Can Vacuum Cleaners Damage Carpets? – Powerful Facts
In this post, you’re going to learn whether vacuum cleaners can damage carpets.
The article will cover:
- Can Vacuum Cleaners Damage Carpets?
- How To Vacuum Properly
- How Often Should You Vacuum and How Long For
- How To Take Care of Your Carpet and Vacuum Cleaner
Let’s jump into it.
Table of Contents
- Can Vacuum Cleaners Damage Carpets?
- How to Vacuum Properly?
- How Often Should You Vacuum Carpet?
- How Long Should You Vacuum A Carpet For?
- Carpet and Vacuum Care Best Practices
- Conclusion: Can Vacuum Cleaners Damage Carpets?
Can Vacuum Cleaners Damage Carpets?
So, can vacuum cleaners damage carpets? The short answer is that yes it is possible for your vacuum cleaner to damage your carpet. This is because the use of the beater bar with rotating brushes can pull as well as stretch and wear down the carpet fibres. Indeed some say that this can be made worse if the suction level on the vacuum cleaner is particularly strong.
However, despite this if left alone the dirt and dust that builds up within your carpet fibres without vacuuming can do far more damage to your carpet. Dirt unattended on your carpet fibres is almost like leaving sand from the beach grinding away underfoot on your carpet; eventually, it will do damage.
In addition, leaving dirt and dust to build up breeds bacteria in your carpet
You could be forgiven if you are a bit confused at this point:
- On the one hand, vacuuming your carpets could cause damage due to pulling at the fibres
- But on the other hand dirt left unattended on your carpet can cause damage to your fibres
The answer lies in how often you vacuum your carpet, long you do it for and quite crucially how you actually vacuum your carpet.
How to Vacuum Properly?
The way around the issue of not damaging your carpet whilst vacuuming is to ensure it is done correctly:-
- Use The Correct Floor Settings: Typically these days vacuum cleaners will come with customised settings depending on the type of floor you are covering at each stage. If you’re vacuum cleaner has a bare floor setting make sure you don’t use that on the carpets to avoid potential damage and ineffective vacuuming.
- Pay Attention To the Height Setting: If you’re vacuum cleaner has a height setting make sure it is not set too low when cleaning the carpet otherwise the carpet fibres could be severely damaged as you vacuum. If you’re unsure the best way is to switch it to the highest setting, vacuum and then keep lowering the setting until you get to the point you feel the vacuum pulling on the carpet too much.
- Use the Appropriate Level Of Suction: Another factor in ensuring that you are vacuuming properly is to make sure that the suction level is not too high for the surface. This is particularly the case with carpets and thick rugs. If the suction is too strong, you will not be able to clean your carpet effectively and could easily damage it.
- Follow A Pattern: When vacuuming, people often make the mistake of cleaning in random zigzag lines as quickly as possible.
- However, this could be detrimental to the carpet as you are likely to miss spots and not give the vacuum cleaner enough time to suck up the dirt properly.
- The best way to do it is to imitate what you would do when cutting the grass i.e. vacuum in straight lines overlapping the last row each time to ensure you get everything covered. You should also pass the vacuum slowly as you go to give it enough time to do its job.
- Be sure to take your time, especially when pulling the vacuum cleaner back towards you as this is when the bulk of the suction work takes place. Be sure to vacuum in the opposite direction the next time you clean.
- Be Mindful of the Beater Bar: The beater bar on your vacuum cleaner can often be the thing that causes the most damage to your carpets particularly if they are soft woven rather than tufted. If you are concerned about damage to your carpet one possibility is to pull up the beater bar rather than having it engaged.
How Often Should You Vacuum Carpet?
| Floor Type | Frequency Of Vacuuming | Style |
| Carpets | At least twice a week | Slowly in a straight line pattern overlapping last line.Vary the suction and height depending on the thickness. |
| Rugs | At least twice a week | Slowly in a straight line pattern overlapping last line. Reduce the suction to be able to pass over it |
| Hard floors | Weekly | Slowly in a straight line pattern overlapping last line. |
| Floors with furry pets | Daily | Slowly in a straight line pattern overlapping last line. |
The general consensus for how often you should vacuum the carpet is at least twice a week. This is because your carpets are much more likely to trap dirt and so cleaning them twice a week should help to keep on top of the dirt.
Though the wrong type of vacuuming can cause damage to the carpet fibres, vacuuming regularly whilst not strictly necessary should do far less damage than the dirt building up. Thus frequent vacuuming is still the best way to keep your carpets in the best shape possible in the long-term even if it’s not every day.
For high-traffic areas e.g. hallways, you may want to vacuum them more regularly than once a week to keep on top of dirt and dust buildup. The rest of the carpet could done weekly or unless it demands more than that.
Based on our research we have seen around one in five people (22%) like to vacuum their home daily. If you are in that camp you should keep in mind that that may indeed wear down your carpets much quicker than is necessary and should only be done if absolutely necessary.
The main exception to vacuuming daily is if you are in a have pet in the house that tends to shed a lot of hair. In these instances, it’s a good idea to vacuum every day to keep on top of the debris that falls from the hair and stop the carpet from smelling.
How Long Should You Vacuum A Carpet For?
When it comes to how long you should be vacuuming your carpet it will depend on the size of your carpet and crucially how long it takes you to slowly cover it in straight lines overlapping with each one as you go.
Our research suggests that 54% of people vacuum for less than 30 minutes. Considering that 30 minutes should cover an entire home and be done slowly it may be too short depending on the size of your home.
On the other hand, 23% of people tend to spend between 1 to 2 hours vacuuming their carpets and floors when they do clean.
Carpet and Vacuum Care Best Practices
If you’re still concerned about potentially damaging your carpet from vacuum cleaning then be sure to follow these best practices:-
- Clean By Routine Not By Sight: Don’t wait until your carpet looks like it’s dirty to the naked eye. By then it’s already filthy and it will be sustaining damage from the dirt and grit in its fibres. In addition, leaving it this late will negatively impact the cleanliness and air quality in the rooms where your carpet is.
- Look After Your Vacuum: Make sure you take good care of your vacuum cleaner and it will take good care of you and your carpet. Don’t wait until the bag or dustbin is completely full to empty it. Running a vacuum cleaning when it’s near enough full reduces its effectiveness. Makre sure to give your vacuum cleaner a thorough cleaning regularly and in line with the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Get Your Carpet Washed: If you are concerned about the cleanliness of your carpet and your vacuum cleaner keeping it that way, one thing you could do is get the carpet washed and cleaned. Professional carpet cleaning can help get rid of deep-seated dirt and provide a fresh base on which to then vacuum on a weekly basis.
- Take Care of the Carpet As Intended: Be sure to follow your carpet’s care instructions to get the best use out of it in the long term.
- Check Underneath: As well as vacuuming any rugs be sure to also clean underneath the rugs. Often times you may find dirt as well as debris that gets trapped under the rugs and can end up causing damage if left too long. It’s also worth taking the rugs outside to remove dirt and dust on the underside of them and also use an upholstery tool on the vacuum cleaner to get rid of dirt.
- Avoid Large Objects: To keep your vacuum cleaner as happy as possible avoid sucking up large objects that could cause obstructions and problems if swallowed. This will help keep your machine running in good order and have it doing a better job of maintaining your carpets.
- Take Care of the Cord: Be sure not to vacuum or walk over the cord for your vacuum cleaner.
- Don’t Vacuum Water: It may sound obvious but worth being reminded that you should not vacuum over water or liquids. This also goes for foods with moisture. It’s a good idea to dry any wet patches on the floor as well as remove any bits of food that have recently fallen on the floor before starting.
Conclusion: Can Vacuum Cleaners Damage Carpets?
We have seen that vacuuming your carpets can damage them if it’s not done correctly. Rather than damaging your carpets, vacuuming can help maintain them by getting rid of dirt and dust that would otherwise lead to bacteria and a breakdown of the carpet fibres. There are definitely legitimate concerns about carpets being damaged by vacuum cleaners but by following good practice those issues can be mitigated.
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