Vacuuming Best Practices

An upright vacuum resting on a rug in a modern living room.

Top 9 Tips to Make the Most Out of Your Vacuum

As a homeowner, learning how to get the most out of your vacuum can really maximize its impact on your home.

On top of making your space more attractive, an effective vacuuming routine can protect your investment in your carpets, keeping them healthy and durable for a longer period of time. Vacuuming best practices can also improve your indoor air quality by removing dust, dirt, and potential allergens like pet hair, dust mites, and dander. As an added bonus, these vacuuming tips can even help keep your vacuum in good working condition over the long term.

So if you’re looking to keep your home in tip-top shape, keep reading for Oxi Fresh’s top nine vacuuming tips!

#1: Pick the Right Vacuum

If you don’t already have a vacuum or are thinking about buying a new one, our first vacuuming tip is to get the right vacuum for your needs. Not every vacuum is the same, after all, and different kinds of flooring have different needs. For instance, wool carpets should never be vacuumed with a machine that has a beater bar but synthetic fibers can generally take a much more serious beating.

We recommend checking out the Carpet and Rug Institute’s SOA Certified Vacuums page, which lists the dozens of vacuum cleaners they’ve tested and awarded their “Seal of Approval.”

#2: Adjust Your Vacuum’s Height

Make sure you set your vacuum to the optimum height for your specific flooring (if it’s adjustable). You may find guidance on doing this in your machine’s manual. If not, set your vacuum to the highest possible setting, then begin to lower it one notch at a time. When you feel the vacuum start to slightly pull itself forward on your carpet, you’ve reached a good height for normal vacuuming.

Advanced Vacuuming Tip: for an unusually dirty area, you may want to drop the setting one level lower. But be wary of doing this too often, as it could cause your carpet to wear out faster than you’d like.

#3: Work the Vacuum in Multiple Directions

Going in just one direction when vacuuming leads to mediocre results. Our vacuuming tip is to go forward and then backward over the same ‘stripe’ of the floor before going to the next stripe (and make sure you overlap stripes). Once you’ve covered the carpet in that direction, shift yourself 90° and repeat the process from the side angle.

Isn’t this just overkill? Nope! With most vacuums, the beater bar loosens soil on the forward pass which can then be picked up on the backward pass. Going perpendicular also gives your vacuum the chance to pick up as much soil as possible.

#4: Keep the Machine Clean and Clear

Did you know that most vacuums lose about 50% of their suction power by the time their bag or canister is just one-third full? That’s right!  Always empty your vacuum’s bag or canister once it gets one-quarter or one-third full. It’s also best practice to clean out or wipe down the canister, if possible, and other internal components after every few uses.

Some additional vacuuming best practices:

  • Regularly clean the brushes/bristles. Keeping them free of debris means they can continue to capture more debris.
  • Baking soda can be helpful for neutralizing any odors that may arise.
  • Check the filter(s) regularly and replace or clean them as needed.

These vacuuming tips will help you get the most out of your vacuum and will also extend its lifespan. A well-cared-for machine lasts longer.

#5: Pick a Pace and Build a Routine

According to the Carpet and Rug Institute, a typical homeowner should vacuum their carpets twice a week, if possible. For many, vacuuming your home once a week is a more realistic, and still appropriate, goal.

If you have certain areas that get a lot of traffic and use, you can hit those spots with a little extra TLC during your weekly routine (and maybe come back to them a second time later in the week). If you have pets, kids, or lots and lots of people coming in and out, twice a week over every part of your carpet might be the right call.

If you think this seems excessive, remember that this simple vacuuming best practice can literally add years to the life of your carpet.

#6: Use Special Attachments

Remember all those attachments your vacuum has? They’re not just there for show. Different attachments can help you get great suction power in hard-to-reach, difficult-to-clean places. Crevice tools can help you vacuum corners and edges, for instance, while upholstery brush attachments are designed to get better results when vacuuming furniture.

#7: Don’t Rush!

No one likes being told to slow down, but that’s another critical vacuuming best practice. Take your time so your vacuum can work its magic. If you move too fast, your vacuum won’t have a chance to suck up all the dirt it encounters. By trying to go too quickly to save time, you actually end up wasting more time.

#8: Strategize for Whole House Cleanings

If you’re cleaning more than just your floors, be strategic about your order of operations and work from the top down. As you clean ceiling fans, windowsills, counters, and other elevated surfaces, dust and debris will fall down to the floor. Saving your vacuum routine for last means you can pick up that extra soil before it has a chance to settle into your carpet.

#9: Follow the Manual

Beyond these vacuuming tips, it’s always a great idea to read through your vacuum’s manual and follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. They may, for example, recommend regular belt replacement or other maintenance steps that will help maintain suction power and extend your machine’s working life.

By following these simple vacuuming best practices, you’ll be able to keep your home cleaner and more beautiful throughout the year. If you have any questions about your carpet cleaning needs, give us a call at 1-877-OXIFRESH to speak with our scheduling team.

*Thanks to the Carpet and Rug Institute, Consumer Reports, Real Simple, Merry Maids, and House Tipster. We used their resources, along with our in-house knowledge, to make sure we covered all the most important vacuuming tips for homeowners like you.

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