Dr Michelle Dickinson explains how understanding the science behind your vacuum cleaner could help you clean your home more efficiently. Photo / Supplied
Dr Michelle Dickinson explains how understanding the science behind your vacuum cleaner could help you clean your home more efficiently. Photo / Supplied
Whether it’s your favourite step in your housecleaning routine or you avoid it at all costs, vacuuming is a near-daily task for many of us.
But have you ever stopped to think about exactly how it works to keep your floors spic and span?
It might seem fairly straightforward – it sucks up dirt, right? Turns out there’s a little more to it than that. Here, nanotechnologist Dr Michelle Dickinson explains how understanding the science behind vacuuming could help you clean your home more efficiently.
How do vacuums actually work?
Vacuuming is a bit like drinking through a straw, Dickinson explains.
“When you drink through a straw, you’re pulling air up through the straw, and then whatever liquid is in your glass, you pull that up too, because nature doesn’t like things to be unequal,” she tells the Herald.
“So as you suck up in the straw, you create low pressure in the straw, and so the atmosphere tries to fill that low pressure to equalise it. The same thing happens in your vacuum cleaner.”
The fan in your vacuum draws in air, creating a low-pressure area that generates suction, pulling in dirt and dust from your floor.
“A lot of that dirt and grime is heavy, so the little brushes are there to kick it into that suction area to suck it in and then in your little canister you’ll have a filter,” Dickinson explains.
“So, rather than pull it out and it goes out the top of the fan, all the bits get trapped in the filter and then the air just pushes through.”
If you live in a busy household with kids or pets, you may be vacuuming daily. Photo / Getty Images
How often should you vacuum?
Dickinson, who is also an ambassador for Shark, says, “I have kids and a dog, so I vacuum every day because it’s always chaos – there’s Cheerios on the floor, the dog is brought in.
“So, for people who live in busy households, definitely [vacuum] once a day just because there’s stuff everywhere. Especially if you’ve got kids who have asthma or are prone to allergies.”
However, if you live with just one other person or alone, you probably don’t need to vacuum more often than once or twice a week.
“It really is one of those variables based on how clean a freak you are.”
Should you vacuum before or after the rest of your housework?
If your first thought when cleaning is to reach for your vacuum, you’re doing it wrong.
“Most people do it first because it’s rewarding and it feels like a big job,” Dickinson says.
“But actually if you think about how gravity works, what you’re trying to do with all your other cleaning is get everything off onto a cloth, either that or it’ll fall to the ground after you’ve brushed the surface.
“Ideally, everything that you’ve brushed off by dusting or moving some cushions around – whatever you’re doing, actually you’re sucking all of that off the floor.”
So before you get the vacuum cleaner out, move any loose items off the floor and wipe down your furniture to bring the dirt closer to the ground.
When it comes to vacuuming, “you’re going to be faster if you’re slower”, Dickinson says.
“People want to get the job done as fast as possible, but you’re not going to do it very well if you do that.
“If you go too fast, the brushes aren’t able to get into the carpet pile and kick up all of the stuff for it to be sucked out. Take your time with it, and then you only have to go over an area once and you’re getting all the stuff out of the pile in your carpet that you probably don’t even see.
“Understanding how your vacuum works is also important to get the best out of it and make it more efficient.
“What you don’t want on a hard surface is the brush to roll around, because if the brush is rolling on a hard surface, it just kicks all the dirt everywhere else and it’s not able to suck it up. You want the roller to be on when you’re on a carpet or rug.”
Use a microfibre cloth to get dust and dirt closer to the floor before you vacuum. Photo / Getty Images
How can you minimise dust in between vacuums?
If you hate dusting, it’s probably because you’re not doing it right. The solution is likely already in your linen cupboard: the humble microfibre cloth.
“They have a massive surface area, but they’re also made of material that’s called electrostatic ... the dust sticks to it and then it stays on the cloth,” Dickinson explains.
The downside is that they’re made from nylon, which is not a natural or renewable material. However, the nanotechnologist sees this as a “trade-off”.
“I reckon I’ve owned my microfibre cloth for at least 10 years and it’s the same one. I just throw it in the washing machine and clean it.”
It’s also important to understand where dust comes from in the first place.
“If you have a pet, your pet dander is filling your room – so brush your pets often, at least once a week, outside to get all of that stuff out,” Dickinson advises.
“Dust is often dry skin – so make sure you’re moisturising when you get out of the bathroom.”
A lot of dust also comes from outside, so if it’s a breezy day, you might want to keep your bigger windows shut so the dust, pollen and allergens don’t blow in. Don’t forget to clean your air vents, curtains, cushions and other soft furnishings, which can all easily trap dust.
“Shake your curtains out before you vacuum, give it a little time to settle, and then you can vacuum your floor and a lot of that dust will come out.”
Lastly, ensure your vacuum cleaner has a good filter.
“If you have a cheap vacuum cleaner, the filters aren’t good, and so actually it’s just sucking up [the dust] and pushing it out the other side ... so making sure you have a great filter for your vacuum cleaner is important too.”
