It's the first week of January, 2012. Here in the frozen north, the weather has finally turned really cold and wintery. Tending the wood stove has been added to the regular chore list. The house is all buttoned up. This new year, new season is a great time to type about vacuuming and vacuum cleaners. Last week, I typed a bit about hard floor vacuuming. Today I may waver off topic a bit but for the most part, I'll be discussing "upright vacuums on carpet and why".
First off, "the right tool for the right job" is of maximum importance. A vacuum is a power tool, just like a drill or a weed whacker. You can hurt yourself, damage the machine or wreck something in your house if you mishandle it. If you don't do a very good job vacuuming your health will suffer for it....and they cost a lot of money. You really want to get the right vac for you and your floors. Go to a vacuum cleaner store, talk to a vacuum cleaner person about your floors and test drive a couple. Then buy one based on believable information and not just the advertising on the outside of the box. Many vacuums have really short handles, a lot are really flimsy and some are insanely loud. You want to know these things before you buy one.
Basically, there are upright and cannister types of vacuums and generally, the cannisters are best for hard floors and the uprights are really best for carpet. There are some successful cross-overs, it depends on what the specific needs are. In my case, the vacuum has to be durable enough for commercial work and as light as possible. You maybe need something to do upholstery and carpeted stairs, get into tight corners and around a lot of furniture (think dining room), maybe someone in your household is allergic. Once you get your parameters established, you can choose your tool and the general rule applies, although there are some exceptions, an upright is really best for carpets.
Here are the basic techniques to keep in mind when vacuuming the carpet.
* Vacuum slowly. Picture in your mind what is actually happening on the carpet. It's all thick with dust, the dust is all tangled up in carpet fibers. The brush and the suction come along, but really how deep into the carpet does the suction reach? Does the action of the bristles throw larger debris out of the "suction sweet spot"? If you vacuum slowly you will give the suction time to work on getting everything loosened from the carpet fibers. Sand and grit is made of rock so it's relatively heavy and generally round which are two strikes against it going up the suction easily. If you are listening past the noise of the vac motor and can hear the suction, you can hear the sand and more solid bits going up. The bristles actually kick up a lot of dust, etc. If you vac faster than it can be pulled in, you are really making the air quality worse and not getting the vacuuming done.
* pulling the vac gets better results than pushing it. The bristles rotate to toss the debris behind it. Pulling the vac makes the most of that situation. Ladies, I've found if I hold the handle lower, near my center of gravity and pull the vacuum stepping backward while leaning backward, it pulls less on my lower back. I can't speak to how best for a guy with an upper body center of strength to vacuum other than to say bend your knees if the handle is a bit too short. I actually go into the "horse stance" from Tai Chi, the point here is you might as well get comfortable, because it takes time to do a good job. Figure you are going to spend half an hour vacuuming a normal sized room with wall to wall carpet; nice thick carpet but not shaggy with a normal amount of furniture.
* Keep in mind where the vacuum blows the air out. All that suction is going somewhere. If it is blowing behind you, be aware that you might be blowing across a section of hard floor and the dust is gonna blow wicked. Ideally, blowing up is apt to cause the least amount of dust blow. I often start by sticking the blow end of my cannister vac out the front door or out over a stairwell to keep from blowing across an unvacuumed floor.
* The reason for the floor tools, brushes and suction, the reason for the motor, the real reason and the only reason for the vacuum is to draw air through a filter and contain the debris so it can be safely and easily disposed of. It's all about the filter design. The vacuum cleaner bag IS the filter. It's not just a place for the dirt to go. Change the bag when it is less than a third full. It's not supposed to fill up, it's supposed to filter. If you don't have a bagged vacuum, get to know the filtration system in your machine and make sure it doesn't get clogged.
I guess that's enough for now, I'll get to the "why" part next post. Be well and have a happy and prosperous New Year.
Awesome!
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