We can all agree that every home/dwelling needs to be cleaned and particularly the floors. Thus having a vacuum cleaner becomes a must.
   
Vacuum cleaners come in two basically different types - portable (pull along) and upmarket ducted (built-in) vacuum cystems.

Of these two types there is basically two different styles - bagged and bagless.

Unlike conventional cleaners, central ducted vacuums prevent dust from recirculating back into the living area. In fact they offer 100% filtration in the living areas of the home. Although on average they will initially cost more than a portable, they should last a lot longer, are easier to use, more powerful, quieter  and add value to your home.

So let’s look at the Ducted Vacuums and the advantages of the bagless and the bag systems. These systems have the motor unit centrally located usually in the garage.

With the Bag systems, which is a vacuum that uses a bag in order to collect all the debris that the vacuum picks up,  you simply change the bag when it becomes about half full. It is important not to over fill the bag as, not only will this effect the performance, but also will make it very difficult to empty.
Bags are designed to be replaced not reused and an average home would expect to use two bags a year. The bag to be disposed of is usually just placed in the rubbish bin.

Care should be taken to avoid bumping or squashing the bag in the replacement process as this will cause dust to escape. Most bag systems have a dual filtration system using the bag as the main filter and then  some form of mesh just prior to the motor as a safety filter in case of the bag splitting. Some makes offer a third layer of filtration to bring the filtration to about the one micron level. This third filter may well have a slight negative effect on the airflow of the motor.

The main benefits of a bag system is that they are simple and it is easy to dispose of the bags. The draw backs are that there is an ongoing cost for the replacement bags, a drop in air flow as the bags fill up and should the bag be overfilled or someone forgets to empty the bag on time and the bag is full, it can be a very arduous task to remove the bag and there is a high risk that the bag may burst whilst being removed making a real mess. As most of this type of system have the motor mounted at the bottom of the unit with the bag sitting on top of its chamber, it is critical that the bag is correctly fitted and not damaged in any way.

With the bagless/bin systems. These come in two forms one with a solid/fixed filter and one with a moving self cleaning filter. The ones with the fixed/solid filters usually use foam rubber or paper or synthetic material to form the filter. These filters do start to clog slowly upon use and eventually will restrict the air flow to a point where they have to be cleaned or replaced. The sponge filters can be washed and reused several times where as the others may be partially cleaned and reused on one or two occasions but care must be taken to ensure that the filter is not damaged in the cleaning process.

The benefits of these systems are that there is no ongoing cost or hassles replacing bags. As the dust etc. is collected in a bin at the bottom of the unit and the motor is located in the motor chamber at the top, with the filter in between. With proper maintenance of the filter the motors will remain dust free.

The draw back of these systems is that the filters do restrict the air flow between cleanings and they are considered rather unpleasant to clean. They also involve an on going cost to replace the filters
.
The other self cleaning type, like the Volta Centravacs, are similar but use a fabric (Gore-Tex) filter, which moves up during the vacuuming process and drops down when the vacuuming is stopped. These filters have a weight fixed to the filter and they rely on gravity to complete the cleaning process, and the filters are designed to last the life time of the machine.

The benefits here are that the filters are cleaned every time the motor is stopped and started. Thus they offer maximum performance every time the vacuuming is done.  The bins are easy to empty and this is best done when about half full so as to minimise the weight and thus making it more user friendly. Done properly this is virtually a dust free process.

The draw back  Some brands use less than the Gore-tex fabric and the filter may need some additional assistance to maintain maximum cleaning power. This is simply achieved by removing the bin and covering the bottom of the cylinder with a large bag (garbage) and then shaking the filter. The bag will contain all the dust and this is a user friendly process when done properly. This process is also recommended occasionally for machines  using the gore-tex filter but it would not be necessary on such a regular basis

No's to Any Vacuuming

There are  certain materials that should not be vacuumed using any vacuum cleaner. These materials have a bonding/clinging nature and will quickly clog and bag or filter. The main materials here are flower (all types), plaster, cement and poly-urethane (floor sanding).

Important

The important factor to bear in mind when purchasing a ducted vacuum is that you must purchase the best suited power sized unit for your home. You do not simply go into a shop and buy the one you like unless it is in fact the correct power size. Too big and too small are both wrong.