It's the second week of January, I'll continue my discussion on vacuuming. The 4th week of December post covered vacuuming the kitchen floor and the 1st week of January post covered techniques for vacuuming carpet and choosing the right vac for your home. Today, I'll type about why it's so important and what it is you need to vacuum up.
There is much that's obvious about why to vacuum. Having a clean looking floor means you can think about other things. There is much that cannot be seen without magnification that needs to be eliminated from your living space so good technique is a must. Vacuum cleaners are rated by the volume of air they can move in 1 minute. HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters are most efficient at 150 cubic feet of air per minute or better and as you recall from last week, the whole reason for the vacuum cleaner is to draw particle laden air through a filter. HEPA filters with adequate air flow trap particles down to .3 microns in size with 99.97% efficiency which covers most air pollutants.
Particle size ranges
From .3 to 1 micron - most bacteria, droplet nuclei (sneeze), cooking oil, most smoke, insecticide dust, face powder, paint pigment.
From 1 to 3 microns - humidifier mist droplets, lead dust, milled flour, some auto emission particles, nebulizer drops
From 3 to 10 microns - mold spores, dust mite body parts and droppings, cat and dog dander (dried saliva from grooming themselves), hair spray, fabric protector, dusting aids (don't bother with these products, Pledge etc are a waste of time and money and have bad chemicals in them, I'll go over dusting at a later date)
Greater than 10 microns - pollen, dust mites, cockroach body parts and droppings, sanding dust, spray paint dust, textile and carpet fibers
Some of these air pollutants are generated inside your home. Some come in your home on your shoes and clothes. They all get kicked up and travel through the air on larger particles of dust so they tend to settle. If you think your air purifiers are getting them, you may need to rethink. An air purifier has to be pretty powerful to circulate the air quickly enough to get them out of the air before they sink. I'm not saying air purifiers are a bad thing, just be realistic about what they can do. If you have a cluttery house, the air is not circulating. The best way to get the pollutants out of your home is to vacuum them up.
Just so you know, some of the things smaller than a HEPA filter can capture are viruses, carbon dust (comes from cutting, grinding or sanding composite materials like in a machine shop), sea salt, combustion smoke (car exhaust) and fine dust from auto tires wearing down on the road. Most of these are so small they can be difficult, even impossible for our lungs to clear out if we breathe them in. If you live on a busy road, I suggest you do not open the windows facing the road during and shortly after the heavy traffic times. You could put a fan in those windows to blow air out. Definitely, my darlings, do not let this pollutant laden air inside.
There are a lot of bagless vacuums out there and I'm not wholly opposed to them, though I prefer to change a bag knowing I'm putting in a clean filter. I've not been overly impressed with the bagless machines I have used as they have not been easy to clean out, the dirt gets into narrow places in the machine and I'm not convinced the filtration systems are that sound. They also tend to be heavy, bulky and difficult to get around furniture. I use an Oreck which is lightweight, has powerful suction and fits under most couches and chairs with legs and it fits between most end table legs. I have used one Dyson vac at a clients' home several years ago. I actually found the suction too much for the area rugs this family had. The suction actually pulled the carpet up into the machine but it would have been suitable for wall to wall carpeting. I found it to be heavy and unwieldy. That said, it was an early version and I wasn't able to use it enough to determine how well it cleaned. I was impressed with how solid the machine seemed and look forward to test driving more Dysons and talking to someone who can tell me how efficient this new filtration design is. If you have a bagless vacuum because changing a bag was inconvenient for you, I hope you are maintaining it. You absolutely must take care of your tools. It's reckless, irresponsible and self defeating to not maintain your machine. I'm starting to preach instead of teach so I'll quit for now.
Next week, I will go into the gory details of dust mites, bed bugs, spiders and how to get rid of them. Be well, my darlings and show your vacuum some love.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
1st Week of January 2012, Vacuum Carpet Technique
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.
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.
Friday, December 30, 2011
4th week of December, Cleaning Kitchen Floor
It is the 4th week of December, 2011 and the holiday season is beginning to wind down. I hope yours was merry and bright. Floors and in particular kitchen floors have taken a beating lately, so I'll talk about kitchen floors this morning.
I've found that most of the mess on a kitchen floor is along the counter tops and in front of the stove, fridge and sink. It is most effective to use a wet (but not drippy) cleaning cloth and wipe by hand around the edge of the kitchen floor. Often when we vacuum, the crumbs are shoved up against the wall under the cabinets by the bristles on the front edge of the vacuum floor tool and do not get vacuumed up. By wiping the edges by hand we can get the crumbs away from the edges where the vacuum can get them. While you're down there, putting moisture on and giving a wipe to the high traffic areas and spills will loosen the dirt and make it easier to mop. If your knees are bad and getting down on the floor is hard, I suggest you drop the cloth on the floor and use your foot to wipe around, then you can just bend over to pick up the cloth and not have to actually get down on your hands and knees.
Anytime we vacuum a hard floor, the bristles along the front edge of the floor tool push the crumbs along. The only way they get sucked up is if the crumbs fit between the bristles or if the bristles are cut with spaces for the dirt to get past the bristles. The best way to ensure you are actually vacuuming up everything is to * vacuum slowly and * tip the handle down so that the front edge of the vacuum floor tool raises up slightly and allows the suction to pull the dirt right up. Get in the habit of tipping the handle down at the end of each forward stroke to raise the bristles slightly. Have a look at the bristles on your floor tool and picture them in your mind as they slide across a hard floor. If you have a tile floor, the dirt may drop into the grout and the suction passes over the top. It takes time for the debris to get sucked up so vacuum slowly. If you slow down you won't have to do so many repetitions. Try to keep a mental image of what is actually happening on the floor as you vacuum. Listen for the sound of crumbs going up the vacuum and feel the suction pulling on the floor. You will miss these sensations if you go too fast or are distracted. Slow down and focus on the action down there on the floor. This is the best way to improve your technique and to make the most of your cleaning time. Your vacuum is a "power tool" and in your hands it is the most important tool you have for keeping a healthy home. It is well worth your time to think about your technique and a waste of time to vacuum poorly.
O.K., we have the kitchen floor prepped by giving it a wipe around the edges and loosened up by hand the sticky stuff, etc. We have vacuumed slowly and carefully, listening for the dirt to go up the vacuum and feeling the suction as we stroke and tip and pull back the vac. It's time to mop. This morning, I will go over the basic helpful hints. At some point in the near future, I will have to go over different types of mops, different types of floors and different cleaners. For today, I'll just talk about the basics. The whole idea of water and soap and mop is to get the dirt up off the floor without leaving any soap behind and doing so in a thorough but timely manner. It only takes a small amount of soap to improve the cleaning power of water and mop so my first helpful hint is use as little soap as possible. It takes a lot of water to rinse an over abundance of soap off the floor. I don't care for the bucket method of floor cleaning since you have to put your mop back into the dirty water. If you don't want to rinse your mop in the kitchen sink, use two buckets. One of barely soapy water to dip the mop in and a bucket to hold the dirty water. Always put a clean surface to what ever it is you are cleaning. Whether it be the kitchen floor, a mirror, the stair railings, whatever. Continually wiping with the same cloth surface against what you are cleaning is a waste of time. Using minimally soapy water on a damp, not drippy mop starting in one corner and work in sections. Give the floor a few strokes, maybe several strokes if the floor in that area isn't too dirty, and rinse the mop. Put the clean surface of the mop back on the floor and give it a few more strokes and rinse it again. If you are using a sponge mop, the surface that actually cleans the floor is only about 20 square inches. Sure, the sponge is picking up dirt and soaking it into the sponge but the actual surface that slides across the floor gets dirty quickly and is just smearing that stuff around. * Minimal soap, * not too much water on the floor and * rinse the mop head often. Incorporate these ideas into your technique and you will be more efficient, reaching your goal of a clean kitchen floor in less time with less work. I hope you find this information useful and there is much more I have to share on this topic.
Have a great day and a happy and prosperous New Year.
I've found that most of the mess on a kitchen floor is along the counter tops and in front of the stove, fridge and sink. It is most effective to use a wet (but not drippy) cleaning cloth and wipe by hand around the edge of the kitchen floor. Often when we vacuum, the crumbs are shoved up against the wall under the cabinets by the bristles on the front edge of the vacuum floor tool and do not get vacuumed up. By wiping the edges by hand we can get the crumbs away from the edges where the vacuum can get them. While you're down there, putting moisture on and giving a wipe to the high traffic areas and spills will loosen the dirt and make it easier to mop. If your knees are bad and getting down on the floor is hard, I suggest you drop the cloth on the floor and use your foot to wipe around, then you can just bend over to pick up the cloth and not have to actually get down on your hands and knees.
Anytime we vacuum a hard floor, the bristles along the front edge of the floor tool push the crumbs along. The only way they get sucked up is if the crumbs fit between the bristles or if the bristles are cut with spaces for the dirt to get past the bristles. The best way to ensure you are actually vacuuming up everything is to * vacuum slowly and * tip the handle down so that the front edge of the vacuum floor tool raises up slightly and allows the suction to pull the dirt right up. Get in the habit of tipping the handle down at the end of each forward stroke to raise the bristles slightly. Have a look at the bristles on your floor tool and picture them in your mind as they slide across a hard floor. If you have a tile floor, the dirt may drop into the grout and the suction passes over the top. It takes time for the debris to get sucked up so vacuum slowly. If you slow down you won't have to do so many repetitions. Try to keep a mental image of what is actually happening on the floor as you vacuum. Listen for the sound of crumbs going up the vacuum and feel the suction pulling on the floor. You will miss these sensations if you go too fast or are distracted. Slow down and focus on the action down there on the floor. This is the best way to improve your technique and to make the most of your cleaning time. Your vacuum is a "power tool" and in your hands it is the most important tool you have for keeping a healthy home. It is well worth your time to think about your technique and a waste of time to vacuum poorly.
O.K., we have the kitchen floor prepped by giving it a wipe around the edges and loosened up by hand the sticky stuff, etc. We have vacuumed slowly and carefully, listening for the dirt to go up the vacuum and feeling the suction as we stroke and tip and pull back the vac. It's time to mop. This morning, I will go over the basic helpful hints. At some point in the near future, I will have to go over different types of mops, different types of floors and different cleaners. For today, I'll just talk about the basics. The whole idea of water and soap and mop is to get the dirt up off the floor without leaving any soap behind and doing so in a thorough but timely manner. It only takes a small amount of soap to improve the cleaning power of water and mop so my first helpful hint is use as little soap as possible. It takes a lot of water to rinse an over abundance of soap off the floor. I don't care for the bucket method of floor cleaning since you have to put your mop back into the dirty water. If you don't want to rinse your mop in the kitchen sink, use two buckets. One of barely soapy water to dip the mop in and a bucket to hold the dirty water. Always put a clean surface to what ever it is you are cleaning. Whether it be the kitchen floor, a mirror, the stair railings, whatever. Continually wiping with the same cloth surface against what you are cleaning is a waste of time. Using minimally soapy water on a damp, not drippy mop starting in one corner and work in sections. Give the floor a few strokes, maybe several strokes if the floor in that area isn't too dirty, and rinse the mop. Put the clean surface of the mop back on the floor and give it a few more strokes and rinse it again. If you are using a sponge mop, the surface that actually cleans the floor is only about 20 square inches. Sure, the sponge is picking up dirt and soaking it into the sponge but the actual surface that slides across the floor gets dirty quickly and is just smearing that stuff around. * Minimal soap, * not too much water on the floor and * rinse the mop head often. Incorporate these ideas into your technique and you will be more efficient, reaching your goal of a clean kitchen floor in less time with less work. I hope you find this information useful and there is much more I have to share on this topic.
Have a great day and a happy and prosperous New Year.
Monday, December 19, 2011
3rd week of December, Holiday Safety
This is the week before Christmas, the day before the first candle of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa is on the way. Nearly every home will have holiday guests and gatherings, traditional meals and ceremony. How wonderful!
* I suggest that if you are the primary caregiver to your home, keep it simple, enjoy the season.
* Let go of everything not really important and be realistic about what you can do in a day.
* The most important thing to keep in mind is safety. Be careful with burning candles, make sure the tree is watered and anchored well. I usually tie the thing to the wall or support the tree stand with bricks. Be mindful of the pets, avoid tinsel on the tree, keep poinsettias out of their reach.
* Don't rush yourself in the kitchen. Breathe slowly and smile to stay centered, focus on your hands so your mind won't race around so much. Making a list of "what happens when" helps me.
* As for housework, if the floors get vacuumed and the bedside tables get dusted you've taken care of what is most important. Doing one bathroom chore each time you go in makes it easier to keep up with it. I will blog about bathrooms a lot as time goes on.
* If you don't have a shower squeegie in the tub/shower, ask for one for as a present. Cleaning the tubby and shower walls will be much easier and it helps control the humidity. This is one of the few "must haves" that I will suggest and I strongly suggest that you get one for each tub/shower.
* This time of year is where a team approach to housekeeping really works, but if your household doesn't have a team approach established, we will work on having that in place by Spring. : )
Enjoy the holidays, my darlings, be safe and be well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)