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How does my Vacuum Cleaner Work?
You have probably already guessed this, but a vacuum cleaner
operates on the basic principle of suction. This is all
about pressure. For example, if you sip a drink through a
straw, the pressure at the mouth end is reduced and the
pressure at the drink end is increased, which makes the
drink flow up the straw. This is a very simple example of
suction at work.
A vacuum cleaner operates by the same principle, and is
still relatively simple, although it can look a bit
complicated if you pull one apart! A vacuum cleaner consists
of six parts. Firstly the inlet, which is the point at which
air along with dust and dirt is sucked into the vacuum
cleaner. Most vacuums have a range of accessories that can
be added to the inlet to make cleaning easier. Secondly, the
vacuum needs an exhaust, which is a vent for all the air to
exit the vacuum cleaner again. Some vacuums also have a blow
mode, and the vent is used to suck in air for blowing.
Naturally, the vacuum also requires an electric motor to
product suction, and a fan to keep the suction mechanism
running. A vacuum cleaner also requires somewhere to collect
the dust and debris, which can be either a porous bag or
some form of removable cylinder. Finally, you need some sort
of casing to form the outside of the vacuum cleaner. Not
much to it, is there!
Once you turn on the electricity, the electric motor starts
to rotate the fan. The fan's blades are angular, set at a
specific angle. The blades push air towards the exhaust
outlet. When this happens, the air pressure on the other
side of the fan drops, which creates suction or a partial
vacuum. This is filled by air rushing in through the inlet.
Air always tries to move from high to low-pressure areas, so
as long as the motor is running and the fan turns, the
resulting vacuum will create suction through the inlet.
When you direct the inlet onto a carpet, the force of the
suction pulls up any dirt or debris in the carpet, and it
passes into the vacuum cleaner. For many years now vacuums
have had porous bags, the idea being that the dirt-laden air
passes into the porous bag. The dirt is trapped in there,
but the air passes out to the exhaust vent. As long as the
bag is changed or emptied regularly, the vacuum cleaner
continues to function effectively. Nowadays there are also
cylinder vacuums available. These work by passing the air
through a maze of spiral pipes, causing a centrifugal force
to exert itself on the dust particles. These then fall away
from the moving air, and collect inside the removable
cylinder.
Vacuum cleaners are a great time saver, and with modern
developments such as wet/dry vacuums for cleaning up
liquids, they can solve a number of household cleaning
problems at once. |
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