Commercial Vacuum vs Residential Vacuum Cleaners
In this post, we’re going to review the key differences between commercial vacuums vs residential vacuum cleaners.
In order to do so we’ll delve into several key features to understand how they differ and any similarities:
- Power and Suction Levels
- Capacity
- Durability
- Applications and Versatility
- Size and Weight
- Price
Let’s dive right into below.
| Which Type Offers More? | Commercial Vacuum | Residential Vacuum |
| Power and Suction Levels | X | |
| Capacity | X | |
| Durability | X | |
| Applications and Versatility | X | |
| Size & Weight | X | |
| Price | X |
Table of Contents
- Commercial Vacuum vs Residential Vacuum Cleaners
- What Is a Commercial Vacuum?
- Commercial Vacuum vs Residential Vacuum Cleaners: Power and Suction Levels
- Commercial Vacuum vs Residential Vacuum Cleaners: Capacity
- Commercial Vacuum vs Residential Vacuum Cleaners: Durability
- Commercial Vacuum vs Residential Vacuum Cleaners: Applications and Versatility
- Commercial Vacuum vs Residential Vacuum Cleaners: Size and Weight
- Commercial Vacuum vs Residential Vacuum Cleaners: Price
- Can I Use My Residential Vacuum Cleaner In Commercial Settings?
- Conclusion – Commercial Vacuum vs Residential Vacuum Cleaners
Commercial Vacuum vs Residential Vacuum Cleaners
Before we jump into the exploring the key differences between commercial vacuum vs residential vacuum cleaners, let’s take a quick moment to define what commercial vacuum cleaners are and why they are termed ‘commercial’ vacuums.
What Is a Commercial Vacuum?
A commercial vacuum cleaner is one designed to be used outside of normal residential premises but instead in workplaces, businesses and similar settings. They’re typically more powerful, offer greater levels of suction and are more durable in the long run.
These of course differ from residential vacuum cleaners that are designed for everyday cleaning around the home.
What’s The Difference Between Commercial vs Industrial Vacuums?
Although you may often see them used interchangeably commercial and industrial vacuum cleaners are two separate types of vacuums. It’s easiest to distinguish them based on the types of environments they need to be used in:-
- Commercial: Used for cleaning premises such as hotels, offices and retail outlets
- Industrial: Used for cleaning areas such as warehouses, grain stores, manufacturing facilities
In this post when we refer to commercial vacuum cleaners we do not include industrial vacuum cleaner applications into the consideration though many other sources appear to do so even if they do not acknowledge it.
Commercial Vacuum vs Residential Vacuum Cleaners: Power and Suction Levels
The power output of a vacuum cleaner is perhaps the most important aspect as it helps determines how much suction can be generated by the machine.
As commercial vacuum cleaners are designed for heavy-duty tasks and cleaning over larger distances than residential vacuums, they have far more power. In some instances, the power and suction levels on commercial vacuum cleaners can be up to three or four times higher than you typically find on domestic vacuum cleaners.
With this level of power on commercial models, there is far less chance of any dust or dirt remaining after the vacuum has passed. This is different to many residential models where oftentimes you may need to redo certain sections as the machine doesn’t generate enough power to get everything collected.
The increased power levels of commercial vacuum cleaners also means that they can be used to clean far bigger spaces without compromising on performance.
In many instances the increased power levels on commercial vacuum cleaners compared to domestic vacuums comes from multiple motors combining for greater output. Typically on a residential vacuum you will only have one motor whereas some commercial vacuums can have 2 motors working in tandem.
Commercial Vacuum vs Residential Vacuum Cleaners: Capacity
The capacity of a vacuum cleaner is critical in determining how big an area can be cleaned before the operator needs to stop to replace the dust bag or empty the container. Typically commercial vacuum cleaners have more capacity than residential vacuum cleaners as operator staff usually have more ground to cover. If commercial cleaning staff had to keep stopping to change bags their operations would be highly inefficient in time and cost.
Residential vacuum cleaners typically have dust capacities of around 1 – 2 litres. Commercial vacuum cleaners however, can have capacities beyond 5 – 20 litres or more depending on the application.
Typically commercial upright vacuum cleaners can be around 5 litres with canister type vacuum cleaners then far exceeding this capacity.
Commercial Vacuum vs Residential Vacuum Cleaners: Durability
When it comes to durability, commercial vacuum cleaners are designed to withstand more rough treatment and clean in harsher environments then residential vacuum cleaners.
Professional grade cleaning requires machines that can last a long time under use and as such commercial vacuum cleaners tend to be made with higher grade and quality materials than domestic vacuums.
More powerful motors in commercial vacuum cleaners also make them more resistant to being overloaded when performing work in professional cleaning settings.
Commercial Vacuum vs Residential Vacuum Cleaners: Applications and Versatility
Residential vacuum cleaners usually do not need to do more than clean carpets and hard floors as well as upholstery and perhaps the car. Most residential vacuum cleaners do not come with a wet as well as dry cleaning option.
Commercial vacuum cleaners on the other hand tend to offer a greater range of versatility in terms of cleaning applications. Whilst many, particularly upright models, are geared towards dry cleaning of carpets and hard floors e.g. when vacuuming in hotels, there are also many wet and dry options available. These allow operatives to tackle spills and wet floors as well as dry floors.
Depending on the application there are some commercial-grade vacuums that can be used to clean up special types of debris such as metal scraps and wood chippings.
Though anything that is very heavy duty would then require specialist industrial vacuum cleaners such as those for cleaning warehouses.
Commercial Vacuum vs Residential Vacuum Cleaners: Size and Weight
An important consideration when looking at the difference between a commercial vacuum vs residential vacuum is the size and weight of the units. The size of the machine matters as it will help to determine how easy it is to manuovre as well as store.
For this reason, residential vacuum cleaners tend to be smaller than commercial vacuums as there’s typically more confined spaces for operating in and storage in residential homes compared to commercial premises such as hotels.
In terms of weight, commercial vacuum cleaners are usually heavier due to having larger capacities as well as larger motors in many instances.
Commercial Vacuum vs Residential Vacuum Cleaners: Price
Given the numerous advantages discussed with commercial vacuum cleaners compared to residential vacuum cleaners it’s no surprise that commercial vacuum cleaners tend to be more expensive.
Accommodating the versatility, durability, and power in commercial vacuum cleaners, requires components and materials that cost more than residential vacuum cleaners hence the higher prices.
Can I Use My Residential Vacuum Cleaner In Commercial Settings?
There are some instances where you may be tempted to use your residential vacuum cleaner in commercial settings and depending on the environment this should not be an issue.
For example when cleaning hotel room carpets a residential vacuum cleaner would no doubt do a good job and indeed some smaller hotels tend to use residential vacuums for their rooms.
Then there are also some commercial vacuum cleaners such as Henry from Numatic which were originally intended for use in commercial settings that have ended being very popular for domestic purposes as well. German made vacuum cleaner brand SEBO is another example as this started out geared more towards the commercial hotel market but is also very popular for domestic use.
Beyond general carpet and hard floor cleaning, you may want to limit the use of your residential vacuum cleaning in commercial settings. As well as potentially harsher environments with more extreme operating temperatures, you may also not want to have your residential vacuum sucking up dust and dirt from these types of environments for hygiene purposes if you intend to use it at home again.
Conclusion – Commercial Vacuum vs Residential Vacuum Cleaners
In conclusion, there are some key differences between commercial vacuums compared to residential vacuum cleaners.
Commercial vacuum cleaners tend to have higher levels of suction power as well as larger capacities and greater flexibility compared to domestic vacuums. This means commercial vacuum cleaners also tend to be more expensive than domestic vacuums.
When it comes down to making a choice between the two, it really depends on what you intend to use them for and in what type of setting.
