Why Do People Need Vacuum Cleaners?
Vacuum cleaners have become a staple of modern Western homes over the past 30 years or so as the technology has got cheaper and more advanced. Yet not every home has one. So why do people need vacuum cleaners? In this post, we explore this topic by looking at:
- The benefits that vacuum cleaners bring
- The potential drawbacks of getting a vacuum cleaner
- Some of our favourite vacuum cleaner brands and models
Let’s jump right in.
Why Do People Need Vacum Cleaners?
Though vacuum cleaners are found in most homes, not everyone has one. We believe that in most cases where affordable, then it makes sense to have one.
Let’s start by looking at some of the ways that vacuum cleaners can benefit users and why so many people feel the need to always have one in the home.
They Make Cleaning Your Home Easier
The biggest thing going for vacuum cleaners and why it makes sense to own one is that they make cleaning your home so much easier. With a dustpan and brush you can clean your floors given enough time but a vacuum cleaner can get through the same work in a fraction of the time.
The time you save from using a vacuum can be better spent on the things you really love.
They Pick Up Fine Dust You Couldn’t
Without a vacuum cleaner, you’re left relying on your eye and a dust pan and brush or broom to sweep up dust. The problem with this is that you’re only likely to focus on things you can easily see with the naked eye. You’re likely to leave a significant amount of dust behind as you simply don’t realise it’s there.
Designed for Carpets
Vacuum cleaners become particularly useful when thinking about cleaning carpets. With manual cleaning, you’ll only superficially clean your carpet as you can’t get in between the carpet fibres to remove dirt and dust in an effective way.
With a vacuum cleaner though you solve this problem as they are able to get deep into carpet fibres to remove build-up of dust and dirt you’d never even know existed.
With this level of cleaning your carpets will be maintained as they should and last far longer than they would with just manual cleaning. With only manual cleaning, the build-up of dirt would eventually start to damage the carpet fibres and you’d find that your carpets start to deteriorate and lose their original colour and appearance.
So even if a vacuum cleaner might seem expensive upfront, over time it will save you from having to replace your carpets earlier than you otherwise would have to.
Improve Air Quality In Your Home
Vacuum cleaners suck up everything in their path as well as dust particles flying around nearby. This fine dust would otherwise find its way around your house lowering the overall air quality in your home.
This is a particular issue if you or anyone in your home suffers from dust and other allergies that are prevalent on carpets and other areas of the home.
In fact, there are some vacuum cleaners such as the Henry Allergy that are specifically designed to try and retain as much fine dust and allergens as possible. These models tend to make great choices for allergy sufferers but in reality so long as you have a high-quality vacuum cleaner that should do the job even if it doesn’t have any specific “anti-allergy” features and marketing behind it.
HEPA Filter Vacuums
The main thing to look for in a vacuum cleaner when worried about allergies is a vacuum cleaner with HEPA filtration. HEPA filters, also termed high-efficiency particulate arrestors, are designed to collect fine dust as well as disinfect. They are geared towards tackling harmful particles such as bacteria and dust mites amongst others.
If you or someone in your home has dust allergies or is an asthma sufferer then it’s definitely worth considering a vacuum cleaner with HEPA filtration. These days you’ll often find that they don’t necessarily cost any more than other models.
Cleaning Awkward Areas
As well as tackling floors vacuum cleaners have the great advantage of being able to clean those awkward areas of your home where a dustpan or wet cloth won’t cut it. Areas such as your sofas, curtains, mattresses and even your car can be cleaned very easily with a vacuum cleaner. In fact, most vacuum cleaners these days will come with specific attachments that are designed to handle these types of areas.
For example, Shark upright vacuum cleaners typically come with a crevice tool that is very useful in cleaning in between the gaps of sofas to get rid of crumbs of food that would otherwise be difficult to see let alone reach.
Vacuum cleaners can also be helpful in dusting areas like the ceiling and curtains. The Henry vacuum cleaner for example has a dedicated dusting brush which works very well when attached to the end of a hose for reaching up high and low and dusting.
Disadvantages of Vacuum Cleaners
Okay so we have to look at the other side of the coin; is it really necessary to have a vacuum cleaner? What are some of the disadvantages of getting one?
They Cost Money
The main one that comes to people’s minds when looking at the disadvantages of vacuum cleaners is the fact you have to pay to acquire one. Decent vacuum cleaners don’t come cheaply and start from around £160 all the way up to £500 plus. That’s a significant amount of money for most people. There could be more costs along the way if you have a bagged vacuum cleaner that will need replacement bags every so often.
But although the upfront cost may seem a lot, the likelihood is that you will end up saving a whole lot more over the long run in the time you get back by not having to clean manually.
There are also costs associated with factors such as poorer indoor air quality as a result of not using a vacuum cleaner to get rid of dust and dirt.
They Take Up Space
If you are tight on storage space getting a vacuum cleaner may be a problem you don’t want to solve as some of them can be bulky and take up more space than you might care to give out.
This problem though can be solved by opting for a vacuum cleaner that suits your needs including the amount of space you have available.
They Can Breakdown
Like any appliance, vacuum cleaners can end up getting damaged or failing to work after some time. This can be frustrating especially if you’ve paid a few hundred pounds to have one.
A good solution to this is to ensure you go with a vacuum brand such as Shark or Sebo who both offer a five year warranty on their vacuum cleaners. You can also ensure that you choose vacuum cleaners that have great reputations for quality and durability like the Henry vacuum cleaners with many being known to be in circulation a decade plus after being built.
Conclusion: Why Do People Need Vacuum Cleaners?
So, why do people need vacuum cleaners? There are plenty of great reasons why people need vacuum cleaners including making life easier and improving air quality in the home. Though there are some drawbacks such as the upfront cost and taking up space in the home but these are relatively minor in comparison to the advantages. Vacuum cleaners have made home and floor care and cleaning fat easier than using manual methods and we’d definitely recommend getting one if you can afford the upfront cost.
What Are The Best Vacuum Cleaners?
So we’ve established that it’s a great idea to have a vacuum cleaner in your home but what are the best vacuum cleaners around?
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Henry
The classic Henry vacuum cleaner is one of our favourites. This is a high-quality and durable vacuum cleaner that boasts up to 6 litres of cleaning capacity, a real standout feature these days.
With such a large capacity you’ll rarely have to think about replacing the dust bag. With many Henry models still in operation for many years, Henry makes a fantastic choice if you want excellent value as well as performance across hard floors and carpets.
James
The James vacuum cleaner is part of the Henry range and offers all of the benefits and then some. You basically get all the same features that you do with classic Henry but the James is much lighter (6kg vs. 7.5kg) and more compact. You notice a big difference in the weight when carrying it but it still packs the same legendary punch as the classic Henry; win, win.
Shark NZ690UKT
The Shark NZ690UKT is one of the best upright vacuum cleaners on the market.
This excellent Shark provides brilliant performance and suction across carpets and hard floors and comes with a very handy portable Lift-Away mode that allows you to use it as a portable cylinder unit.
This makes it very useful for cleaning areas such as the stairs.
The Shark NZ690UKT is also equipped with an anti-hair wrap mechanism that works to actively remove hair from the brush head as you vacuum.
Allied with all of the excellent features, you also get Shark’s 5-year warranty for added peace of mind.
Miele C3 Complete
The Miele C3 Complete is one of the most complete vacuum cleaners on the market. Miele has a stellar reputation for producing high-quality vacuum cleaners that are rigorously tested and the C3 is a great example.
The powerful cylinder vacuum comes with 4.5 litres of cleaning capacity as well as an integrated area on the vacuum to store away tools.
The Miele C3 is a highly-rated vacuum from one of the very best manufacturers around.
