How To Clean Your Carpet With A Canister Vacuum Cleaner

Do you know how to clean your carpet with a canister vacuum cleaner effectively? Most people understand the concept of sucking up dust, and dirt particles into the vacuum, but they forget how they care for the carpet, so it doesn’t look faded even after the vacuum.

Carpets are like foams, they suck in everything from pet hair, and dander, crumbs, debris, fingernails, grains, you name it. As humans, it’s our duty to vacuum our carpets to keep our home clean and healthy. But, you may be saying “I use hard floors in my house so?” Well, guess what? You still need one! I know brooms are nice, but vacuums are the kings and they rule! Merely just sweeping and pushing the dirt on your carpet just kicks the dirt up into the atmosphere (which is even dangerous for allergy victims), while the dirt may not be visible on your carpet for at most two days, it will surely resettle first on surfaces you dusted while sweeping your carpet.

All you need to know is the idea behind vacuuming your carpet is that it literally sucks the dirt from your environment and breaks the cycle of it hanging on the air and being kicked around. It doesn’t matter what kind of carpet you’re using, what matter is that you suck the dirt and dust particles from your carpets entirely.

This post is not only going to show you how to clean your carpet with a canister vacuum cleaner but you’d also learn how to keep it looking and performing at its best.

Merely just sweeping and pushing the dirt on your carpet just kicks the dirt up into the atmosphere (which is even dangerous for allergy victims), while the dirt may not be visible on your carpet for at most two days, it will surely resettle first on surfaces you dusted while sweeping your carpet.

All you need to know is the idea behind vacuuming your carpet is that it literally sucks the dirt from your environment and breaks the cycle of it hanging on the air and being kicked around. It doesn’t matter what kind of carpet you’re using, what matter is that you suck the dirt and dust particles from your carpets entirely.

This post is not only going to show you how to clean your carpet with a canister vacuum cleaner but you’d also learn how to keep it looking and performing at its best

Before doing that…

Let’s quickly discuss what you need to check before cleaning. Although it’s important you choose these prerequisites carefully also, because if not checked properly it may frustrate your cleaning effort.

Choosing the right vacuum cleaner

With different vacuum cleaners on the market today, not all vacuums are created equal. Selecting from uprights, hand-held, and canister vacuums. So it’s vital to choose a vacuum that will adequately meet the needs of your carpet. I recommend a canister vacuum because this type is built specifically for household cleaning.

Also if you would consider buying new carpet for home, please ensure you check the carpet manufacturer for certain recommended features by the manufacturer.

You can also consult the CRI (the carpet and rug institute). They created a labeling system that provides users guidance when purchasing a vacuum cleaner. (They normally recommend canister vacuums). They taste any vacuum on three phases; dust containment, soil removal and retaining the carpet appearance. Most times if the vacuum meets all three tests, it’s usually awarded the seal of approval or green label for vacuum category.

One major advantage of using a canister vacuum cleaner is the adjustable head height feature which is common amongst canister vacuums and very few types out there. This can be a good idea especially if you have different styles of carpeting in your house. This is where it gets interesting the different carpet styling in your house would actually require different height adjustments, to maintain the best suction and proper airflow. So instead of trial and error, just set the height to the vacuum manufacturer’s recommendation for the specific style of your carpet.

Know what carpet type

What carpet type you’re using is another major factor, because some features that optimize the cleaning of certain carpets may damage another type. For example looped style of carpets (A.K.A Berber), will be damaged if you use the beater bar vacuum on it because it may likely weaken the fibers gradually as you use it starts to have a fuzzy appearance.

Another thing to take note of is, if during cleaning a small strand of fiber gets pulled from the loops, and gets tangled around the beater brush and it gets pulled with such suction that that small strand of fiber can pull out many in its pattern, creating a dent in the carpet.

Another style of carpet that can be affected by the beater brush is “long frieze styles”, now it can be only damaged if any strand of the fiber gets entangled in the beater brush. And also natural fiber carpet like wool should not be cleaned with a beater brush.

Remember to know the kind of carpet you’re using before choosing a vacuum, if any of your carpets is like any mentioned above then you shouldn’t go for a carpet with a beater brush, or better still you can go for a canister vacuum that has a switch for the beater bar to be turned off/on at will, so it uses only suction.

Vacuuming your carpet the right way

Okay we’re getting down to the mechanics, before you begin to vacuum your carpet, look for small objects on the carpet that can’t be vacuumed (coins, paper clips, small toy pieces) please pick up with hands so you don’t risk the item getting caught in the vacuum, or spoiling the vacuum entirely.

Step 1: Take it slowly

As you clean your carpet with your vacuum, move the vacuum back and forth gently. When you have other things that need your attention, there’s a temptation to want to move it quickly. However, this won’t give the vacuum the required time it needs to suck up everything in the carpet fibers, making it ineffective.

So what you need to do is to run the vacuum slowly in one path, and then pull it back towards that same path. Then after you’re through, move on to the next section of the carpet, letting the vacuum overlap the area you just cleaned, so it doesn’t lose suction

Step 2: Repeat in reverse

Continue moving the vacuum in the entire area until it’s finished. To get best results, you repeat the whole procedure in reverse i.e.; if you originally vacuumed in a west-earth motion, repeat and vacuum north-south. Although this shouldn’t be taken as a principle but should be taken seriously to ensure a thorough clean.

Also, ensure to empty the canister when the bag gets full. Because a full bag can slow the vacuum and decrease the suction power of your vacuum, making all your work ineffective.

Note: don’t let your canister get up to three-quarters full before you dispose of it

Step 3: Use attachments for area rugs and stairs

When trying to vacuum area rugs, you can use the upholstery attachment. As you were doing with the carpets, you slowly move through with the upholstery attachment when vacuuming.

Using the beater bar over the edge of your rug is bad because it could lead to fraying. That’s what the attachment is for, to suction along the edges of the rug

When vacuuming your stairs, maneuvering through it can be difficult, so the easiest and most effective way to vacuum is to use (hose) attachments. To use this, just run the attachment along the edges of the stairs, as you pay attention to areas where dust and dirt could most likely settle, such as the back of the stair. To get rid of this, just slowly run the vacuum as you’ve been doing back and forth until you cover the whole stair

In Conclusion

Was this article helpful to you? I hope you’ve learned the proper way you vacuum your carpet (area rugs, and stairs) and get better results.

But the question is “how often do I vacuum my carpets?” it depends solely on the level of traffic and activity in your home. I recommend once per week for your carpets.

If your home has high traffic with pets, then you can vacuum at least twice or three times a week.

Do you have any question on how to vacuum your carpet properly? Or do you have any suggestions? Please let us know in the comments! If you enjoyed this post please share! Cheers!!~Remember sharing is caring! ~