Smarter vacuuming: try this technique for a cleaner home
Vacuuming is rarely fun, but when done correctly it can make a huge difference in your home. Using a vacuum cleaner to suck dirt, dust, and pet hair from your floors will not only make your home look better, it will also improve indoor air quality because those microbes and dirt particles aren’t being stirred up by foot traffic.
But if you’re like me, you might not know that there’s a right way and an incorrect way to clean your floors. Even if you have the best vacuum cleaner on the market, improper use will prevent it from performing optimally and your floors won’t be as clean as they could be.
We’ve done a lot of in-depth real-world and lab testing to ensure we recommend the best cordless, robotic and budget vacuum cleaners on the market. As we all know, the best tool won’t help much if we don’t use it properly. By combining the top vacuum cleaners with professional cleaning tips, you can be sure that you will have a tidy floor in no time.
The right way to vacuum your house
The short, quick, back and forth motions that the majority of people make when vacuuming do not pick up all the dust, dirt and lint that is stuck in carpets and floors. The more efficient way to vacuum – and as professional cleaners do – is to move forward, in structured rows.
You first start by vacuuming a row of carpeting in one direction, from wall to wall. This first pass should be in return for the nap of the carpet, so that it fluffs and the deeply embedded dirt comes up more easily. One way to tell if you’re vacuuming properly against the belly is if the carpet piles stick up or look a little darker.
Then push the vacuum cleaner back over the strip you just vacuumed. This will lay the carpet flat again and suck up the rest of the dirt you missed on the first pass. Once you get back to your starting spot, vacuum another strip right next to the first, overlapping slightly. Continue repeating this routine until the entire room has been thoroughly vacuumed.
Once you’ve completed this step, go perpendicular: if you were vacuuming from north to south the first time, vacuum from east to west on this second pass. Yes, it’s extra work and may even seem like overkill, but this method ensures that you pick up every bit of dirt and debris, keeping your carpet clean and looking new for longer.
For more helpful vacuuming information, check out the best Roomba alternatives to keep your floors clean and the best deals on robot vacuums available now.
