While the blog takes its own time to settle, I thought I could add some information on the modern cleaning equipment - Vacuum cleaner.
Image Courtesy: http://www.indiainfoline.com
To most Indians, the concept of vacuum cleaner never really is appealing. I wouldn’t attribute this to any reason but lack of awareness. To most of us, the ideal cleaning aid is a broom stick and a small plastic tray to pick up the dust. This is considered inexpensive and practial.
Most of us gathered awareness to this product at one point or another by a visiting salesman, probably from Eureka forbes. They show you the usual trained demonstrations of sucking coins (to show its power), cleaning ability of cob webs and so on…..Its their job.
Now, let me tell you from my experience, why this gadget still is not very popular in our country. The first reason I can think of is cost, but companies are offering EMI like facilities at extremely low interest rates. But the biggest stumbling block is the utility factor of this device.
In my case, when we purchased the cleaner, for the next few weeks, it was simply indispensable. We cleaned pratically everything with it. But today, it is hardly used at all. What more, the attachements which make it ever more powerful are actually missing! (some of them atleast).
Do you feel, “Hey, this is the exact same problem with our home too !”. Well time for some analysis and how we can avoid this.
a) Vacuuming if done regularly (does not mean everyday) can be actually a good thing. What we do is that , although we purchase it, we use it as an add-on to our traditional broom.
Little do all of us realize, that the broom method actually does more harm then good. In the attempt to draw dust and rubbish to one corner of the room, one actually creates a disturbance and ends up spreading the dust on items like your phone, your pc and what not. And no, turning off the fan while sweeping the floor is not going to help much.
And what do we do after 3 weeks, we try to clean the accumalated dust on our TV, fridge and PC with the Vacuum cleaner. Clearly the dust has been stationary for 3 weeks with oil fumes, moisture from air and what not…..So how do we expect the machine to actually suck all the dust which you help spread in the first place? This leads to frustration and in the corner of your mind, you think of using the cleaner lesser than before.
b) Chord length: Most vacuum cleaners come with upto 5 meters of electrical chord. This is fairly ok, but being lazy to switch the socket leads us to believe that the chord is always a tad too short. And remember, most vaccum cleaners require heavy power. So I recommend that you use a 15A socket and not a 5A socket for the same. This could lead to your fuse blowing/tripping.
c) Incorrect usage: I admit, no one is perfect. We all tend to misuse our gadgets and this one is no exception. Perhaps one of the other reasons why people put their vacuum cleaners off (almost for good) is that it did something which they didnt expect it to in the first place. Remember, there are only a few speed settings on these machines, so please do not use them on delicate machines like TV, home threatres, DVD players and so on. You might end up damaging them. Similarly, keep vacuum cleaners away from pins, jewellry, medicines and other small object like keys/coins.
d) Blower setting: The salesman would have told you, if you have a lot of dust, it makes sense to blow them all to the corner of the room and then suck them in. Trust me , this is the most dumb thing you could ever do. Use the blower for settings which it is intended for. E.G.
- Car washing
- Spraying water for plants
Seriously, more than this I cannot think of anything else.
At this point I dont know what are the offerings in the market, but I can think of the following points which you should check before you buy a vacuum cleaner for your home.
- Company/Brand and warranty information
- Voltage and power requirements
- Type of dust bag used ( how many are offered free and what is the cost if you need more in future)
- Dust bag capacity - this determines how often you need to empty it
- Suction power - Determined by the motor used. the more the merrier
- Accessories - Should have an assortment of meaningful accessories. Not mindless pieces to add to marketing - “comes with 99 attachements”
- Flexible tube strength - this is the first thing which cracks or leaks as we tend to pull the machine by it
- overall weight of the machine and chord length
- regulatory approvals like BIS or equivalent
Some tips to improve your vacuuming experience.
- Empty the dust bag outside your home. It has fine dust particles which maybe injurious to people with respiratory problems. Also if you suspect that you have accidently vacuumed a live object, we suggest you dispose the bad as soon as possible.
- avoid bag reuse if possible - old bags somehow clog the system and decreases the suction power of the machine
- Unless your machine supports both wet and dry types, KEEP IT AWAY FROM WATER
- Avoid operating the machine with wet hands/legs to prevent shock hazards
- Use periodically and see how simple it is over a broom/mop
- Use regularly on beds/sofas to remove fine dust particle. this also keeps bad smell away
Did you know
- Small handheld vacuum cleaners are available for your PC keyboards and other such electronic appliances ? They can also be used in kitchen and very light and handy
- Some vacuum cleaners have wet and dry option. Check these out
- There are dedicated vacuum cleaners for car. Now removing the mud from your car carpet is very easy to do!
Last tip before signing off on this artilce - while planning your home, please allocate a separate space in your storage cabinet for this wonderful device and its accessories. That way it feels belonged and you would end up using it even more.
I hope you like this article. If you could rate it or comment on it, it would be of great help. If I have missed on something, please feel free to comment.
happy cleaning
Vivek
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