Five Things to Be Aware of When Vacuuming Your Home

Teach Children to
Pick Up Their Coins

Though Small, Pins
Can Damage a Vacuum

Take the Time to
Pick Up Nails

Whether using a central, upright, canister, or commercial vacuum, there are a few things to watch out for when cleaning. Here are some worthwhile tips that make your cleaning experience easier, safer and more efficient:

  • Always look for pins, needles, staples, coins, nails, screws, tacks, or anything else made of metal on the floor. Manually sweep or pick up these items so they do not jam or break a working part of your vacuum cleaner.

    Metals can be really hard on a vacuum’s motor and be a rip hazard for vacuums that use bags. If you have children at home, teach them to pick up their toys and other objects. One mistake of vacuuming up metals can create a trip to the vacuum repair store.

  • Never Vacuum Liquids

    Do not vacuum liquid spills or foods. Home vacuum cleaners are “dry” vacuums and are not made to suck up liquids. If you do this, the liquid will collect in a paper or cloth bag (if yours is a bagged model) that is not designed to hold liquids and will likely disintegrate. Also, the electric motor may not be protected from any electrical leakage.

    Any liquid like water, milk, juice, soft drinks, wine, or soup can get into the motor causing a short in the circuit. A fluid can cover the commuter, dry out, and leave a sticky filthy layer that increases the friction and worsens any electric contact. These motor malfunctions will not allow it to operate much longer.

    Foods can cause problems behind the scenes such as clogging the vacuum and damaging the motor because of their moisture content. Food residue can spoil inside your vacuum and begin to smell bad. Who wants to clean up this stinky mess. If you depend on the vacuum to solve the spill, the remaining liquid can stiffen or harden the carpet or rug fibers and be hard to remove.

  • Sweep Up Glass
    Don’t Vacuum

    Never let the bag or canister become more than 2/3 full and always vacuum your desired areas twice. When a bag or canister is too full, you will experience less suction power from your vacuum. If you don’t empty it at this point and continue to vacuum you are losing efficiency and will waste time going over areas too much. What’s worse is you can overheat the motor because the vacuum can’t do its job like it is designed to do.

    The best advice is to check the bag or canister every time before vacuuming and empty, clean, or can it for a cleaner and healthier environment. A too-full bag can cause overflow and backflow that send dirty air out into the room.

    Take the time to vacuum each floor area twice to ensure your floors are clean. This effort is especially important if you clean less often rather than more often. Go in two different directions at 90 degrees to each other. Take the time to read about 13 things you should never vacuum.

  • Do not vacuum broken pieces of glass, large or small. With its sharp edges, glass can rip a bag holding dust and dirt, and ruin it. Some of this debris can leak out into the room’s air and/or clog up the filtration system. Glass can damage internal working parts and you may end up taking your cleaner to the repair shop.

  • Never suck up fine, powdery substances like flour, used coffee grounds, hot ash, sand, dirt, plant debris, or construction dust. Although these dust-like substances may not sound like a problem, they can build up and eventually jam part of your vacuum. Small food particles that stay inside the vacuum and spoil can cause a smelly mess. Hot ashes can burn the paper or cloth dirt bag or damage a plastic or rubber part.

“With years of extensive industry experience, we continue to help customers keep their homes and businesses clean and hygienic.”

Household Vacuums

Household vacuums like upright, canister, backpack, central, or robotic models can do a great job cleaning your house. None of them are designed to withstand the punishment of sucking up the things we’ve discussed thus far. SEBO and Miele are among the top manufacturers in the industry today. Consider one of these brands the next time you are in the market for a new vacuum. Use it, don’t abuse it, and you will have a high-quality vacuum cleaner for many years.

Central Vacuum Cleaners

3 Leading Brands of
Central Vacuums

Central vacuum systems are generally considered the most powerful and are installed in garages, basements, or storage rooms. They consist of a central unit with pipes that are connected throughout the house, generally in the walls. Inlets are also installed at strategic places in the home which allow customers to connect hoses and other accessories to clean dirt – dust – particles – allergens and more. We feature a full range of central vacuums to meet all your home or business cleaning needs. We also have all the top brand names of attachments, tools, accessories, and parts including:

A Full Accessory Kit

With years of extensive industry experience, we continue to help customers keep their homes and businesses clean and hygienic. Whether you need brushes, hoses, power-heads or attachments, we feature it all at ThinkVacuums.com. Simply visit our site to find all the top-name vacuum cleaner brands, along with the best prices and shipping for customers worldwide.

Sources and References