filter and variable speed control along with a micro-tool kit.

[Melody Marshall]

I knew that a person used a HEPA vaccum for collection cleaning with the small tool kit. Would you use your same collection care HEPA vaccum on the carpet flooring also? Can HEPA vaccum be purchased elsewhere besides an archival store or catalog? What is Nilfisk, Karen? Thanks for your replies.

[Alyson Rhodes-Murphy]

We have several historic house museums and gallery spaces and use a variety of vacuums. We try to use different vacuums for collections and exhibit areas (ie: dedicate a vacuum for collections). For the floors (baseboards, wood floors, carpets, window sills, etc) we use a SEBO or an Oxygen cannister vac with hose, adjustable suction, multiple filters (HEPA), and accesssory tool kits. Find a locally owned vacuum retailer, explain what you are looking for (adjustable suction, HEPA filters, light weight, wood floor attachments, etc), you can even take them the info on the Nilfisk, and they can find something similar for half the price. I am not saying that they are on the same level as a Nilfisk, but for cleaning exhibit spaces and period rooms, and for those of us with limited funds, they work great! We have found a great local vendor to work with, and have been very happy with their suggestions. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

We had a Nilfisk in a historic house that was being used by Maintenance staff to vaccuum the floors, with terrible results. It was not the right tool for basic carpet cleaning, hard on staff and hard on the vaccuum. There are a lot of reasonably priced HEPA vacs out on the market, mostly advertised toward allergy sufferers. We found a Shark vac for under $200 that made the Maintenance staff happy and does a great, dust-free job. (The Nilfisk was moved to the collections storage facility for collections-only use.)

[Karen Louvar]

Melody, you could also try a Miele (name brand) vacuum or Kenmore at Sears. Alyson’s advice is good too.

[Katherine Collett]

Has anyone used the Atrix VACBP1 Hepa Backpack Vacuum? It’s much cheaper than vacuums like the Nilfisk but looks as if it might be adequate for cleaning in the archives.

[Melody Marshall]

Thanks everyone for your great replies, they really helped with purchase decision.

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