Surprise! Your vacuum has a filter! And not cleaning it could be making your space worse than it was before you vacuumed it.
For the first year or so (a year, crazy right?) of owning my vacuum, I loved it. It was a TANK. Until it wasn't. All of a sudden, it started losing suction. The rooms I vacuumed were almost worse than when I'd started. The insane amounts of dog hair and dust bunnies it used to pick up with ease were still left on my floor, even after a few passes of the vacuum.
I finally sat down one day and took my vacuum apart piece by piece. The shock on my face was inimitable. I never once realized there was a filter in my vacuum. Not once. And it was disgusting!! I'm not going to lie, I was slightly humiliated. That is, until I reached out to a few friends and found out they hadn't realized vacuum filters were a thing either.
So, here I am, writing to you all today, telling you that vacuum filters DO in fact, exist. And they need to be cleaned and/or replaced regularly! Hopefully, this also saves you from a similar brief feeling of embarrassment. Lol.
We're going to talk about a few different types of vacuum filters: bag filters, cartridge filters, foam filters, and HEPA filters.
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Bag Vacuum Filters
Paper or fabric bag vacuum filters are usually thinner, more porous filters that only trap bigger dust and dirt particles from entering the air.
These types of filters are usually disposable, and its recommended to replace a paper or fabric bag filter after 3-4 months, or whenever the bag is about 2/3 filled.
If the bag is reusable, you can empty the bag and use it for a bit longer. You can do this by tapping the edges of the bag and shaking out as much dust as you can into the garbage. If you're going to empty the bag, just be sure that its fully clean before placing it back on the vacuum. The bag should look almost as if you just bought it.
Cartridge Vacuum Filters
Cartridge vacuum filters are more heavy-duty than bag filters. They can trap smaller particles, and tend to last much longer than bag filters do. If used often and in areas with a lot of debris, the filter should be changed around every 6 months or so. At the very least, a cartridge filter should be replaced annually.
To get the most bang for your buck from a cartridge vacuum filter, you should take it out often and clean it. Similarly to the bag filters, all you have to do is gently shake it out into a garbage bin.
If you want to go the extra mile, you can take a cleaning brush and gently brush off any remaining dust on the filter, but it's not super necessary to do so.
Foam Vacuum Filters
Foam vacuum filters capture significantly smaller and hold more particles and debris than cartridge filters can. They do have a bit of a shorter life span, however. It's recommended that you replace your foam filter every 2-3 months, even if you do wash it frequently.
At American Maid Cleaners, we use a combination of foam with fabric filters in our Shark Rocket Deluxe Pro Vacuum (Amazon) to ensure absolutely no debris gets into the air as we vacuum. We wash our filters after every vacuum, and have used two different methods to do so:
We soak our foam filters in a bucket of water, LA's Totally Awesome Cleaning Vinegar (Amazon), and Dawn Ultra (Amazon) overnight. The next day we gently rinse and ring them out, then let them air-dry.
We've also previously used water, a capful of Clorox Bleach (Amazon), and a teaspoon of Tide Powder Laundry Detergent (Amazon). Recently we've been trying to use as little bleach as possible when we clean so we haven't used this method in a while, but it's really based on preference! You can also just use Tide and water, the bleach just adds an extra level of clean! Like the previous method, we soak the filters overnight, gently rinse and ring them out the next day (with gloves!!), and let them air-dry.
HEPA Vacuum Filters
HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) vacuum filters are made from a tightly woven material capable of capturing almost 100% of all particulates 0.3 microns in size or larger. AKA, this filter is absolutely fabulous.
HEPA filters are mainly used in places that can be contaminated by small particles, such as hospitals and medical facilities, as well as laboratories. However, it's entirely possible that your home vacuum may use HEPA vacuum filters.
When it comes to HEPA filters, DON'T clean them. This type of filter is meant for precise and extremely effective cleaning. An attempt to clean and reuse these filters could result in the filter material getting damaged, affecting it's cleaning efficiency.
Instead, you should replace your HEPA filter every 2-3 years. Of course, the amount of time between replacements still depends on how much you use your vacuum, which is why it's equally as important to check the filter every 6 months or so.
The rule of thumb for any filter is: if it's visibly dirty, discolored, damaged, or smells bad, you should clean or replace it.
Don't want to have to worry about vacuuming again? We'll take care of it! Book a free cleaning consultation with us today here!
And happy cleaning! :)
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