Vacuum Bags

Vacuum bags are paper or cotton bags fitted inside vacuum cleaners. All the dirt and particles that are sucked up by the vacuum machine end up inside these bags, so they act as a removable reservoir, after some time they become full and the vacuum device can be opened and the bag emptied of its contents.

What do vacuum bags have to do with allergy?

To answer that, we must understand how the vacuum cleaner works. The vacuum cleaner creates a suction force by creating a negative pressure (vacuum) and air, dust and other light particles get carried inside the appliance with the air current. Obviously all that sucked air cannot be held inside the cleaner! The air leaves the cleaner through vents in the machine, but before the air leaves it is filtered by passing through the vacuum bag .

The vacuum bag has little pores that will only allow air through while trapping small particles and keeping them inside the bag, where they accumulate until the bag is eventually emptied into the garbage. So vacuuming is significant to allergy sufferers because it is an additional way to filter out allergens like pollen and dust and mold spores and purifies the air. This is especially significant to asthma patients and people with hay fever and allergic sinus disease.

Precautions while using vacuum bags:

The bag in the vacuum cleaner functions as a replaceable filter in addition to it’s function as a reservoir for all the dirt etc. Many people seem to forget that the bags are disposable so they continue using the same bag. Over time the pores of the bag become clogged with dirt and they do not perform their filtering function anymore, so they put a lot of stress on the vacuum engine which reduces the suction power, this will lead to ineffective vacuum cleaning. Eventually the vacuum motor might be damaged from the extra pressure. So it is important to remember to change the vacuum bag periodically.

Submitted on January 16, 2014