HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU VACUUM YOUR HOME?
Vacuuming is an important part of maintaining a clean and healthy living environment and neglecting the task can have damaging effects on both your home and your health. Find out what’s what when it comes to vacuuming your home and how often you should be doing it!
Why is it Important to Vacuum Your Home?
Regular vacuuming helps to remove dust, dirt, and allergens that can accumulate over time on floors and carpets.
It also helps to maintain the hygiene and cleanliness of your home, making it easier to breathe and preventing the growth of bacteria and fungal spores. In addition to improving the short-term appearance of carpets, they can extend their life and help them last longer, making it an essential household chore.
Below, cleaning expert Matthew Harrison at PriceYourJob.co.uk explains how often you should really be vacuuming your home along with a range of top tips on how to get the job done right…
Areas to Consider
High Traffic Areas
It is good to think of how often we should vacuum on a room-by-room basis, with higher traffic areas requiring more frequent vacuuming. Frequently used areas such as the living room, entry way, and hallways should be addressed at least 2 to 3 times a week in order to maintain a dirt-free environment.
For areas with less foot traffic, such as bedrooms or guest rooms, a weekly vacuuming should be enough, but it is important to be attentive to these areas and inspect if they require more attention.
Fabrics, Carpets and Rugs
Any surface with fabric or upholstery will require frequent vacuuming as dust settles deep into the fibres and holds on to pollutants, bacteria, and unwanted smells. Carpet areas and rugs should be vacuumed frequently even if they do not physically appear dirty.
It is good to combine vacuuming with a brush when it comes to carpets to tackle dirt that has gone deeper into the material. Shake any smaller rugs outside before vacuuming and ensure to give the area underneath the rug a deep clean before placing back down.
Wood Floors
Hardwood flooring and synthetic wood should be vacuumed at least once a week. It is important not to skip this weekly task even if the floors look clean because tiny dust mites that are hard to see against wood stain could still be present.
Keep in mind that not every vacuum is well suited for wood, so it is important to select the right model and settings to avoid damaging your floor. The wheels of robotic vacuums can scratch or scrape the surface, so it is a good idea to test a small hidden area first.
Other Hard Surfaces
As with wood, hard floors made of materials such as tile, laminate, and stone tend to accumulate less dirt and debris but are still prone to collecting dust, pet hair, and other particles. It is recommended that you vacuum these surfaces at least once a week to maintain a clean environment.
It is also essential to sweep hard floors daily and mop after vacuuming to prevent dust and dirt from accumulating in corners, grout lines, and other cracks and crevices. This can prevent a build-up over time that will make the area much harder to clean later on.
Pet Owners
If you have pets, particularly ones that shed fur, you will need to be vacuuming your home more frequently. Aside from pet hair reducing the attractiveness of an area, leaving them around will allow them to settle into furniture and carpet fibres and become harder to remove.
When living with pets, it is ideal if you can vacuum carpet areas every day and hard floors every two to three days. There are vacuums and attachments on the market that are designed specially to pick up pet hairs and remove even the ones that you can’t see.
Allergy Sufferers
People with allergies will benefit from a house that is vacuumed daily, particularly if there are a lot of carpeted areas. Allergens such as dust mites, pollen, pet dander, and mould spores can cling to surfaces and be a trigger for allergies, asthma and other respiratory conditions.
If you or someone in your household suffers from any of these conditions, frequent vacuuming is essential. It will help to improve indoor air quality and reduce potential triggers, making your home a much safer and more comfortable environment for sufferers.
Top Tips
Select the Right Machine
Different vacuums are designed for different floor types and home sizes, so it is important to select the best model for your home and lifestyle. Different machines will vary in performance depending on the surface that they are used on, and choosing the right one will make a big difference in the ease and speed with which you can clean.
Use the Correct Setting
Most vacuums have different settings which can be adjusted to suit the floor type you are working on at the time, therefore optimising performance. For areas such as hard surfaces needing a quick daily clean a regular setting should be fine but for carpeted areas or those that have become particularly dirty a deeper clean setting may be required.
Attach the Best Tools
Tackle different areas of your home with different tool heads to ensure that you are getting the maximum benefit from your appliance and reaching every corner. Choosing the right cleaner head or accessory tool can make a big difference in performance and ease of use.
Vacuum Little and Often
Vacuuming frequently in high-traffic areas will help to stop dirt building up and getting trodden into your floor. Cordless vacuums are ideal for frequent cleaning as they are lightweight, easy to set up, and quick to move around.
Vacuum Slowly Over the Same Spot
Vacuuming slowly gives your vacuum more time to remove dirt, especially ground-in dirt and debris and hidden dust in carpets and other soft fabrics. It is also a good idea to go over the same spot two or three times, as more passes over an area will give the machine the best chance of cleaning it well.
THE ULTIMATE RESIDENT ADVICE?
How often you vacuum will depend on a number of factors as covered above, and there is no one set rule for how frequently you should complete the task. There are, however, guidelines that you should stick to for certain areas, and it is important to assess and use your judgement each day.
