When we were younger, we would clean out the dust with a duster and wiping with cloth. In the past, I used to dread these cleaning exercises as it will trigger a bad sinus due to the flying dust.
What I have learned is that if you are clearing dust using feather duster or any form of duster, the dust would be flying around:
Meaning essentially you are moving the dust from one place to another.
This year, I was literally doing the dusting and cleaning by myself. I decided to use my old trusty vacuum cleaner to help me clear out the dust:
Using the vacuum brush side of the vacuum, I lifted up the vacuum on a chair and use it to vacuum the sofa, higher places, on top of cupboards, window stills and walls. I also vacuumed on table tops and dusty areas. After that, I threw out the contents in my vacuum.
Should you get a portable vacuum cleaner?
A friend of mine actually kept cats in her apartment and there would be cat fur all over the place and on her sofa. She uses a portable vacuum cleaner but advised me to get a good brand instead of unknown brands as she had bought an unknown brand and it got spoilt quite quickly. Eventually she bought from a good brand and she told me she seldom use a broom anymore…she just used the portable vacuum cleaner.
Therefore I went to an electrical shop to buy some electrical items, I also inquired about a portable vacuum cleaner. The shop sold a few brands from Electrolux and Dyson. The sales assistant inquired about the size of my home and then he proceeded to advise about the downside of portable vacuum cleaners from his customers’ experience.
He said the vacuum cleaner, at full charge is able to clean for about 20 minutes. The suction of a portable vacuum cleaner would not equal to a traditional wired one. Hence he said if the cleaning area is large, then it is not practical to get a portable vacuum cleaner due to the short use time and less suction powder. That is why you would notice for office, where the area to be cleaned is large, they would use the heavy duty industry standard vacuum cleaners.
Another concern is the charging deck- after a while, the charging deck may become defective. If it is still within warranty it can be replaced. However sometimes the vacuum does not work well even after the deck is being replaced. If after warranty, to replace the part would cost a few hundred bucks, and the owner still have to risk that the replacement may not make the portable vacuum as good as new.
It is same like with our Smartphones- sometimes after a while our phone may not be able to charged properly. We may try to replace the charger, battery or the charging deck depending on what the shop think could be the problem. But even then, it sometimes does not help. If it is not a high range phone, often one would just buy a new one.
It is not that the shop want to talk bad about the products they are selling. But what the staff was trying to do is to advise as he claimed to have handled some cases of customers with portable vacuum cleaners.
If you are staying in a small apartment, and values convenience above pricing (ie you would not mind to replace the vacuum if it gets spoiled), then it is okay to purchase a portable vacuum cleaner. But if you have a larger space to cover which requires more than 20 minutes (bear in mind you need to stop work and charge the appliance for at least a few hours before you can use it), then it may not be practical for you to buy one.
And portable ones are not strong enough to suck out dust mites from beds, according to another one of my mom’s friend who actually spent RM4k (about USD1k) on a vacuum cleaner that could do it.
In the end, I used my old trusty vacuum which I had bought for at least 15 years to clean up dust and cobwebs around my home. Vacuuming effectively removed the dust, especially some that has been hidden in corners and high stills.
