Vacuuming is an essential part of keeping your home clean. Whether your carpet is collecting dust from the air, mud and oils from shoes or hair and dander from your furry friends, it feels like there is always something that needs vacuumed. We here at Fresh Start Carpet Cleaning vacuum thousands of square feet of residential carpets every week, and we wanted to write this guide to share these tips so that everyone can incorporate them into their regular vacuuming routine.
Do I Vacuum in 1 direction or 2 or even 4 directions?
Every carpet that we clean starts with a thorough vacuuming. The amount of dry material and soiling removed through vacuuming greatly increases the quality of a carpet cleaning service. Our technicians have found that vacuuming rooms in two directions, perpendicular to each other, is the best way to vacuum. Vacuums typically have one brush roll and this pushes the carpet toward the rear of the vacuum where it gets sucked up. This can miss soil and cause some fibers to be pushed down in that direction, keeping soil stuck in the carpet. By going in perpendicular directions, the fibers get agitated in multiple directions and we found that rooms look cleaner and the vacuum cup fills up more with this method.
Cleaning a room in all 4 directions is very thorough, but we find that after the first two passes, very little extra soil is removed in the other directions.
Maintain A Clean Vacuum
It may seem like an oxymoron as vacuums are literally built to suck up and collect dirt, hair and more. However, your vacuums efficiency and lifespan depend greatly on taking a few extra minutes to take care of your machine. An efficient vacuum will clean faster and better than one bogged down with debris. Much of the dirt sucked up by vacuums is very fine and small. This stuff is perfect for clogging up the filters meant to trap it. If the filters are neglected, the overall airflow will suffer causing less cleaning power. The motor will have to work harder, and the restricted airflow will cause overheating and shorten the lifespan of your vacuum. Most fine particulate filters these days are washable in the sink with nothing but cold water just like a sponge. Make sure to let the filter dry fully before using it again.
Just like with a wet filter, never use a standard dry vacuum to suck up liquids. The fine particulates in the vacuum dust cup make a silty, sticky nightmare when given too much moisture. The result is twofold: clogged airflow as the sticky silt acts like cholesterol and blocks the airway and let’s not forget the terrible smell that your vacuum exhaust can blow into the house when a wet dust cup grows bacteria.
Take Your Time
A Vacuum uses a brush roll to sweep dirt and dust toward the vacuum port where it gets sucked in. These brushes knock up dirt very well and grab pet hair by the bunches, however vacuums cannot suck up everything all at once. It takes time for the brush roll and the vacuum to work together, and both knock loose the debris and suck it up. Customers have vacuumed their houses before we arrive, and we insist on vacuuming again anyways. Most of the time, after we go over the carpet again, we will dispose of 1-1 ½ dust cups worth of extra dirt and debris per room and taking our time makes the difference.
Empty The Canister
As the vacuum does its job, the dust canister will begin to fill. As the canister fills up more and more, the volume of air inside goes down. This affects airflow for the vacuum motor and reduces the cleaning ability. Emptying the canister at about halfway to three-quarters full keeps the vacuum working at its best. Once the canister fills more than this, the large particle filters will begin to clog quickly. When this happens, dirt may fall back out of the vacuum hoses as it loses suction. Debris will begin to backup and clog up the airway. Eventually not emptying the canister until it has sucked up as much debris as it can hold will result in buying a new vacuum.
Vacuum Regularly
Dirt and dust settles into the fibers and can work it’s way down into the backing of the carpet. If allowed to settle and build up, getting this back out of the carpet can be a painstaking experience. This soiling also causes microscopic scratches in the carpet fibers. Soil in high traffic areas gets ground into the fibers over time causing the fibers to become dull in appearance and look worn. Maintaining a regular vacuuming schedule will help prevent buildup of soiling and dirt and prevent carpet wear. A well-vacuumed carpet is a breeze to deep clean and maintain.