The Ultimate Guide to Vacuum Buying - PART 3 of 4

The Ultimate Guide to Vacuum Buying - PART 3 of 4

Part 3  -  Does filtration matter to me (allergy and asthma sufferers)?

This is often an overlooked aspect of purchasing a vacuum cleaner. This is also one of the main factors that separates the high end vacuums from the lower end vacuum cleaners. In an age when indoor air quality continues to worsen, your vacuum cleaner is extremely important to help capture the contaminants inside your home. Here are the factors that can influence the filtration ability of your vacuum.

• HEPA filter - This filter is responsible for filtering out the fine particles in the air. 99.97% of particles .3 microns in size and larger is the official definition of “HEPA”

• Cloth HEPA style vacuum bags - There is a difference between different types of bags. They make single layer paper, triple layer paper, cloth reusable and cloth style HEPA bags.Users want to make sure cloth style HEPA bags are available as they can filter much smaller particles than their paper counterparts.

• Completely sealed systems - This means that your vacuum cleaner does not release any of the air before it is completely cycled through the entire filtration process. This is extremely important when measuring the filtration effectiveness of a vacuum cleaner. Even a vacuum cleaner with the fanciest filter and bags will not truly filter your home's air if a portion of the polluted air is leaked back out into the home before it is even cycled through the entire filtration process.

• Cleaning ability - While this is not commonly mentioned in filtration, we think it is worth mentioning. If the vacuum cleaner that you purchase is not capable of removing deep rooted dust and dander from your carpet fibers, upholstered furniture and hard flooring then it cannot be considered a top tier filtering vacuum cleaner. No matter what filters or bags your vacuum has, if it is leaving pollutants behind on your flooring then it doesn't really matter.

There is 1 more factor that goes un-noticed but plays a large factor in over-all filtration. This is technically not a feature on a vacuum cleaner but does directly involve the type of vacuum cleaner that you purchase. You must be aware of how you dispose of the dust and dirt collected. Some vacuum cleaners have bagless canisters you dump out in the garbage. This can sometimes leak and blow dust back into the air. The more hygenic way is to use vacuums that have self sealing bags. This is a neat and efficient way to dispose of dust with minimal leakage during the process. 

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Part 1 of 4

Part 2 of 4

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