Many homeowners have trouble deciding how often to vacuum or how much vacuuming is needed in a week, month, or year. The question on how often to vacuum may seem like an easy one to answer but is complex and a constant struggle to many. The decision on when to clean and for how long is dependent on certain factors, which are discussed below. Here is a comprehensive look into what you need to know about vacuuming and how often you should do it.
How often should I vacuum?
The number of times you should vacuum depends on your availability and household circumstances.
A general rule that applies to all is that normally, you should vacuum at least once a week. However, this rule changes depending on the traffic in the area you are looking to clean. If you live alone, with a friend or a spouse, it is only ideal and realistic to vacuum once every week. If you have kids, then it is pretty apparent that you should vacuum daily as they do not have an understanding of the concept of cleanliness. Nevertheless, this depends on the amount of time you spend at home with your family. For weekdays, when you are off to work, and your children go to school, you may consider vacuuming twice a week. The daily routine, however, needs to be followed on weekends and holidays. However, if you have toddlers or family members with breathing problems, then you will have to stick to vacuuming daily.
Toddlers spend most of their time on the floor, and anything they pick up ends up in their mouths. On the other hand, people with breathing problems or allergies often get irritated by the slightest dust or allergens and could quickly get an allergic reaction or asthma attack. Regular vacuuming lowers these risks and keeps everyone, including your toddler safe and healthy.
For those with pets, say a cat, as part of the family, then it is advisable to vacuum every day. The reason behind this is because pets are like kids, and as much as you train them, you cannot control where they play. Some pets, for example, cats, shed fur and qualifies as reason enough to vacuum daily. A high traffic area, for example, a corridor or entrance where a lot of people walk through or leave dirty shoes needs to be vacuumed daily as well.
The second answer to how often you should vacuum depends on the floor type. Floors made out of polished wood are much easier to clean as they do not hold much dirt, hence vacuuming less often will do. However, some wooden floors show every little speck of dust, and you might want to clean regularly if you have such floors. On the other hand, you will have to vacuum more often if you have installed a carpet. The fabric on carpets absorbs dirt and debris, which is why carpet gets dirty very often. For this reason, it is only wise if you vacuum every 2 to 3 days.
You should note that with carpets, you might have to vacuum more often sometimes as they develop an odour when drinks spill and food stains and a simple wipe cannot get the job done.
The third aspect that dictates how often you should vacuum is the size and weight of furniture and your availability. Vacuuming behind drawers, shelves, or under your bed and sofas requires moving them, which takes time, which you might not have in plenty. If you spend most of your week at the office or out there doing fieldwork, then such thorough vacuuming should be on a need only basis. Perhaps every three or four months or once every month. Either way, you could also choose to do a thorough vacuuming of a different room each month, giving priority to places like the living room, and kitchen which have high traffic.
Lastly, you need to put into consideration is the kind of vacuum machine that you use. The market is flooded with a variety of vacuums of different sizes and performance. A vacuum with a powerful motor and a superb filtration system does a better job cleaning compared to one with a regular bag and an average motor. This means, a high-performance vacuum allows for thorough vacuuming and takes a shorter time. This means that you will have to vacuum a little less often compared to a mediocre vacuum, which will require you to vacuum more often than usual.
