The Invention of the AutoVac

In about 2008, my wife, Carlene, and I joined a local fitness club here in Hamilton, Ohio. I liked to do the spin class, and she liked the yoga class. One day, spin was right before yoga, so she convinced me to stick around and try her class.

As the spin class tipped up their bikes and rolled them to the corner, each one left behind puddles of sweat on the wood classroom floor. You’re supposed to be courteous and wipe down your bike and clean up your puddle, but not everyone does. On this day, there were puddles left behind like the land of a thousand lakes, and, with them, that sickly sweet smell of sweat. The yoga class participants were disgusted and went to the manager to complain.

The manager came in like a hero, ready to save the day. In his outstretched arm, he held the answer – a mop. He swung around its dirty strings, spreading this nasty sweaty mess all over the floor. The next thing I know, I was in downward dog on my yoga mat. I looked to the side, and I saw moisture, grit, and body hair in mop streaks all over the floor. Most people would be grossed out, and I was. But I also smelled an opportunity.

At the end of the yoga class, I talked to the manager. I told him who I was and asked if I could experiment with cleaning at his gym. Once I got his permission, I knew right where I wanted to start – the classroom after spin class.

We had already created the Dispense-and-Vac for cleaning hard floors. Its process was to dispense cleaning solution from the machine, then spread it around manually with a spreader, and, lastly, suck up the soiled solution with the vacuum wand. The problem with that process was that moisture would sit on the wood floor for too long and could warp the wood boards ruining the floor. We needed to suck up the solution immediately.

What if we had a way of spreading the solution and sucking it up in a single pass? We took a microfiber flat mop and attached it to the trolley on the Dispense-and-Vac machine. Then we rigged a long squeegee vac head to trail behind it. The resulting machine dispensed cleaning solution, spread the solution with the microfiber pad, and sucked up the solution with the squeegee bar – dispense, spread, and recover all in a single pass with a lightweight walk-behind machine. That machine became a new invention, the AutoVac. The true beauty of AutoVac is its simplicity. Anyone can operate it or repair it. It also has a low price point and high productivity compared to most of the autoscrubbers on the market.

The AutoVac now has multiple patents, and we’ve made great improvements to it over the years. We added a thumb throttle control and lithium-ion battery. Now, we also recycle the cleaning solution without losing effectiveness – that’s the AutoVac Stretch. AutoVac Stretch is used in education facilities, retail stores, factories, warehouses, and many other commercial buildings.

Looking back to that inciting moment in yoga class, it’s amazing how a great idea can start. Disgust with filth can be powerful motivation. And just knowing that there’s a better way to do this. Discovering a better way – that’s an inventor’s calling.