Keeping a major university’s newest and largest dining facility clean and safe can be challenging. This two-story dining hall bustles with activity from 7:00 am until 9:00 pm, serving around 6,000 meals every day. The facility features a dozen food stations and two separate kitchens for preparing gluten-free and vegan dishes.  

The company tasked with running the dining hall is trying something new when it comes to cleaning the kitchens. Instead of using the standard microfiber mop and bucket, this large building service contractor piloted a UniVac® by Kaivac. The machine brought instant benefits to the job. 

Cleaning a busy kitchen with a mop and bucket required many steps. Workers must sweep, lay down degreaser, and deck scrub the chemical into the grout. They then have to mop the degreaser up, lay down a fresh coat of floor cleaner, and re-mop. Any liquid left after mopping would then be squeegeed into the floor drain. 

The UniVac simplified the process, allowing workers to dispense degreaser, agitate, and extract with just one powerful machine. “It saves on equipment. You don’t need a separate deck scrubber anymore,” says the BCS’s Director of Safety & Sanitation. “Everything you need is right in your hand.”

The machine’s long vacuum wand means workers can easily scrub and clean under counters, benches, and other tight spots. “Places a regular deck brush just can’t reach,” he says. He also appreciates how much safer a dry kitchen floor is for everyone. “Even though we all wear non-slip shoes, a drier floor is always a plus.”  

The Director also noticed that the UniVac cleans floors much faster than old fashioned tools ever could. This allows him to assign workers to other, high-value tasks without having to add more labor hours. 

Another benefit, dining hall employees actually enjoy using the ergonomically designed UniVac much more than a mop and bucket. They even bring the machine to the front of house to quickly clean up spills and other messes. “It’s so easy to suck up a spill and there is no water residue left on the floor,” he says. 

The busy Director is convinced that the UniVac pilot has been a success. “It’s easy to use and the employees find it comfortable,” he says. “If I were the one cleaning floors, I’d 100% insist on using the UniVac.”