How Often Should You Vacuum?

Do you know how often you should vacuum?
What type of vacuum cleaner gives the best results and what is the most effective method to use? If not take a look at our top vacuuming tips to help keep your carpet looking better for longer.

Our guide to ‘How Often Should You Vacuum?’

Why Do I Need To Vacuum?

If you have carpets in your home you must vacuum. So much dust and dirt builds up in them on a daily basis that needs to removed. Most of the soil in a carpet is what’s known as ‘dry soil’.  That’s things like sand, grit and other particles that are harsh and will grind away at the base of the fibres or fabric causing premature wear. Vacuuming also prevents your carpets looking grubby and will help to keep them clean.

How Often Should You Vacuum??

We can’t stress enough how important it is that you vacuum regularly. In an ideal world this would mean vacuuming every day (this is particularly important in high traffic areas and if you have children or pets). If you can’t manage this then you should aim for at least once a week. It is also important to remember that it’s not just your carpets that need vacuuming, your upholstery will benefit from it too.

What Type Of Vacuum is Best?

Generally speaking an upright vacuum with brushes is preferred over cylinder vacuums. This is because the ‘brushing’ of the upright vacuum action causes more agitation, meaning more grit is dislodged. This results in much more of the dry soil being removed from the base of the carpet or fabric. When vacuuming upholstery remember to use the crevice tool and remove the crud that’s gone down the side of the cushions and frame too.

What Is The Best Way To Vacuum?

Believe it or not there are specific methods to vacuuming.  A quick once over isn’t really sufficient. When vacuuming the carpet the best way to do this is using slow, repetitive front-to-back motions in an overlapping sequence. It is important to make sure you don’t press down or make too many passes over the same spot. Instead, move slightly to the left or right about every four strokes.

Our Tips

• Invest in a good upright vacuum
• Vacuum your carpet at least once a week to stop the build up of dirt
• Don’t ignore those corners and crevices – these are really important areas as they are where dust builds up.
• “Top-down” clean to save yourself the step of vacuuming again after dusting. Dust blinds, window sills and furniture surfaces first, then vacuum away any fallen dust.
• Remember to remove and replace, or empty, vacuum bags when they are half to two-thirds full. They’ll work far more efficiently.