The vacuum cleaner is one of the most useful cleaning appliances used today. It is a form of technology that is a blessing to many of us. Ever wondered “how do vacuum cleaners work?” – me too! That’s wht I have written his article.
For those of us who dislike sweeping, the vacuum cleaner is our go-to tool. Its simple, yet effective design allowed us to clean dust and other small particles off the surface without using our hands.
The machine that turns our pesky housing cleaning into an efficient and easy job sure impresses us to a great degree. The vacuum cleaner has been around for over 100 years. It has become an indispensable appliance for most people.
But, how does it work?
The machine that saves you a lot of effort and time sure deserves a lot of applause. Your curious mind at some point may ask the above question. In this article, I tried to answer the question.
Let’s get started!
How Do Vacuum Cleaners Work – the Simplest Answer
The vacuum cleaner whisks away dirt, using suction and stores the dirt in its canister for disposal.
How Vacuum Cleaners Work – the Long Answer
The mechanism of vacuum cleaners depends on some important parts. The conventional vacuum cleaner has six essential components. They are as follows:
- An electric motor
- A fan
- An intake port
- An exhaust port
- A porous bag
- A housing for all other components
Let’s learn about these components in detail:
Electric Motor
The vacuum cleaner depends on an electric motor to spin a fan. The mechanism of both the parts sucks in air – any small particles mixed in it. after suction, the vacuum cleaner sends it out the other side, into a canister or a garbage bag.
The mechanism of the electronic motor and the fan is an example of negative pressure.
An Exhaust Port
You might think the vacuum cleaner would stop sucking after a few moments since no way does it take so much air into a confined space. To continue whisks dirt into the canister, the cleaner has an exhaust port that releases the air to the other side.
Because of the exhaust port, the motor gets to function properly.
Filter
So, the exhaust port vents air to the living room – the air that contained dirt?
Yes, the air the vacuum cleaner sucked in can be harmful if released to people surrounding the cleaner. After all, the air that the cleaner sucked in has nothing but dirt and grime. Moreover, the air contains fine particles that can be detected by the naked eye.
And, if inhaled in large amounts, the air can cause serious damage to the lungs. To prevent all of this, the vacuum cleaner has passed the air through one or more fine filters. The filters remove fine particles and almost all of the dust before venting the air to the other side.
The filter is usually a HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Arresting). Now the air can be breathed again once filtered through a HEPA filter.
Attachments
The power of a vacuum cleaner not just depends on the power of an electric motor, but also depends on the size of the intake port. The intake part sucks up the dirt. The smaller the size of the intake, the more suction power is generated.
Squeezing the same amount of air through a narrower passage makes the air move faster. Vacuum cleaners with narrow, small entry ports that gain a much higher suction rate than a larger one.
What Happens When You Plug the Vacuum Cleaner In?
As soon as you turned on the vacuum cleaner, this is what happens:
- The electric current causes the motor to operate. The motor, in turn, spins a fan. The fan has angled blades. The blades look a bit like an airplane propeller.
- As the fan blades turn, they direct air toward the exhaust port.
- When the air particles are driven forward by the fan blades, the density of particles accumulates in front of the fan and reduces behind the fan.
To understand how a vacuum cleaner sucks up the debris, imagine how a straw works. You must have taken a sip of the drink using a straw, the suction generates a negative air pressure. The negative air pressure is lower than that of the surrounding atmosphere.
How the Suction is a Vacuum Cleaner is Created
Just like the pressure that drops in the straw when you sip from your drink, the air pressure behind the fan drops. The pressure level in the area behind the fan is lower than the pressure level existent in the ambient air. This creates suction and produces a partial vacuum inside the vacuum cleaner.
The ambient air pressure is higher than the pressure existent inside the vacuum cleaner. And, all this is done through the intake port.
A constant stream of air is supplied through the intake port and released out the exhaust port as long as the fan remains running. The passageway keeps the vacuum cleaner open.
But, the final question remains, how does this stream of air collect dust particles?
Friction.
Bottom Line
The vacuum cleaner is one of the handiest appliances of today. It looks complicated and sophisticated, but its mechanism is very simple. If you have ever wondered how the vacuum cleaner in your home makes everything tip-top, then you have come to the right place. In this article, I discussed how vacuum cleaners work. It’s great to know!
How Do Vacuum Cleaners Work ?
June 23, 2018
The vacuum cleaner is one of the most useful cleaning appliances used today. It is a form of technology that is a blessing to many
