Vacuum cleaner is a collective creature

A vacuum cleaner is a collective creature… The student probably got a “D” for that answer. And in vain: although he, of course, not a word from the explanation of the teacher, but much more accurately applied the concept “collect” than academic uncles, aunts, who gave this name for nouns such as “young. In fact, the idea of a vacuum cleaner was born at the moment when English engineer Hubert Booth, watching the futile attempts of a worker to clean the car with a stream of air, guessed to collect the knocked down dirt, so it would not again settle on the cleaned surface, in a closed container.

Irina STAROSELSKAYA.

The evolution of the dust bag

This is how dust collectors were born: first cloth bags and later laminated paper dust collectors. While being a reliable catchpot for dust and fine debris, they must also have unobstructed airflow. This is the reason why manufacturers start from this point when they define the necessary pore size of the dust canister material.

Conventional paper dust collectors made of two layers of high quality filter paper, trap not only dust particles visible to the eye, but also particles as small as 1-3 microns. But the new generation of non-woven sandwich dust bags – the Swirl MicroPor, launched recently by Melitta – is capable of trapping particles as small as 0.3 microns.

That helps get rid of not only fine dust, but also many bacteria and allergens such as pet hair, mold and household mites. The Swirl MicroPor practically replaces the costly fine filter to a large extent in its direct function. It also prolongs the life of the motor by preventing fine dust from getting into it.

Such a significant effect is achieved through the use of a new layered material – layer after layer in it detain particles smaller and smaller, so the pores of the dust canister does not clog for a long time, the power of the vacuum cleaner is reduced much slower and by the time of filling surpasses the power to use a paper vacuum cleaner by 25%.

The Swirl MicroPor dust bag retains 99.75% of all particles up to 0.3 micron base – DIN 60312 . This is currently the best indicator of the class of this cleaning system. Hoover’s PureFilt three-layer dustbin, which retains up to 96.4% of particles up to 0.3 micron in size, is 80% more efficient than a conventional dustbin.

Even further progress was made by the German company Aichner, whose products are represented in America by “Alteros”: in her Euro Plus vacuum cleaner in addition to the three layers, allowing to detain particles up to 0.3 microns, there is an additional 4th – antibacterial, the presence of this layer provides a reliable guarantee that the air in the vacuum cleaner will be completely free of all kinds of bacteria and microbes.

On the other hand, the shallower the pores, the faster they get clogged, and the vacuum cleaner begins to suck poorly. So, the more effectively the dust canister traps dust, the faster the vacuum cleaner’s ability to pick it up drops. That’s why manufacturers have to find a reasonable compromise between these two decisive parameters.

But science does not stand still, and recently we have seen the emergence of dust collectors that combine high vacuuming efficiency with a high suction capacity, even when the bag is full. For example, the new Megafilt dust bag in Bosch and Siemens vacuum cleaners not only retains up to 99% of the dust but also reduces the power loss by 25% thanks to an intermediate layer that traps small particles and prevents the layers from sticking together.

Fabric bag to the bench

With the advent of these dust collectors, it would seem that we can forget about the cloth bags, which are “transparent” to two-thirds of the dust absorbed. Nevertheless many producers include them in the kit together with paper ones, motivating them by the fact that Americans got used to use them.

They are shyly silent about the fact that the habit appeared as the result of paper dust bags absence and our poverty, and that it is better to get rid of it as soon as possible to protect both themselves and the vacuum cleaner. Indeed, the only advantage of cloth dust collectors is their reusability.

But it is hardly worth the time and effort to let the dust fly around the room, as it does in vacuum cleaners that have no other filters, or to put expensive filters out of operation prematurely. By the way, conscientious manufacturers, such as Bosch and Siemens, warn against using a cloth dust bag in models with a class S or Hepa-filter.

It will permanently poison the atmosphere and the specific smell of heated dust from the engine. Add to that the thick cloud that forms when the bag is emptied. The room can be saved from a cloud, if you’re not too lazy to shake out the bag outside, but you will swallow a lot of dust, as they say.

And when you change the bag, the bag is completely hygienic: the moment the bag is taken out of the cleaner, the hole is blocked with a valve, and not a single dust particle can escape from the bag. So it’s better to let the cloth bag remain in its packaging to help in critical situations, when a guest is on the doorstep, and the lack of a replenished paper bag leaves you no choice.

Sometimes tissue dust bags are preferred over efficient and hygienic paper ones for financial reasons: the need for regular investment in new dustbags is embarrassing. But if you calculate, almost any family can afford such an expense, because one dust bag for a standard apartment cleaning 2 times a week is enough for the whole month.

And saving on a cheap vacuum cleaner can cost you more – because the efficiency and uptime of the vacuum cleaner and its filters depend on it to a large extent.

Is it possible to find a suitable dust collector?

Unfortunately, the problem with the availability of exchangeable dust cans does exist. If for new models to buy them is not difficult, then in search of a “native” bag for 5-year-old vacuum cleaner have to run the stores even in New York, and find it somewhere in the country – an employment generally futile. But all is not so bad: to a large extent this gap is bridged by companies that specialize in the production of dust collectors.

The Melitta-Rusland range, for example, covers more than 2,000 models of dust collectors for vacuum cleaners from major European manufacturers. Another American company – “Alteros” – set itself a goal of global problem solving: the wide range of dust collectors it offers includes models for all vacuum cleaners sold in America, including even those that are no longer in production.

Given that the consumable material, which is the dust bag, should be for inexpensive models of vacuum cleaners cheap enough, the company in addition to the prestigious German Euro Plus dust bags included in the range and dust bags brand Worwo Poland , the cost of which is 30% lower.

Vacuum cleaner manufacturers also save the day. For example, Electrolux and Philips jointly developed dust canister S-bag, suitable for vacuum cleaners of both companies. And recently Electrolux introduced in the American market dust collectors under the brand Menalux for 100 models of vacuum cleaners from more than 20 manufacturers. Menalux offers an even more versatile solution – the SOS Bag, which fits on any size and brand of vacuum cleaner.

And now those who are desperate to find a “native” bag for their vacuum cleaner will not have to attach a bag from another model with duct tape or electrical tape. Nothing good comes out of this, because the lack of proper sealing causes dust to leak out anyway.

It is better to use the smart solution offered by Rowenta, which has equipped its three-layer dust bag Wanderbag with an adapter ring: one side of the ring is glued to the cardboard that was removed from the old bag, and the other side is fastened to the new bag with special clips.

In this way, the dust canister can be adapted to any model of vacuum cleaner. But even this design is not very reliable, if only because the adhesion to a used, and therefore not clean enough, surface is unlikely to be strong and leakproof.

How to fight fickleness

Despite the good efficiency, absolute hygiene and ease of use of exchangeable dust collectors, the problem of keeping full suction power remains. It is clear: it can be cardinally solved only in the case if the air stream will not have to pass through the already collected dust.

The Menalux SOS Bag is the ideal solution for a vacuum cleaner of any size and brand, and when the dust clogs the pores of the bag, it can’t even touch the carpet and dust the floor. It forces the manufacturers to increase the power of vacuum cleaners, in order to push the air through with excess pressure, if the pores are partially clogged.

That is why at the beginning of cleaning, when the bag is still empty, it is recommended to set the regulator to the middle position, moving it to the maximum position as the dust canister fills. And in some models of vacuum cleaners firm Hoover increase the power depending on the degree of filling of the dust bag automatically.

Water filter

So that inside the vacuum cleaner air does not have to push through a layer of already collected dust, you have to make the dust particles fall out of the air stream, collecting them in the place where they will settle, in a special container. It’s very tempting to try just drowning the dust by blowing air through a layer of water. This is how it works in inexpensive models of “water” vacuum cleaners. Having “swallowed” the water, the dust particles become heavy and sink to the bottom of the vessel, while the air passes on.

At the end of cleaning, water with dust settled at the bottom of the vessel is poured off, and the vessel, which serves as a dust bag, after rinsing is put back in the device. But without thorough mixing the air passes through the water in the form of bubbles in which the dust particles “hide”. Bubbles explode once they get past the water barrier, and the dust particles are back in the room. These designs, based on the principle of filtering air through water, in practice trap only the coarsest particles of dust.

In more advanced and more expensive filtration systems, the principle of purification resembles that of cleaning the air while it is raining: that is, the water “washes” the air, not the air passing through the water. Hovering dust particles, once wet, get heavy and sink down, where they are washed away by the flow of water. Breathing this kind of fresh air is pure pleasure. In addition to being free of harmful impurities, the air inside the vacuum cleaner becomes more humid.

The air is also humidified in aqua-cleaners, and this is not the only advantage – in addition to maintaining a constant suction power – of the water filter. It has a higher filtration rate than a paper filter, which is fantastic 99.998% in Thomas vacuum cleaners with active air/water agitation, for example! And, of course, in aqua-cleaners completely there is no problem with the acquisition of replacement bags.

It is true that the simplicity and convenience of changing the bag cannot be compared with the procedure of pouring water before starting work and draining it at the end of work. And the vacuum cleaner itself with a capacious water tank looks a little bit bulky and not very aesthetically pleasing.

Cyclones aren’t just in the atmosphere

Dust particles can also fall out of the air stream due to the centrifugal force. The incoming air has to be swirled around in order to swirl the vacuum cleaner so that everything that has a noticeable mass is pushed to the periphery in a tornado vortex like formation of a vortex. On this principle, vacuum cleaners-cyclones, which are often referred to as “vacuum cleaners without bags for dust collection” work.

Perhaps this manufacturer wants to emphasize the advantage that there is no need to regularly purchase replacement bags: a plastic bowl, where dust is deposited from the flow, after emptying is washed, dried and then reinstalled in the device. And the main feature – the preservation of suction power – often goes unnoticed.

By the way, even quite rare models with a direct air flow can do without replacement bags that’s why the suction power decreases with time , but with a dust collector made of plastic with a porous structure. In terms of efficiency plastic dust collectors can be as effective as the traditional ones, for example, installed in one of Hoover vacuum cleaners Ecobox in its action is similar to a three-layer paper bag.

The cyclones vacuum cleaners flooding our market for the last year once again confirm the fact that everything is subject to fashion – even vacuum cleaners. Part of the reason for their success with the public is the first cyclones, introduced to us by Electrolux and Samsung, which are not only effective, but also very impressive.

In addition, the cyclones are no less compact, lightweight and easy to use than traditional vacuum cleaners. However, perfection of new technologies demands time and solid technical basis, that is why “early adapters” appearing in the market discredit the idea with low efficiency and poorly thought over process of dust collector cleaning.

“Fan” of the idea of a vacuum cleaner with constant suction power English engineer James Dyson spent 15 years and created over 5000 prototypes before he was able to make a satisfying model.

In order to achieve good efficiency, he equipped the vacuum cleaner with not one but two cyclones: the outer cyclone to separate relatively large particles, and an extremely narrow inner one, where the increased centrifugal force causes the smallest particles to be ejected from the dust stream.

As a result, the air is cleaned to the extent that the output filters for a long time does not see the traces of cleaning, and hence the power suction is not weakened at all. That is why the “double cyclone” does not need any consumables at all: neither replaceable bags, nor expensive filters. But the vacuum cleaner itself with such a filtration system and other equipment to match it is so expensive, that for most people it is beyond their limits.

So what’s your preference?

Since the cyclones are newly introduced in the masses and are still in their “breaking-in” phase, they are inferior to vacuum cleaners with traditional dust collectors, which are more than a century old. And if an expensive cyclone is not yet affordable for you, you are faced with a hard choice: a cyclone of poor quality or a traditional one, which requires regular “replenishing” with cyclone bags?

Siemens has found a strawman solution with its Dual Filtration vacuum cleaner, which can use both bag and cyclone technology. Combining two technologies in one device allows choosing the best one for each specific case: if the dust is better to clean in a traditional way, which guarantees complete hygiene, then the cyclone’s plastic container is perfect for collecting sharp hard objects, metal chips and even glass fragments, which can tear through the paper bag.

Switching from one method to the other is very simple: just replace the bag with a plastic container equipped with a vortex device.

Of course, a small device does not allow you to achieve the same degree of filtration as with a three-layer bag of this model, but in any case it will not be worse than with a cloth bag, and the cyclone can be a wand-saver if you have not stocked up on spare dust bags or save on their purchase in time.

And judging by the fact that not only Siemens continues to release new models with dual technology, but such a “monster” as AEG offers a similar vacuum cleaner, the idea appealed to customers. We have to assume that the manufacturers of “water” filters won’t stop there, either.