Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

For those wondering how clean their rugs actually get after vacuuming, here's another way to tell.
First, purchase a "black light" urine detector from most local pet stores.
This is usually a battery powered wand containing a "black light" tube.

Steps:

1.  Turn out the lights in your carpeted room,
2.  Shine the black light onto the carpet at a distance of about 6".  Note the dirt you see.
3.  Turn lights back on, vacuum the carpet,
4.  Repeat step 2.  See if there is significant reduction in dirt level.
5.  Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the carpet appears clean under the black light.

Why it works;
Some dust and lint contains elements that glow under black light.

Examples:
First, my house has FILTRETTE furnace filters for interior heating and exterior air intake.  Very little dust gets into the house.
Dryer is vented outside and has attic assist fan that assures a torrent of air goes through during drying.
Carpets are vacuumed at least once a week.  They are polyester, relatively new, with no signs of wear.

Under normal light, my WW dark brown carpet seems pretty clean, with an occasional white speck or two.
However, under black light, same carpeting revealed a major overlay of white lint.
So I got out the trusty Hoover LiION stick vac w/ clean filters, vacuumed over the rug, then checked with black light again.
The lint had been reduced by about 2/3, but was still there.  Hoover catch tank showed quite a bit of lint.
Next out came the Miele Blue Moon with Vortex motor, clean bag and filters,  and SEB236 brush head (their big head) with good bristles.  Vacuumed carpet at moderate speed with overlapping strokes.
Black light revealed a small number of lint specks still on the carpet.
Revacuumed the carpet   s l o w l y,   making sure that overlapping was occurring.
This time the lint was virtually absent, though an occasional speck still showed up.

Summary;
Black Light definitely helps finding dust and lint in rugs,
Hoover LiION stick vac gets some of the lint, but not all.
Miele gets it all, but only with slow, careful vacuuming.

There are two ways in which I find out if my vacuums are actually working and picking up rather than the black light test although I was interested when I read your post about this. Generally I'm not a fan of Bagless but I do reckon that some models are worth keeping for their suction and principles. Whenever I've ensured my Sebo uprights are working I do one patch of carpet with the Sebo and then run my bagless cyclonic vac (naturally in my care it has a clean filter) with a clean bin to see if any dirt has been missed. The only shock I got one day was when I used one of my Miele cylinders (without rolling brush) over the same carpet and then went over with the bagless alternative. That really has been the biggest sign that a beater bar is better on carpet!

For someone that is a complete Germ-O-Phobe, and trying very hard to overcome my OCD tendencies.  This is just way over the top.  I have reconciled myself to the fact that no machine is 100% efficient, and there is always going to be something left behind.  The best we can do is the best we can do. 

Once a week!!  Ok, I said I was OCD, I vacuum daily, sometimes twice a day.  But my excuse is I live with a very long haired white dog.

This is something I have mentioned on this previous forum, as well as other forums, years ago.  The only thing is, it was for a different purpose.  I use the black light to show people protein stains in carpeting, as well as other surfaces.  I also use a blacklight to show people why they need to periodically vacuum walls.  Lint, dander,  and dust can stick to walls.  When someone has allergic reactions to these things,  I tell them that they need to vacuum everything, including the walls. 

What Kurt is seeing is glowing lint from fabric washed in detergent w/optical brighteners.  Kurt, take the light into your bathroom and bedroom and shine it on the walls.

I use a cheap blacklight, that can be plugged in, when I demonstrate to people.  No need to purchase the more expensive one unless you have the money.

There is nt need to purchase a blacklight, for your own home.  You should know that there is debris in your carpeting.  Learn how to vacuum properly and your home will be clean as can be.  Afterall, I have always said, "There is no best or perfect vacuum cleaner.  There will always be some debris left.  A blacklight is not going to show you what is at the bottom of the carpeting.