The question of how long it takes to vacuum your carpet properly is always broad to answer. This is because the duration it takes to vacuum depends entirely on the individual and other surrounding factors, such as the size of the room, they type of flooring or carpet you will be cleaning, the depth of the dirt, etc.

General Duration

From reasonable common sense, if you’re cleaning a carpet that covers a 160 square feet room, it shouldn’t take you more than 20 minutes. However, it may take more time if you have a larger sized living room and space. Therefore, to get a proper approximate in relation to the size of your household, you must consider several other important factors to be able to determine the vacuuming duration.

Preparations

If you’re cleaning the carpet in your home or commercial property, and you want to shorten your vacuuming duration, you must not only improve the machine’s efficiency, but also your own. Therefore, in order to cut down carpet cleaning time, it would be good to prepare before you begin to vacuum.

Clean the Path

Move aside the larger objects, such as furniture and tables. Vacuuming between chair legs, for example, will take considerably more time because you will need to access the corners. And at the end of the day, the results will not be spotless. Plus, it’s easier and more efficient to vacuum in straight lines than to have to go around such objects when you get to them.

Dust First

When engaging in any sort of carpet cleaning in your residence or commercial business office, it’s always good to first dust or wipe off anything from the areas above, such as counter tops, tables, chairs and couches, and desks or cabinets. Figure, you’re going to vacuum that area, anyway. So wiping everything off and onto the floor only makes things quicker and more efficient. Plus, if you dust everything off afterwards, then all the dust particles that float into the air will settle on the floor, and you’ll have to re-vacuum. May as well do it all at once in the beginning.

Expect to Have Missed Something

There will always be smaller items you won’t see until you get to them, such as needles, paperclips, or broken artificial plant pieces. If you vacuum over them, hoping they’ll get sucked up, they may instead end up getting stuck, clogging the vacuum altogether. This will prompt you to stop and manually remove them, and it takes time to do so. Plus, the entrapment may also be detrimental to your vacuum cleaner’s motor.

So rather than vacuuming through them, pause to pick them up, and get smaller objects out of the way. This allows you to efficiently clean your carpet without having to fumble around with any objects getting in your way.

Strategic Cleaning

When you are doing any sort of carpet cleaning in your home or commercial business, always be strategic.

Pick Your Starting and Finishing Points

If you begin by cleaning the hallway, then move back to the bedroom, chances are that you will scatter and transfer dirt and dust. As a result, you will have to vacuum the hallway twice. So maybe begin at the far end of the farther room instead, then work your way back to the door. It’s the same with the hallway. Begin at the end, first, and move your way backwards (or go up one side and back down the other).

Handling the Vacuum

How you handle your vacuum significantly affects your carpet cleaning time. The style of vacuum you’re using may also play a significant role. For instance, if you’re using the canister style vacuum, you will find it more efficient, and easier, to control if you carry it, rather than if you pull or drag it. If you’re using a stand-up style, then a vacuum cleaner that allows you to easily navigate around the corners with little effort will by far be the most efficient.

Handling the Cord

Possibly one of the most annoying parts of carpet cleaning is how often the cord gets in your way. Some vacuums have a hook up by the handle for the cord, but it still has the potential of tangling around your feet or falling into your path. Therefore, try holding up the cord with your free hand. This will make your carpet cleaning easier and more efficient than letting it drag on the floor, as well as help prevent frequent tripping on it, thus reducing stoppage time.

Choose the Right Vacuum

The time it takes to vacuum properly is also very much affected by the vacuum cleaner itself. Thus, you must ensure you have the right one for the job. To do so, you can always look at their features. Below are some features that will help you determine if the vacuum cleaner is ideal or not:

Vacuum Cleaner Attachments

Many vacuum cleaners come with one or more attachments to clean areas of your carpet that are difficult for the vacuum cleaner itself to access. These areas include corners and crevices. Using attachments that come with your vacuum cleaner will help enhance cleaning efficiency. This in turn significantly improves and speeds up the carpet cleaning process.

Motor Power

This feature is obvious. A good quality vacuum cleaner motor will boast incredible power, durability, and speed. A good motor will in turn affect greater and reliable suction power. Thus, if you invest in a vacuum cleaner with a good quality motor, your carpet cleaning speed, time, and efficacy will be significantly improved.

Filtration Efficiency

The filtration efficiency of your vacuum cleaner will significantly improve vacuuming time, for it will be able to clean much faster and more efficiently, as it can filter through dust and dirt easier. When you are choosing such vacuums, focus on information, such as special filtration systems, HEPA certifications, and the microns capacity.

Design and Construction

Some vacuum cleaners are fitted with rotating brushes. This is so that when you are vacuuming, you are provided with excellent cleaning functionality to ensure the process is thorough and accurate. As they work in synergy, the standard vacuuming mechanism and brushing function will enhance efficiency. At the end of the day, the vacuuming time will be reduced to achieve the same level of cleaning your carpets as thoroughly as you would have with an upright vacuum cleaner without rotating brushes.

Vacuum filters built with enhanced filtering areas are more likely to pass through more dirt and dust faster than their smaller counterparts. This is especially important with bagless vacuums because it ensures that they will clean properly.

When it comes to a bagged vacuum, a larger capacity is almost always better. The larger the bag, the more dirt and dust that will be collected. Plus, the increased bag movement and improved airflow will add for added efficiency, reduce chances of clogging, and make the vacuuming process faster, without any hiccups.

Choice of Vacuum Bags

Even the quality and size of the vacuum bag affects efficiency and time. The bag’s quality will determine the vacuum’s ability to allow airflow easily, as well as to retain fine allergens, dust and dirt.

But regardless of bag quality, a full bag will also slow you down, as well as the performance and efficiency of the vacuum. Midway through your carpet cleaning, check to see if the bag is almost full. If it is, it will save you so much time and hassle by emptying it.

Leave It to the Professionals

Overall, even with all your preparation, a high-quality vacuum, and vacuum bags (or a bagless vacuum), some carpet cleaning jobs should be left to the professionals. They will be able to not only clean your residential or commercial carpet, but they have the expertise and equipment to restore your carpets to their original state. And the more often that you indulge in getting your carpets professionally cleaned, the less daily maintenance (like vacuuming) you’ll have to do yourself.

Contact a professional residential or commercial carpet cleaning service in your area to discuss your options, and feel free to ask them any more questions you may have about how to do it correctly and more efficiently.