Suction power is a vital component of a vacuum cleaner. A reduced suction power will give you more work because you will have to pass the vacuum cleaner over an area several times for you to get the quality of clean you desire.
A vacuum cleaner with a high suction capacity, on the other hand, is ideal for cleaning stubborn and deeply buried dirt in your home. However, there are cases where the suction power of a vacuum becomes too much for the surface you are cleaning.
In such a case, you need to reduce vacuum suction to match the area to be cleaned. The question then is how to reduce the suction of your vacuum.
In this post we will cover:
- The Importance of a Vacuum’s Suction Power
- Measuring Suction Power
- How Much Suction Power is Enough?
- How Do You Reduce Suction Power in a Vacuum?
The Importance of a Vacuum’s Suction Power
A vacuum cleaner with a suction power that is higher is more effective at removing dirt deeply embedded in your carpet, hidden in corners, under beds, and furniture.On the other hand, a vacuum cleaner with inferior suction only gets rid of visible dust and dirt.
Therefore, high suction power offers you a better chance to remove stubborn and tough dirt.It is not difficult to draw a distinction between a high-suction unit and a low-suction unit.
You can easily test your machine’s suction output by changing it to “carpet mode.”Turn the machine on and let it operate at full power. You can try to attach the floor head to a wall and if it attaches to the wall without additional external support, then the unit has high suction power.
Measuring Suction Power
A vacuum’s suction is measured by various units, such as watts, air watts (AW), amps, and cubic feet per minute (CFM), which determine the level of suction power.
The CFM measurement is one of the crucial ones because it represents the airflow power from the surface being cleaned to the bin or bag of the vacuum cleaner.
That is the quantity of air drawn through the vacuum per minute measured in CFM. If the CFM value is high, it also means that the suction power is high. Regular vacuum cleaners typically work in the range of 50 to 100 CFM.
The second is the measurement of the watts of air, which is the quantity of watts the machine uses to transport a unit of air through the nozzle of the vacuum.The third is watts, which measures the consumption power of the vacuum motor rather than its performance.
Usually, vacuum cleaners with higher watts have motors that are more potent and suck dirt better.The fourth is the measure of amps, which also refers to power consumption. The high amperage of a vacuum means that it has better suction power. The maximum amp of an appliance is 12 amps.
How Much Suction Power is Enough?
The degree of suction needed by the vacuum is dependent on the cleaning needs of an individual.
If you want a vacuum to keep your small office space or home clean, an excellent choice will be a standard canister that has a moderate suction power level.
However, heavy cleaning tasks require powerful units that can effectively process heavy debris in a short period of time.For an upright vacuum, 180-200AW is enough.
For cordless vacuums, 80-100AW is great, and 300 AW and above is best for canister vacuums.
How Do You Reduce Suction Power in a Vacuum?
A vacuum that has high suction power possesses numerous benefits, but it also has downsizes as well.
Extensive use of such a vacuum results in high power consumption because it has a powerful motor. The vacuum can be noisy, causing noise pollution. The high temperature will wear the device out more rapidly.
A vacuum cleaner that picks up pet hair, debris, and fine dust from surfaces is good. However, when the suction is too powerful, it can be impossible to move the machine when it is turned on. The strong suction will make it impossible to move the vacuum on a thick carpet.
Some of the ways of remedying this problem are by removing the soleplate from the base by turning the slotted “keys” to turn the soleplate off. It is located around the edge. The strip is not a necessary item and it can be pulled out. Once that is done, place the soleplate back.
Before removing the strip, it is advisable to clean the narrow channel that is behind the slotted lower section located behind the base plate.
The area can be compacted with debris, which can be eliminated with an old toothbrush or toothpick. It improves the ease of vacuuming thick carpets.
Removing the strip will allow moving air and suction to come out a little around the sides. That will make the vacuum stick less to the floor or carpet. The vacuum cleaner will still have sufficient power to work on thicker carpets.
For a vacuum such as the Dyson animal ball 2, the powerful suction will make it difficult to push around on medium to high thread rugs and carpets. If the suction is too strong in this model, there is nothing that can be done to lessen the suction.
However, the recommendation is to purchase a Dyson model with lesser suction power, and as a current Dyson owner, you will be entitled to a 20 percent discount.When a vacuum has too much suction, it is impossible to push on hard flooring and short pile carpets.
The second reason could be that one of the soleplate rollers could be damaged on the cleaner head’s underside. That could cause the vacuum to seal more closely with some floor types, making it hard to push.
In this case, unplug your vacuum cleaner and turn it off so you can check the underside of the cleaning head for damaged or jammed rolls.If there is no problem, all the rollers should be able to rotate freely.
However, if there is any damage, look for further assistance from an authorized service agent.On other vacuums, such as the Hoover upright, the solution to reducing the high suction power that makes the vacuum hard to push and pull is taking the hose out.
After taking the hose out, attach a crevice tool or an extension wand to the vacuum and then place the end of the tool or wand into the hole that the horse normally goes into.
The procedure will reduce the suction power of the vacuum enough such that the vacuum becomes easier to push while still providing adequate suction that can clean carpets and rugs clean.
Conclusion
The suction capacity of a vacuum is important because it is a crucial determining factor when buying a vacuum.
Higher suction power is preferred since it removes all dirt, debris, and dust from your home.
A lower suction is undesirable because it only adds more work. However, too much power can be detrimental since it will affect how the vacuum moves on thicker surfaces such as carpets.
For some models, it is easy to reduce the suction power, whereas some vacuum cleaners have no way to solve the problem.
