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Preferred Carpet Dealer Directory
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(This article is not a substitute for my money-saving ebook The Complete Carpet Buying Guide. Learn more)
The Best Vacuum Cleaner?
By National Consumer Advocate Alan J. Fletcher
Everyone want straight answers to these questions...
- How do I find the best vacuum cleaner?
- Which vacuum is best?
- How often should I vacuum?
- Is there a vacuum cleaner comparison chart?,
- Where do I find the best price on vacuums?
- What's the best vacuum for Berber carpet?
- What's the best vacuum for pets?
- Who has the best vacuum cleaner prices?
- Can I buy vacuum cleaners wholesale?
- How important is a vacuum cleaning schedule?
- How often should I vacuum new carpet?
- Which vacuum should I buy?
- Should I fix my old vacuum?
Why Bother Vacuuming?
Vacuuming Rule #1
Only Vacuum those Carpet Areas You Want to Keep.
Remember what the dental hygienist told you? "Only floss those teeth you want to keep". That's good advice for all of us because dental work is very expensive and chewing food requires teeth. Vacuuming your carpet is an absolute must if you want it to last as long as it was intended. Most people don't floss enough and most people don't vacuum enough.
So how often should you vacuum? First lets assume that we are talking about using an upright vacuum, not a canister model. How often to vacuum is a question most people don't ask because they know the answer can be painful. Just like flossing, if you don't do it enough, your teeth will suffer. If you don't vacuum enough your carpet will suffer. The last thing I want to be is a nag to anyone. I have enough issues of my own to contend with, so telling you how often you should vacuum makes me feel too motherly and that is not my intention. But enquiring minds want to know how to properly care for their carpets and I am an expert on that subject.
Vacuuming Rule #2
Q. How many people live in your home?
A. That's how many times you should vacuum each week
This is the minimum number of times you should vacuum per week and more vacuuming is necessary if you:
Have active teenagers, or children under the age of 5
Have pets,
Entertain often,
Live in a dusty or rural area,
Have allergies or asthma
Live in a moist or humid climate
This means you could easily be vacuuming everyday. But vacuuming everyday won't help if you don't have a good quality vacuum or if your vacuum is not operating at it's peak efficiency. If your vacuum is not doing a good job, the dirt that penetrates the nap of your carpet will begin grinding away at the stability of the fibers. This leads to dulling of the color and matting and crushing of the pile, which in turn makes your carpet look worn out faster. And once your carpet starts looking dingy, nothing can be done to make it regain it's original like-new appearance.
It's more than just dealing with the problem of dirt and dust penetrating the nap of your carpet, small children and active teens can significantly increase the daily wear and tear on your carpets. Running, jumping, dancing, and other common activities are hard on carpet. Rigorous activities force dirt and debris deep into the nap, often too deep for some older or less-powerful vacuums to remove. This is why having a good quality vacuum with enough suction power is important. Abrasion is a main cause of carpet wear. You can see the effects of abrasion most obvious in the hallway or other main traffic lanes. Carpet fibers can only tolerate a certain amount of abrasion. While vacuuming won't undo damage caused by active kids, it will help reduce the damaging effects by removing the majority of gritty sand-like dirt and debris.
Sliding heavy objects like furniture across the carpet can also be very damaging. It's better to lift heavy objects or use a dolly to roll items into place. Just like the skin on your knees, your carpet can get a "rug-burn" which can actually melt the carpet fibers causing permanent damage.
A Simple Appliance
Vacuum cleaners are really a very simple appliance, they only have two main functions;
One: To beat and/or brush the carpet to help loosen dirt, dust and debris. This is why it is important to have a beater bar on your vacuum. Many canister type vacuums do not have a beater bar and therefore do not do a sufficient job of removing dirt.
Two: To have sufficient suction to remove all the dirt and debris trapped in the carpet pile. The suction power of vacuums is determined by the motor amperage or amps. Older model vacuums used to get plugged up and lose suction power when the bag became full. New models now have a cyclonic effect that prevents the vacuum from losing it's suction power.
The Dyson was the first vacuum I saw with this feature and I now own one. It is a very useful vacuum. It has easy to use attachments and my wife just loves it. Dyson has several models to choose from, even some for homes with pets, that's the one I purchased. Be prepared to spend some money on a good vacuum, it's like a good investment, you have to consider the value over the long term. How much does new carpet cost? A good vacuum can literally make your carpet last years longer. Using a bad vacuum or simply not vacuuming enough can cause your carpet to lose half of it's intended life span.
Features, options, benefits and more...
Beyond these two basic functions, every other added feature you may opt to have on your vacuum just makes using your vacuum more fun, easier to use, and makes you feel better about what it cost you. You don't have to spend more for features you don't need so consider your situation carefully. It's like buying a car, you can pay extra to get air conditioning if you want, but you may not need to if you live in Alaska. Here are some of the options you may want to consider having on your next vacuum:
Hepa filter
Cyclonic or wind-tunnel design
Extra powerful motor (amps)
Bagless
Light-weight design
Extra Attachments
Self- propelled or power assist
Pet or animal-hair model
Fold-down model
Ergonomic design
Vacuum Maintenance
Vacuums require regular maintenance and unless you can do this yourself, you need to have your vacuum serviced on a regular basis.
Finding the right vacuum cleaner is very important. The best vacuum will have features that suit your needs as well as have the capability to do a good job of cleaning you carpets, furniture and other household duties.
You need to have a vacuum that is simple and easy to operate, has the features you need to help you get the job done properly and efficiently. I have found that if a vacuum is too complicated to use, no one will enjoy using it. And if everyone in your household dislikes using it, your carpet will not get the deep-clean vacuuming it requires.
Is Dyson or Kirby the Best vacuum for pet hair?
List of Free Carpet Buying Articles
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