What To Look For In A Vacuum

We get a lot of clients who ask us "what sort of vacuum do you recommend?" or "Do you like [those] vacuums?" usually after we bring in our Dyson to perform the pre-vacuuming prior to cleaning.

The short answer is: yes, we do. ;)

To get a bit more in-depth, the very first thing we recommend, and the most important feature to any vacuum, is that it can be set to the proper height. Proper agitation of the carpet fibers is essential to good vacuuming. Without it, you are either doing nothing at all or possibly damaging your carpet! To obtain proper agitation, the bristles of the beater bar need to brush the tips of the fibers, creating a vibration that shakes the soil loose from the fibers. If your vacuum is set too high, then there is no contact, or insufficient contact and you are removing topical soils at best (most likely though, you're just moving air around). The one tip you've likely heard from us (if we've had the honor to clean your home) is to place your foot in front of the vacuum and lower the bar setting (if you have an adjustable setting) until you can feel the vibration on the floor.
NOTE! this does NOT mean "all the way down." If you have a particularly low pile, that is a possibility, but not likely in most homes. If you have a self-adjusting vacuum, all the better. Of course regular maintenance should be performed to ensure that this function is in working order. Our vacuums are self-adjusting. It just makes it easier.

Next we look for good suction. Alot can be made of this, and many gearheads will rattle off all sorts of numbers, sizes, powers and so on, most of it rather unimportant. Most vacuums of similar types have similar suction. So long as it is sufficient to capture the soils you are releasing, that is whats most important. You don't need the suckingest vacuum that has ever sucked, but neither will the cheapest vacuum do the best job of capturing soils. These days, most quality vacuums will have acceptable suction. We use a cyclonic system that does a great job.

After loosening the soil and capturing it, of course you need to keep it contained. This is where the differences lie. A good vacuum will not re-release the soils back into the atmosphere. This is why we do not recommend any bag vacuums, even double bag systems. The simple fact is that the even if the bags themselves are not easily permeated (and many of them are, at a certain size), the connection point where the bag attaches is often the point of release, causing recontamination. We only use bagless vacuums with HEPA filters. This ensures that we aren't just spreading the soils around the house.

As I mentioned, we use Dyson vacuums on all our jobs. They are more expensive than many common vacuums out there, but they also do a MUCH better job at the three above criteria than said other vacuums. Dyson vacuums are bagless cyclonic vacuums with HEPA filters and a self-adjusting beater bar. They are also light-weight and easy to handle, perfect for home use. Of course there are other comparable brands out there, so feel free to shop around and find what you like. Though I will say that we did do a fair amount of legwork before making our choice, and we've been very satisfied.

So while all you husbands are doing the house work for your lovely wives this Valentine's weekend, and while all you wives are admiring your hard-working husbands, consider how much easier your cleaning could be if you had the right vacuum. ;D