Soil is the enemy of your carpet and rugs, upholstery, and draperies. One of the most important aspects of proper maintenance is to vacuum often and to vacuum correctly. Most people do not vacuum their textile furnishings enough. And even when they do, the vacuuming may still be done incorrectly or inefficiently. This fact sheet will explain how to vacuum correctly with effort-saving tips and helpful pointers.
Ground-in dust, dirt, sand, or grit are the enemy, and it is your vacuum’s job to remove them. But did you know that an excessively soiled carpet can hold up to 1/2 kg of dirt in each square metre? This can occur especially at entranceways and in heavily trafficked areas that are seldom vacuumed properly and not cleaned frequently enough. Few people really know how to vacuum efficiently with minimum effort. Let’s explain how, covering both vacuuming technique and equipment.
Most of the damaging soils, oily or gritty particles collect where there is most usage or foot traffic. These are the areas which require most of the vacuuming. It is far better to vacuum only the heavy traffic areas much more frequently or repeatedly than it is to cover everything or everywhere with a once-over-lightly vacuuming.
Residential carpet and rugs, for example, should be vacuumed according to the amount of traffic and abuse they receive. Vacuuming should be done at least once every two weeks, preferably once each week and even twice per week if heavily soiled or trafficked. The best way to remove ground-in dirt is to vacuum against the nap of the carpet. It removes soil and helps to improve the carpet’s appearance. A light vacuuming would cover the same carpet or upholstery areas with three or four overlapping strokes. A more thorough vacuuming could be six or even eight strokes over the same, heavily soiled areas.
Contract or commercial carpets need to be vacuumed thoroughly at least three to five times per week. In high-traffic areas, i.e., traffic lanes and entranceways, carpet should be vacuumed nightly. Well-maintained vacuuming equipment helps both in overall soil removal and better long-term appearance. Do not allow the dirt collection bags to become more than one-half full. This reduces suction power and vacuuming efficiency in most machines.
Vacuums with cloth bags should be turned inside out at least every third emptying and be swept off. This allows for better breathing of the bag and greater soil pickup. Canister or backpack vacuums are versatile and convenient, but they may not have a beater bar, thus requiring more effort (passes or strokes) than upright vacuums to achieve similar soil removal. Canister vacuums used on carpet should preferably have a separate motor-driven beater bar.
We recommend the use of an upright vacuum with a beater bar for carpet, and canister-type vacuums for upholstery, draperies, blinds, light dusting, etc. Commercial pile filters and heavy-duty dual motor vacuums are the best machines for portability combined with maximum power and effectiveness in vacuuming carpet. Some vacuums require that they be adjusted to match the pile heights of the carpet.
Higher pile and loosely textured carpet may show shading marks where the vacuum last passed over. For the most even surface appearance after vacuuming, keep the final vacuuming strokes all in the same direction.
Good vacuuming is equally important for upholstery and draperies. There are special accessories and hand tools to vacuum these fabrics. Some machines come with suction-lowering adjustments to keep the fabric from binding or being drawn in the nozzle during vacuuming.
Do not let the dust and soil build up. In higher soiling conditions or where there is heavy usage, vacuum every few weeks or more if needed. You usually cannot vacuum too much, and it is more likely that your furnishings are suffering from insufficient vacuuming. It’s the ground-in soil that dulls, discolours, and damages your valuable textile furnishings, never the vacuuming.
The loose fibres that are vacuumed out of new carpet are normal, and no reason for concern. Remember to vacuum often, vacuum properly, and vacuum well. It is worth the effort.
