Is there a right and wrong way to clean and vacuum your home, car, or office?
The answer is simple, yes.
Whenever you are vacuuming, there are things that you shouldn't do, and there are things that you should do to ensure your vacuum cleaner continues to run properly.
Here are the most common mistakes people make while vacuuming, and how to avoid them.
Let's get started on getting you on the right track so that your cleaning experience is smooth going and you will no longer have to worry about damaging your cleaner or your floors.
1. You don’t empty the bag regularly
First things first, when you are looking at purchasing a new vacuum cleaner, one of the things that you always consider is the size of the bag or dust bin that it uses.
Most people tend to go for a vacuum cleaner with a larger sized capacity.
This is a good thing to get in the habit of, but this doesn't mean that you can forget about emptying your bag or dust bin.
This is one of the number one mistakes that people make when vacuuming.
They think that because they have a larger bin or they don't realize that even though they have a larger capacity than they still can't allow it to get full before emptying it.
A lot of people do not think that this is an issue, but they would be wrong.
According to different experts and vacuum manufacturers, you should clean out or change the bag in your vacuum cleaner when it is around two-thirds of the way full.
If you wait until it is filled to its maximum capacity, you will risk the dust and debris clogging up the vacuum, which decreases the longevity of the vacuum causing you to have to purchase a new one earlier than expected.
Fixing this mistake is extremely easy. Whenever your bag or bin gets about two-thirds full you want to empty or switch it out.
If your vacuum cleaners use replaceable bags, you can wait a little longer to replace them, but you still do not want to wait for them to get full.
It might sound like a waste to get rid of the bag before it is full, but it will help to keep your vacuum cleaner running efficiently.
2. You forget to dust beforehand
Some people think that dusting is enough to keep your home clean. Others think that you can vacuum without dusting and everything will be clean.
In actuality, both of these ways of thinking are incorrect. For your home to be truly clean, you have to be willing to both dust and vacuum regularly. Provided that you do both, there is a correct way to clean your home.
For instance, you must do it correctly to get the desired effect. Dusting is usually performed more frequently than vacuuming. However, on days where you plan to do both, which should you do first?
Believe it or not, it does matter. Whenever you are dusting, some of that dust will inevitably get knocked up into the air and thereby settle down on your floor.
So, if you vacuum and then dust, you will not be cleaning effectively because you will essentially have put dust back on the floor that you have already vacuumed.
So, whenever you are dusting and vacuuming, you will want to dust first so that when you vacuum you will be picking up the dirt and debris that was already on the floor and the extra dust that was pushed onto the floor by your dusting.
This is the correct way for cleaning when on days that include both vacuuming and dusting. It is a minor mistake, but it is one that many people make and it results in setting you back by having to go back and vacuum again after dusting.
3. You're rushing
Vacuuming is one of the easiest forms of cleaning in your home, but that does not mean that you should rush through the process.
By taking your time, you can get better results from your cleaning endeavors and have fewer chances of something going wrong with your machine and stalling your cleaning.
You might be asking yourself, "Well, how do you clean properly? Isn't it just pushing the vacuum over the floor?"
The process for vacuuming is simple, yes, but if you rush through vacuuming, your machine will not adequately do its job.
Whenever you get into a room you want to vacuum before you even turn on the machine, you should first scan the area to make sure that there isn't any sort of large debris, like coins or other trash, that could cause damage to your vacuum.
Once you have done this and picked any up that you have found, you can start vacuuming your room.
However, is this all there is to take your time? No, it is not. When vacuuming, many people tend to turn on the machine and quickly move it over the floor, and consider themselves done.
However, this is not adequate. For your vacuum to work effectively, the bristles on the brush need to be able to move into the carpet.
However, if you move the vacuum too fast, then it doesn't allow them to properly dig into the carpet to get to the roots of the flooring, which will cause you to leave behind dust particles and allergens that can get kicked up into the air.
So, as you are vacuuming, you want to push the vacuum across the floor slowly to give it time to properly dig down into the carpet and do its job.
4. You're not using the correct attachment
Depending on your vacuum cleaner, all kinds of attachments can be put onto your vacuum to accomplish specific cleaning details.
However, many people do not pay attention to the types of attachments they have and what they are designed for. Whenever you are using an attachment, you first need to know what that attachment was designed for.
If you do not know what your attachments do, you should consult your instruction manual or contact your vacuum cleaner's manufacturer.
If you are not getting the desired effect from your attachment, this could be the reason.
Not to mention, if you are using the wrong attachment, it could cause your vacuum cleaner to mess up or even damage the floors or area that you are vacuuming, which is not worth it.
Therefore, it cannot be stressed enough that regardless of the job you are doing with your vacuum, you need to also double-check that you are using the correct attachment to avoid hassle later on.
5. You don’t vacuum in every direction
Vacuuming in all directions? Yes, that is what it says. Many people think that vacuuming is as easy as moving the machine back and forth over your floor.
Although this is partially correct, this will not thoroughly clean your floors. Whenever you start vacuuming, you want to move the vacuum in all directions to ensure that you get the best cleaning results.
Front to back, side to side, and diagonal should all be directions that you use when vacuuming, and you need to remember to take your time to allow the vacuum cleaner to pick up all of the particles that are in the carpet.
What if you don't have carpet? What if you have vinyl, tile, or hardwood floors? Is it still important to go in all directions when you are vacuuming? Absolutely!
All flooring types can benefit from vacuuming in all directions because they all have their version of cracks and grains where dust and debris can fall into and hide.
If you only go in one or two directions, then the vacuum cleaner might not pick up all of the particles that are hidden in the flooring.
So, when you are vacuuming, you should move your vacuum cleaner in all directions to get the best cleaning experience for the time you spend.
6. You don’t move the furniture beforehand
Most of the time when people start cleaning and vacuuming it is prompted by something, whether it be a spill or having animals in the home and seeing their hair everywhere.
However, they don't always think about the dirt and dust that has been accumulating underneath their furniture.
If there is any sort of space under your couch or bed, then you can be reassured that it also needs to be vacuumed just as much as the main areas where you walk regularly.
This is why this is one of the top mistakes that people make when they are cleaning. If you plan on cleaning, you should take the time to move your furniture around when it is possible so that you can get the entire room.
It is recommended that you move your furniture first because as you most it, it can cause dust and debris to fall from it, which will leave it on the open floor when you move your furniture back.
If you do it the opposite way, you will have to vacuum over areas twice to get all of the debris up from your floor.
So, realistically, it makes your cleaning timeless and keeps you from having to repeat vacuuming over areas when it could have been avoided from the start.
7. You don’t take care of your machine
Just like with any mechanical device, your vacuum cleaner does need to be taken care of.
If you throw it in a musky closet and only pull it out when you are ready to vacuum and never pay attention to it, then it can easily mess up on you.
There are a lot of things that can go wrong with a vacuum cleaner, but a lot of these things can be avoided if you are careful.
One of the biggest mistakes that people make when taking care of their machine is letting the bin or bag get too full to the point that it will clog up the inner systems of the vacuum.
Another mistake that can cause damage to your machine is not checking the floor before you start vacuuming. Large debris, like coins or other hard objects, can easily break the belt on your vacuum or bounce around on the inside of the machine causing other types of damage.
Also, if your vacuum cleaner is making any sort of strange sounds when you turn it on, you should turn it off immediately and figure out what the sound is.
It could be something small, but it could also mean that your machine needs some sort of repair and if you keep running it could cause massive damage and even make you have to purchase a whole new vacuum cleaner.
8. You don’t clean your vacuum
Vacuum cleaners are machines designed to help keep your home clean, but that does not mean that they do not need to be cleaned themselves.
Other than the occasional changing of bags or emptying the dirt bin, most people do not even think about cleaning their vacuum cleaners. However, there is more to keeping your vacuum cleaner clean than just doing this.
You will need to occasionally clean out the roller brush and inner chambers of the vacuum cleaner to help and ensure that it keeps running properly.
One of the biggest things to keeping a vacuum cleaner clean, especially if you have a pet or the people in your home have long hair, is waiting and allowing hair to get wrapped around the roller brush and not cleaning it thoroughly.
When this happens, the vacuum cleaner can get clogged easier, and it can keep breaking the belt or cause the roller brushes to stop working and stop picking up dirt, even if it doesn't sound like anything is wrong.
It can also cause debris to back up and get thrown back onto the floor. Always make sure that you keep your vacuum clean to avoid any of these things from happening.
