Life Hack: Does ‘slow vacuuming’ lead to cleaner carpets?

Plus a common mistake many people make when hoovering

Slow vacuuming could make all the difference when it comes to cleaner floors in your home. Slowing the pull back, which does the bulk of sucking up dirt, can have noticeable results.

My brother recently asked me if I’d tried out a new cleaning trend on TikTok, which had lots of what he described as very satisfying before-and-after photos.

Usually, when a new trend crops up, I’ll experiment with it to see if it works, if it actually makes a big impact for minimal effort, and ultimately if it’s worth sharing for this column — and this is one I had seen on my own social media feeds, and in my opinion, it’s something that’s easily implemented in most homes. It’s called ‘slow vacuuming’.

What is slow vacuuming?

It’s exactly as it says on the tin: Vacuuming at a slower pace. You may roll your eyes at how obvious it seems, but as much as we may strive to save time, sometimes there really isn’t anything as good as simply doing a careful and considerate job, and we all occasionally need a reminder of that.

Slow vacuuming first showed up for me on TikTok when a user named Lisa Parker made a video discussing the huge difference she noticed between her regular vacuuming methods and the same methods at a slower pace. She said she first heard about slow vacuuming over a decade ago when it was shared on a Facebook group dedicated to cleaning tips.

“People were obsessed with showing their before and after slow vacuuming pictures,” she said, adding, “It had me in a chokehold circa 2015.”

She then showed the volume of dirt her vacuum cleaner had sucked up during a quick use, on half of her use, and then compared it to the results from very slowly vacuuming. The difference was vast. The first instance saw some dog hair collected, while the second — done after emptying the first collection — saw it jam-packed with dirt and hair.

Another poster showed their Dyson vacuum stuffed full after attempting the trend.

“I am in awe and disgust,” that user said.

What’s the difference?

If you’re vacuuming at home and it’s just another chore on the to-do list, you are likely hurrying through the deed — I know I am. Yes, you’ve been back and forth over the entire surface, but has the vacuum actually been in contact with the floor long enough to pick up every single thing there?

With slow vacuuming, the roller lingers over an area, meaning more gets picked up in its suction in that time. By taking your time, you end up with less dirt on the floor and a cleaner home.

Should I slow vacuum every time?

Ideally, yes, it’s something you should probably consider doing regularly. Dust and dirt caught in carpets can become airborne and cause respiratory or allergic reactions for some people — so cleaning them out before they get into the air can be good for general health.

Denise O'Donoghue: 'In my own home, vacuuming is done as quickly as possible in the short term, as our dog likes to bark along with the task, leaving one of us to do a more thorough job when she’s out for a walk.'

However, don’t feel too pressured to spend even more time cleaning if it is not practical. Our lives are busy, and a five-minute speed vacuuming session done regularly is still a worthy action. If you are short on time day-to-day, perhaps it’s worth factoring in a weekend deep clean/slow vacuum.

In my own home, vacuuming is done as quickly as possible in the short term, as our dog likes to bark along with the task, leaving one of us to do a more thorough job when she’s out for a walk.

Any other vacuuming tips?

One common mistake people on TikTok realised they were making was that they were spending more time pushing their vacuum forward than pulling it back. The pull back actually does the heavy work in sucking up dirt. The brush on the end helps to lift carpet fibres when it is pushed forward, allowing deeper cleaning and better suction, making it a more effective way to remove embedded dirt.