How Often Should You Vacuum Your Home?

How often do you cleaning the house? Are you that mad type of housekeeper or you’d rather do the cleaning stuff only once a week?

From very obsessive germaphobes to the lighter types of humans who would rather lazy on the couch and eat, people have different attitudes towards housekeeping, good or bad.

So the real question rises – how often should you vacuum your house? Many people are wondering and having trouble deciding how often they should be vacuuming and how many times a week it would be necessary to do this.

Some would think that this question is crazy and absurd. But for people that are constantly battling their time management of the household business, this obscure point is a really common one.

So, starting with this question, my answer will be more complex than expected, because the matter of vacuuming depends on different factors that are playing there. Each of them will be discussed down below.

Let’s talk about everything you need to know in matters of vacuuming, even what you should do if your lack of love for cleaning is damaging your floors or your health. So here are the tips that will help you decide exactly when to clean your house, and how you should do it properly.

3 Top Benefits of Vacuuming Often

Vacuuming regularly comes with lots of advantages, both for health and for personal wellbeing. People like clean homes, even if they don’t like doing the actual cleaning.

A clean house is more welcoming and it invites, by itself, a better life for you, the family, or your friends.

Maybe the ones who hate cleaning don’t want to hear this, but vacuuming and cleaning the house comes with certain health benefits that they need to find out. So let’s discover some of the most important ones:

Health Benefits

Yes, it’s true, vacuuming the house maybe not the favorite thing to do and also a time-consuming task. Of course, there are lots of things to do rather than cleaning the house, but once you will find out the health benefits, you will change your mind.

From the health’s perspective, when you are vacuuming, you are not just cleaning the house or your flat, but also taking care of the health of the loved ones. Imagine that there are thousands of small microbes that are constantly floating all around you. In time, this issue can lead to lots of allergies or fever.

So, imagine that you are surrounded by bacteria, mites, and mold attacks. For those who are suffering from asthma or other respiratory system issues, cleaning is essential. Otherwise, the dust and bacteria will constantly make them wheeze, and have difficulty breathing.

When people who deal with allergic rhinitis meet the fine dust, pet hair, or dander, they will experience lots of discomforts.

Coughing, skin symptoms, or chest congestion are just some of them.

Ok, I hope I didn’t make you feel bad, but you need to know that rare or incomplete vacuum cleaning will cause, in time, acute reactions in sensitive people.

Regular vacuuming is something you must do, in this case, so even though it is impossible for you to weekly sanitize the carpet fibers with soap and water, at least pay attention to regular vacuuming. A good vacuum will remove all the harmful things from the floor, plus many of them come with air filters that will increase the air quality a lot.

The Social and Physical Benefits of Vacuuming

Have you ever thought that there are also physical benefits that you might gain while vacuuming the house, the hard floors, and the carpets? I bet you haven’t.

Some researches indicated that people who are spending their time cleaning their homes are also healthier and more active.

Also, another research made by the University of Indiana concluded that by keeping their homes or flats all clean, people contribute to their health as a whole.

By cleaning and vacuuming the house, you are doing more good to yourself than having some long walks in the park. Also, while vacuuming the house, you get to exercise a lot more than you thought, which is a kind of cardio, isn’t it?

As I previously said, there are also some psychological and also social benefits while vacuuming. The simple thought of cleaning will give you that feeling of accomplishment. Isn’t it so satisfying when you see all that dirt disappearing and the carpets look all clean again?

This feeling is a major mood-booster. Vacuuming and cleaning can help people fight their depression. There is this Latin saying, “Idle hands, idle mind”, which describes the act of doing nothing, which doesn’t offer any benefit to the mind.

But once you take out the vacuum machine and start tackling the messy carpet, you can prevent depression and other bad thoughts.

Keeping the rugs and carpets all spotless will contribute to the whole image of a very clean house, which will inevitably boost your mood.

The Financial Implications of Vacuuming

Another important aspect of vacuuming regularly is the benefit of saving money, which is a great plus. Imagine that while well-maintaining the rugs, floors, and carpets, it’s impossible for all these to not resist a very long time.

When you are sucking away all the mess and pollutants that are all on the floor, you will also stay healthier and will not miss any day at work. Also, you will not pay any money for treating allergies or any illness caused by the bacteria in the house.

And you will keep safe any family members that have allergies. Everybody will stay in better shape and reduce the medical expenses they would probably spend.

How Often Should You Vacuum Your Spaces?

The news, in this case, is both good and bad. The bad news is that if you have pets, the mess will be more present, so you might have busier household work, meaning vacuuming at least twice a week.

Otherwise, if you are not dealing with these problems in your daily work, you might have to vacuum at least once per week.
The matter of vacuuming depends on various factors, this is why I will take each one and discuss it in detail.

But before I answer the question of the frequency of vacuuming, let me expose you to some interesting facts, that might change your perspective on cleaning and the times you are doing this.

Also, you will surely be impressed by these things about the bacteria and microbes that are all around you:

• People are losing almost 1,000,000 skin pieces or particles every 24 hours;
• There are somewhere between 50 and 100 strands of hair that people are losing every day;
• The allergens that are adhering to cat and dog fur can keep their strength even for months now.

Yes, the rugs and the carpets don’t only gather lots of dust, but they are catching many of the contaminants that are transported in the air. Which is good for the health, right?

But the problem is that these rugs don’t have the possibility of getting rid of all these bad particles. So, you need to “help” them and do physical removal.

It Depends on the Type of Vacuum Cleaner

A thing to keep in mind while deciding how many times you should vacuum is the type of vacuum you have. It is very important the power that the vacuum has.

So, it’s crystal clear that a vacuum that comes with a powerful motor a good filtration system will do a better job while cleaning. If you want a really powerful vacuum cleaner, you can check out the best commercial carpet cleaners of 2022 and pick from there.

Vacuum Based on the Type of Floor You Have

Use these guidelines on the types of floors you have and then decide how often you should vacuum.

Hard Floors and Tile Floors

This type of floor should be vacuumed weekly. I think is sufficient for hardwood and tile floors to be cleaned weekly, as they don’t use to hold on to the dust and bacteria, such as the most carpeted floor would do.

The flat construction of hard floors as well as the sealant of most of the hardwood floors and the glaze from the tile will all keep the bacteria all away. Remember though that dust and allergens can be collected on the surface.

More than that, between wooden floorboards and tiles, there might gather all kinds of bacteria, so vacuuming is very important.

Carpeted Floors

These should be vacuumed twice weekly. Carpeting demands more frequent vacuuming, due to the millions of fibers that will trap the dust, dirt, and many other allergens.

So, because of all these, especially the grime and spills, you should never neglect the soiled carpet and continue to walk on it.

Instead, try to vacuum the carpets at least twice weekly, this way you will know that your walk will be always clean.

Rugs

The rugs should be vacuumed with a special vacuum for area rugs twice weekly because they cover the hard floors, hardwood, tile, or other short-fiber carpeted floors are absorbing grime and also let the bacteria accumulated over the day.

The coverage area of the rugs will dictate how often you should vacuum them. If not all the area of the floor is covered by rugs, let’s say just half of it, please vacuum the whole hard floor.

And don’t forget to remove the rugs from the room. If three-quarters or even more of the floor is covered by rugs, then you can vacuum the whole hard floor on the other week, of course, after removing the rugs.

Pets

Here the things get more complicated. Try to vacuum with a carpet cleaner for pets every single day if you have pets. If you love them, you should also love the habit of vacuuming. Especially if you have big hairy dogs, even cats, you may know already that they shed fleas and drop dander all over the place.

All these can cause allergies in time and another respiratory disease. And let’s not talk about the dirt on the pets’ paws. Ok, so it does not matter the type of surfaces, meaning floors, you have or the furry pet you love.

You need to vacuum daily. You might tell me that you don’t have time. Ok, then focus only on the areas or rooms the pet is spending its most time in or buy a robotic vacuum cleaner under $100. They are so helpful in this kind of situation.

Vacuuming Based on Room Usage

Ok, we have checked the frequency of vacuuming based on the type of vacuum cleaner and also on the floor type. It’s time to move on and discuss this topic based on the traffic space and room usage:

• Vacuum spaces with average use weekly. For instance, when talking about bedrooms and home offices, that are used for a few members of the house, then once a week should be enough to keep them clean longer.
• Vacuum high-traffic spaces every 2-3 days. Let’s think about hallways, kitchens, mudrooms, or children’s playrooms. They are used above average and collect a lot of dirt and dust, right? Then as these rooms grow dingy more quickly, you should vacuum them more frequently, every few days.
• Vacuum seldom-used space from 2 to 2 weeks. If you are wondering which spaces I talk about, these are the formal dining rooms, the guest rooms, and the sunrooms, which are usually getting very little foot traffic.

11 Vacuuming Tips to Take with You

Some would say that vacuuming is such easy work to do and there is no rocket science in cleaning the rooms using a machine.

Well, it is partially true.

Some people tested lots of tips and tricks in this direction and it will be great to share with you the best practices for vacuuming floors.

1. Choose the type of vacuum cleaner that suits the floors you are cleaning. For instance, the canister vacuums, or the ones that have a motor in a canister that is separate from the vacuum head, are said to be more effective on the hard floors.

Upright vacuums that come with a single unit that contains all the components are perfect for soiled carpets. This is due to the beater bar, which is a rotating brush, that will help on lifting all the debris that is inside the carpet.

2. The modes of the vacuum. If you are using a vacuum cleaner that comes with different types of modes, depending on the floor, choose the one that suits best your work. This way, you will avoid damaging in time the surface you are cleaning.

3. Beater Bar. If the vacuum cleaner comes with a beater bar, make sure you disable it before vacuuming any hardwood or tile floors. The beater bar has some hard brush bristles, that can scratch sensitive surfaces.

4. Adjust the height of the vacuum head. Some of the vacuum cleaners are coming with an adjustable-height vacuum head.

Make sure you set them according to the manual’s recommendation, depending on the type of floor.

This way, you are sure that the level of suction is the perfect one for the flooring. As you might realize, if the set is too high, then the vacuum will not be able to pick up all the dirt, or maybe none of it. And it goes vice-versa. If the head is too low, the fibers of the carpet will get caught.

5. Invest in a High-Efficiency Particulate Air or HEPA vacuum. These are, in fact, some filters that will catch up a lot more dust, bacteria, and allergens, than the usual and common vacuum filters.

6. Change your tactic. Try to move the vacuum slowly, in just one direction, and then pull it back in the reverse direction.

Now, after doing this from end to end, repeat all the processes in the opposite direction. For instance, if you have used to vacuum in the north-south direction, vacuum again in the east-west direction. This way, you make sure that all the surfaces will be clean.

7. Never do just a fast once-over. Most of the vacuums are not that powerful and modern to clean everything up when you go over just once and very quickly. So, take your time and slowly pass over areas twice.

This way, you will make sure all the dirt and dust will be sucked away. If you need more help in this direction. Then why not playing some nice happy music, so the process will be a lot of fun. Remember that vacuuming can be taken as exercising, so a big plus here too.

8. Use a special vacuum head when cleaning the carpets. A regular vacuum head for the hard floor will not handle all the dirt and dust from the carpet. This is because of the tiny fibers that compose the carpets.

And the same can be said in the case of drapes. Not only the head will not clean the carpet as it should, but also your work will become heavier, a total nightmare.

9. First is the dusting, then the vacuuming. As a general rule, never vacuum just before you have dusted or cleaned above the floor. So, if you are wondering which process should be the first one, be sure that the dusting is the one.

Just think about it: there is no advantage in vacuuming the surfaces you have before you clean the dust on the furniture, as it might fall on the floor. Dusting will cause a mess and will go directly to the ground.

If you want other advice, I would recommend you to use a cloth made of antistatic fibers. Also, check out the following dusting tips that will teach you how to dust your home with great ease.

10. Always empty and replace the bags as often as you can. If you are having a vacuum that comes with a bagless filter, please try to empty the canister every time and clean off the filter.

Keep your vacuum cleaner clean at all times, although it might seem too much. If you will neglect this advice, you might decrease the lifetime of your vacuum cleaner. Also, if the filters will be full of dust, and also canister, then you will lead to a decrease in air and pressure.

11. Use a quality vacuum cleaner. To prolong the life of the floors, you should invest in a household vacuum cleaner that you can afford, but also a qualitative one. A very cheap one will not remove that profound dirt.

And for the carpets, you need a powerful motor to get rid of the whole mess. So, if you are looking for advice, make sure the height is adjustable, a very important feature. This way, the head of the vacuum machine will adapt to any type of surface.

Finally, check the next vacuuming tips that you shouldn’t apply and put a few easy vacuuming ideas in your pocket.

Is it Time for a Quick Clean?

Cleaning and vacuuming can be fun and people can reach the point of loving vacuuming, especially if they know how many good things can this habit brings to them.

Once you will follow the tips I talked about in this article, I hope you won’t have a problem with cleaning anymore.

My first thought when it comes to vacuuming is the desire to make people take this as a regular, necessary habit. Do it for your health, your family, and enjoy a clean house, that will only make you feel great.

In my ideal world, my spaces will always be crystal clear. There won’t be any spot of dust, nor lint-frees and vacuuming will be just a piece of cake. However, as none of these is so easy, I am doing my best to clean my home as much as I can.

I would be so pleased if you could tell me how many times a week you are vacuuming and also if you have some tips in this direction. Just leave your experience in the comments down below.

Also, don’t forget to share this informative article with your loved ones or social media friends.