8 tips for vacuuming that extend the life of carpet and help protect the health of building occupants.
1. Check the filter bag before vacuuming and replace when more than two-thirds full.
2. Select areas to be vacuumed based on the amount of traffic received. Clean high traffic areas regularly or with each cleaning. For other areas, a good strategy is to divide a large room into sections or a home room by room and vacuum completely on a rotating basis.
3. To protect the inner workings of the machine, always survey the area and pick up paperclips, coins, small plastic toys, etc., from the carpet before vacuuming.
4. Do not vacuum wet carpet. Wait until it is fully dry.
5. To remove surface soil, slowly push the vacuum forward several feet in the direction of the pile and then reverse, vacuuming in overlapping sweeps.
6. To remove embedded soil deep within the carpet, vacuum slowly in all directions and repeat as necessary, vacuuming in overlapping sweeps.
7. Using an upright vacuum to vacuum stairs is inefficient and ineffective for removing soil. Choose a vacuum with a wand and proper accessories to vacuum stairs, rather than picking up the upright machine and placing it on each step.
8. Never pull on the cord to unplug the vacuum machine from the electrical outlet; always grasp and pull the plug itself.
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