When buying commercial cleaning equipment, you may be faced with two choices: invest in new ones or buy used ones to save money. For the average consumer the difference between the two may not be that big, but for a business it can hugely affect productivity and profitability.

In order to make a wise decision, you need to take a closer look into each option and discover what advantages and disadvantage each one brings. Let’s closely examine each one.

Used Equipment

• Advantages: You can save money and allocate the budget to other areas of the business.
• Disadvantages: These may be prone to damage or system problems. If they get busted, you can’t return them to the store (or in this case, the person or business you bought them from). This means you end up with something you can’t use. If you have them repaired, then you would have to personally shoulder the costs. Most used equipment may also be outdated. If you get a really old model this can affect your employees’ productivity. Ultimately, it will then affect the level of service that your clients receive from your company. Aside from that, it can also have a negative effect on your company image, if the one you get looks run down.

New Equipment

• Advantages: You have equipment your employees can use to further increase the high level of service you provide to your clients. Being able to enjoy the latest features that the device brings, your employees can be more efficient and productive in their work. New equipment are also more reliable as they are less prone to breaking down. This means uninterrupted service to your clients. In the event that they do break down though, you don’t have to worry about the repair as they always come with a warranty. Plus, you don’t have to worry about getting parts for the device as these will be easily available. They will also have a positive effect on your image, especially if they look clean and presentable.
• Disadvantages: You spend more as new equipment cost more than used ones.

The Bottom Line

When it comes to your business, you need to be careful in choosing what you invest in. You need to make a choice between investing in reliable equipment and shelling out more money or saving money and risking quality service.

Based on the set of advantages and disadvantages that each option brings, it’s clear that you should choose to invest in new equipment for your business. Buying new cleaning equipment, from air movers and portable steam cleaners to vacuum and carpet cleaners, may cost more but it will be an investment that you can benefit from for years.