Keeping on top of your vacuuming is necessary if you want to prevent the build-up of dirt and dust on your carpets and hard floors. This can quickly accumulate, causing an unpleasant living environment that can both look and smell bad. Allowing dirt to sit on flooring can also cause long-term damage, so if you’re looking to protect your investments, it’s worth checking out how to clean a carpet (opens in new tab) with the best vacuum cleaners (opens in new tab). So, after you’ve learned how to properly vacuum your floors, you’ll want to know just how often to factor it into your cleaning schedule. With the help of Pablo Montero, CEO of Lupe Technology (opens in new tab), we’ve unpacked the answer…
How often should you vacuum?
There are many factors that will impact how often you vacuum, such as how many people live in your house, whether you have pets or young children, and of course how busy your daily routine is. With this in mind, only you will be able to decide whether it’s best to keep on top of dust with quick vacuums every day, or dedicate more time to the chore less often. However, the unanimous advice is that you should be vacuuming at least once a week. This will remove grime and crumbs from floors so that you have a clean surface underfoot. You may want to give extra attention to high-traffic areas, such as bathrooms or kitchens, as it is important to keep these zones hygienic. This will also mean you can go about your day–to–day life without worrying about stepping on any crumbs. We spoke to Pablo Montero, CEO of Lupe Technology (opens in new tab), who advised “A minimum healthy recommendation is to vacuum all the floor surfaces in your home once a week.” “Beyond that, I know in my home that it’s noticeable in terms of the air quality in the house or allergies if the house has not been vacuumed. In particular, if anyone in the household has a respiratory condition such as asthma, their condition can be quite heavily impacted by how free (or not) of dust and dust mites the house is.” So not only will once-a-week vacuuming help your home look clean, but it also has huge health benefits - even more reason to incorporate it more frequently.
Tips for effective vacuuming
Now that we’ve established that you should be vacuuming weekly, we’ve explored some top tips for an effective clean. Thorough vacuuming will not only ensure your hard floors or carpet are kept looking brand new, but it will also save you time in the long run.
- Invest in a high-quality machine Pablo also highlights the importance of choosing a high-quality machine as, “vacuum cleaners are your first tool of defense. If you do have someone with a health condition it’s worth making sure you invest in a capable machine with a good grade of filtration.” This will upgrade your cleaning regime and mean that dust doesn’t re-enter the air - great for creating a fresh atmosphere and also handy for those with pet or seasonal allergies.
- Vacuum slowly and often As with many tasks, slow and steady wins the race. Taking your time when vacuuming means you are more likely to pick up embedded dirt, leaving a thoroughly clean surface behind. So while you might want to quickly complete your chores, Pablo recommends to “Always go both forwards and backwards on carpets to get a thorough clean. The slower you go, the better the clean. This is also true for how many times you go over the same spot.”
- Stay on top of machine maintenance Vacuum cleaners are an investment purchase, so it’s important to take good care of them so that they last for longer. Regularly maintaining a vacuum also means it will perform better, making your regular chores that little bit easier. Using his expert knowledge in technology, Pablo recommends following these three steps to help your vacuum perform to its best ability: • Keep on top of filter cleaning and follow the manual’s recommendations. • Maintain the head/brush roller by removing any build-up of hair over time. • Always empty the collection bin or bag before it gets beyond its max fill line/indicator. Discover more guides for the home… Best top load washers (opens in new tab) Best dishwashers (opens in new tab) Best dryers (opens in new tab) Best steam mops (opens in new tab) Best robot vacuums (opens in new tab)
