How A Vacuum Cleaner Works: I Explain How It Works From A To Z

When you drink a drink using a straw, you use a very simple suction mechanism. By sucking the drink through the straw, you cause a pressure drop between the bottom and the top of the straw. It is this phenomenon of depression that draws fluid to your mouth. The operation of a vacuum cleaner is explained by the same mechanism, although in practice, it is a little more complicated.

In this article, we will explain what is going on inside a vacuum cleaner. By discovering how this appliance works and what allows it to suck up all the dust and dirt in your home, you'll have all the keys to better choose the model you need. As you will see, the standard design of a vacuum cleaner is extremely simple, but it relies on a host of more complex physical principles.

Depression: The Phenomenon Causing The Operation Of Your Vacuum Cleaner

When you plug in your vacuum cleaner, the electric current makes it possible to operate the motor. The latter is connected to a fan whose blades allow to force the air towards the exhaust hole. The air particles are thus pushed forward and the air pressure increases at the front of the fan, but decreases at the rear.

It is this pressure drop at the back of the fan that activates the suction mechanism (as in your straw). The pressure level is then lower than the pressure outside the appliance (ie the ambient air in the room you want to suck). As a result, you create a partial vacuum inside the vacuum cleaner that draws ambient air through the intake hole. As long as the fan is running and the air hole of your vacuum cleaner is running, a constant airflow enters through the inlet and out through the exhaust hole.

The Second Key Principle Of The Operation Of A Vacuum Cleaner: Friction 

The vacuum allows to suck up small particles of dirt and dust by creating a low pressure zone. However, this is not enough to attract larger particles of dust and dirt. This is where the friction principle comes in. Many models, besides featuring fan, also work with a rotating brush that sweeps your floor.

This rotating brush is also powered by the motor of your vacuum cleaner, which allows the brush to move from front to back. It is this movement that allows it to detach the dust particles and dirt housed in the tissues that would not have been sucked by the air pressure. They are thus detached from the surface of the ground, are found in the air and can thus be sucked more easily.

What Is The Role Of The Bag In The Operation Of Your Vacuum Cleaner? 

Once your vacuum cleaner has sucked in air and dirt particles, the pressure created at the front of your fan will draw them up. At this point, the air and dirt particles enter the porous bag of your vacuum cleaner. The porosity of your vacuum cleaner's bag should allow air to pass more easily, but it's dense enough to trap dirt, and the larger particles your device has sucked up from the floor. Once exhaled from the bag, the air leaves the back of your vacuum cleaner, allowing the dirt to stay in the bag.

However, many models have removed the bags and now consist of a plastic tray, easier to empty. In this case, they will also be equipped with a filter to separate the dust from the air (a mission to the base filled by the bag of your vacuum cleaner).