All of us have a special tool lying around the house that we simply cannot live without. A tool or gadget that makes life a lot easier because it exists. For many people, this tool or gadget is the hand held vacuum cleaner. When it comes to cleaning house, this tool is something many people couldn’t live without.
Regardless of the type of home you have, a hand held vacuum cleaner can make life a lot easier. Whether it’s a tiny apartment or a large mansion, these small cleaners are the perfect way to cope with unexpected spills and not have to worry about dragging a vacuum cleaner around. Anyone who has messy kids or a messy spouse, hand held vacuum cleaners can help you keep your home spick and span without having to lose your mind in the process.
The truth remains that few of us do housework just for the sake of doing it. There are a few dedicated souls out there who enjoy all the stretching and exercise that cleaning involves, although the rest of us just go for the results.
A clean and tidy home is very nice, relaxing, and nothing in the world is more frustrating than achieving one only to see all of your hard work being shattered by the falling of crumbs or the spilling of liquid on your freshly vacuumed floor.
The hand held vacuum cleaner will allow you to enjoy the same results without having to do any of the hard work. Many of us who find peace and tranquility in an organized home will normally hide tools we use to create it out of sight. Then, when it comes time to clean house, dragging the vacuum out of it’s hiding place can be a chore in its own rights.
For small messes and spills, a pint sized cleaner can help you retain your sense of peace simply because it will help you to realize that the small stuff is just that – small stuff – and nothing more. The tools used to perform common household tasks should be the things you love to use, as this is actually the best way to ensure that the housework will actually get done.
Small portable cleaning devices are the ultimate in friendly cleaning equipment, as they can clean up small messes before they get bigger. You also don’t have to work all the time either to achieve the clean home you want, you simply need the right tools for the job.
The first time you pick up a handheld vacuum cleaner, you’ll see how something so small in size can make a world of difference. You’ll cut your vacuum time in half and ensure that your home stays clean all the time – spill free.
Vacuum cleaners are devices that use an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dirt and dust, normally from carpeted floors. Most homes that have carpet floors have a vacuum for cleaning. The dirt that is pulled up from the carpet is collected by a filtering system or even a cyclone for later disposal.
There are several type of configurations possible for vacuum cleaners.
Upright
Upright vacuums have the pump mounted directly above the suction intake, with the bag mounted directly on the handle, which will rise to waist height or so. The upright type designs normally employ mechanical beaters which often rotate brushes, to help disturb dust enough to be vacuumed up. These beaters are
normally driven by a belt that is attached to the vacuum motor.
Canister
Also known as cylinder vacuums, the canister type designs have the motor and bag in a seperate canister unit that connects to the vacuum head by a flexible hose. Even though upright units have been tested as being more effective, the lighter and more maneuverable heads of the canister models are quite popular. Some models have power heads, which contain the same type of mechanical beaters found it upright units, although they are driven by a seperate electric motor.
Wet vacs/dry vacs
These types a specialized form of the canister vacuum and they can be used to clean up wet or liquid spills as well. They will commonly accomodate both wet and dry soilage, with some being equipped with a switch or exhaust port that reverses the flow of air. This is a very useful function for everything from clearing clogged hoses to blowing dust into a corner for easy collecting.
Back pack vac
These types of vacuums are commonly used for commercial cleaning, as they allow you to move about quickly and efficiently in a large area. They are basically canister vacuum cleaners, except for the fact that straps are used to carry the canister on your back.
Built in or central
These types of vacuum cleaners will move the suction motor and bag to a central location in the building and provide vacuum inlets at strategic places throughout the entire building. You only need to carry the hose and pickup head from room to room, while the hose is normally 25 foot long and allows a large range of movement without changing vacuum inlets.
The plastic piping will connect vacuum inlets to the central unit. The vacuum can either be unpowered or have beaters that are operated by an electric motor or an air driven motor. The bag in the central vacuum system is normally so big that emptying it or changing needs to be done less as often, sometimes only once a year.
The belts for vacuum cleaners can come in many styles and hundreds of different sizes. Normally, vacuums use a belt to drive an agitation device, which is also known as a brush roller. With very few exceptions, most vacuums will use either a flat belt, round belt, or a geared style belt.
The type of belt that your vacuum uses is very important, not only for durability, but performance as well. The condition and type of belt your vacuum uses will have a lot of impact on the systems ability to clean carpet. The proper use of agitation is almost 70% of the cleaning ability of a vacuum cleaner.
Suction is also very important. The suction is what pulls the dirt that is removed from the carpet into the collection area of the vacuum. The suction, or airflow, is the key when cleaning hard surfaces or when using attachments. Without suction, a vacuum cleaner could only bring more dirt to the surface of carpet. Even though both agitation and suction are important with vacuuming, the agitation is what actually cleans them.
Almost all manufacturers use brush rollers that are made of wood, metal, or even plastic that is driven by a suction or brush motor through the use of three different kinds of belts – round, geared, or flat.
The round belts are the earliest type as they were easy to produce and easy to engineer. The round style, unfortunately, is normally run in the same space as vacuumed dirt. What this means, is that almost all of the dirt, staples, and hair you vacuum up will pass around the belt; cutting, nicking, or even scratching it along the way.
Vacuum cleaner belts have to stretch quite a long way, placing even more stress on the roller and the motor bearings. The round belt is still common, and used even today. The flat style of belts are most often run in a circular fashion as well, unlike the twisted route the round belt takes to deliver the performance in the proper direction.
The style allow manufacturers to run the belt off of one side of the brush roller, instead of the center where all of the dirt is. This is truly a great innovation, as you can eliminate premature failure due to the soil and dirt in the belt path.
The latest belt design is considered to be the best in the industry. Even though there are many variations out there, the geared belt is the most efficient means to drive a brush. The geared belt is also known as a positive brush system because the energy of the brush motor is transmitted directly to the brush.
Both the brush and the motor are locked by fixed teeth to each other through a cogged belt without tension. The resulting direct connection results in higher cleaning efficiency because the brush can be driven at a faster speed regardless of the age of the belt.
The flat style can stretch as they become warm, which will cause them to lose tension. When you use your vacuum, the belt is always going to stretch. Believe it or not, it will lose it’s tension the moment you put it up to rest in the closet.
There is however, one real drawback to geared belts – the cost of the vacuum. Geared belts are normally used on two motor vacuums. Not only does this require a separate suction and brush motor, but it also requires electronic sensory systems to tell you when something is wrong with the brush.