Plan for Maintenance Before You Buy Pest Control Equipment

Editor’s note: Andrew Greess, a pest control equipment expert and president of equipment website Qspray.com, submitted this feature on the importance of putting a maintenance plan in place.

When buying pest control equipment, be sure to think about maintenance before you make your purchase decision.

All equipment requires maintenance. Even the best quality equipment requires maintenance. Plan for it up front. Don't make the mistake of ignoring maintenance until you actually need to do it.  
We have seen numerous examples of pest control equipment where lack of advance planning makes maintenance was more difficult, time consuming or expensive than it needed to be.

Here are some questions to consider about maintenance before buying equipment:

• What maintenance is required?
• How often is maintenance required?
• What parts are likely to fail?
• Where do I get replacement parts?
• What will the expected maintenance cost?
• Are the parts requiring maintenance easily accessible on the equipment?
• Who will do maintenance?
• Where will maintenance be performed?
• How long will maintenance take and what is the impact on my operation?

Remember - Preventative Maintenance (PM) is cheaper than waiting for equipment failure and making repairs. Another benefit of is that you get to pick when you do it. Repairs happen when equipment fails, which is usually when you are busy. PM occurs at your convenience: slow times, vacations, weekends, etc.
PM usually involves some combination of:
1. Tear down equipment
2. Clean all parts
3. Replace wear parts (gaskets, o-rings, hoses, etc.)
4. Replace worn/recommended parts
5. Replace fluids 

Your equipment will need maintenance.  It is much better to consider it before buying equipment than after.  Save yourself time, money and headaches by planning for maintenance in advance.

The author is a pest control equipment expert and president of equipment website Qspray.com.  Contact him at Andrew@Qspray.com.