You & Your Vacuum

How important is vacuuming my carpet... and can I vacuum too much?

This cannot be stated often enough. Vacuuming never wore out a carpet (unless the vacuum being used is in horrible condition) but NOT vacuuming will cause your carpet to appear worn much faster.?

The flooring industry has stated for many years that the recommended frequency for vacuuming is 2 to 3 times a week for the average household. Obviously if there are more people as well as pets, this needs to be performed more often. With the advances in fiber technology used in today?s carpet, that doesn?t mean that you only have to vacuum once a month or less!

Also when you vacuum remember that a ?quick once over? is fine in low or no use areas but in higher traffic areas such as hallways, stairways and in front of furniture several passes will be necessary.

Now let?s get into the vacuum cleaner itself as well as its maintenance.

What type of vacuum is best? ?Comically this can be a touchy issue. You will get all kinds of opinions and reasons why this vacuum is better than that vacuum.

When it comes to cleaning a carpet the best type of vacuum is an upright model with a rotating brush. These may included vacuums that use a bag and newer style bagless units that you empty after each use. Canister styles are handy for multitasking but the carpet cleaning heads do not have the weight necessary to do a proper job. Some of these heads are not even powered with a rotating brush. There is a vast selection of upright models to choose from so you would benefit by doing some online research.

How often should I change the dust bag? We all want to get as much mileage from the dust bag as possible but this is very important. You need to replace the dust bag when it reaches the ? full point. The reason for this is that the balance of the dust bag by then has been saturated with dust which reduces the suction significantly. Obviously the vacuum?s efficiency drops which means it is no longer removing the soil from the carpet.

How often should I replace the filters? What? My vacuum has filters? You mean like my car? Yes it sure does! The newer ?"bagless? units have several filters. Even older vacuums have at least one filter. These need to be checked regularly. As with the dust bags if these are not maintained the efficiency of the vacuum will be greatly reduced.

How about the brushes??If you have been using your vacuum as often as you should, in time those brushes do wear down. As the length of these is reduced by usage they will no longer make the contact they were designed to with the carpet. Once again this will compromise the ability of the vacuum to clean your carpet.

The conclusion is that your carpet is a major investment. On average, your flooring is the 3rd largest purchase that you will make. Isn?t this worth a little effort to protect your investment? The reward is not just the years of use that you get but how much nicer your carpet will look over its lifetime. If you don?t feel that you are ?that handy? maintaining your vacuum we strongly suggest that you contact a professional vacuum cleaner shop. This would not be your big box style stores but more likely a locally owned shop that not only sells but repairs and maintains vacuum cleaners they sell.