A Vacuum Cleaner is an electronic device that is used to suck dirt or dust, usually from the floors by using a partial vacuum created by an air pump. Following are the glossary terms that are related to vacuum cleaner.

ABS Plastics:

ABS stands for Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Plastics. It is the most commonly used type of plastic for moulding vacuum cleaners and its parts. It is economically good. Light weight, strength, resistance to stains and other chemicals, etc are some of the best features of this type of plastic.

Activated Charcoal:

Activated charcoal is usually used to remove substances that are odorous, from the air. The substances are removed by the mechanism called adsorption. Activated charcoal is manufactured by treating normal charcoal with oxygen which creates lots of pores in the charcoal. As a result, the surface area of the charcoal will increase and it becomes highly capable of adsorbing substances. But, the activated charcoal adsorbs only the impurities that are attracted to carbon.

Agitation:

Agitation is the process of moving in a violent and rapid manner. Usually carpets are agitated using brushes.

Air Flow:

Air flow is the measurement that refers to the flow of air through the vacuum cleaner. And the unit used for its measurement is cubic feet per minute. Air flow is one of the most important criteria that are used to calculate the performance and the efficiency of the vacuum cleaner.

Air Watts:

This is the specification that was developed to rate the output power of the vacuum cleaner. It is calculated based on the suction with air flow.

Brush Control:

This feature is found in some models of vacuum cleaner which enables the user to turn off the revolving brush at a single touch. So, that floor and the delicate surfaces can be protected.

Bypass cooling:

It is a special purpose cooling design, which incorporates an additional air flow via the motor to cool it. The main air flow is used only for the purpose of picking up the dust particles and so it bypasses the motor. Bypass cooling is integrated with both the dry/wet cleaners and also the traditional vacuum cleaners.

Cable Length:

It refers to the length of the cable provided with the vacuum cleaner. The usual length of the cable ranges from 4 metres to 10 metres.

CADR:

CADR stands for Clean Air Delivery Rate, a certification for air purifiers. Its value depends on how well the air purifier removes the dust particles as the air pass through the purifier’s filter system.

Central Vacuum:

This is a stationary type of vacuum that is usually mounted in a garage. Since these devices are stationary, they are designed with more powerful motors when compared to the portable models.

Cylinder Cleaners:

These cleaners are smaller in size and easy to handle because of its compact light weight design. These cylinder cleaners are not usually provided with a rotating brush. Many prefer cylinder cleaners because of its flexibility.

Direct Air System:

This is a vacuum cleaner design in which the flow of air picked up the dirt directly via the fan of the suction motor and in to the bag. Traditional cleaners are designed using Dirty Air system, in which soils and unfiltered air passes through the motor. And it often results in breakage of fans and other motor damage.

Dust Capacity:

This value is measured in terms of litres and it refers to the maximum amount of dust that can be contained inside the dust bag in case of bagged model or capacity of the dust container in case of bagless model.

Edge Cleaning:

This is ideal for wall to wall cleaning, since it allows the vacuum cleaner to pick up dirt under the entire area of the cleaning head.

Electrostatic Filter:

This is a type of filter media that consists of fine synthetic fibres on which the electric charge builds as air passed through them. And later this charge is used to pick dust, allergen particles, etc.

Filtration:

This process controls the amount of dust particles, bacteria and other allergen particles. The levels range from 3 to 7. Filtration is more essential for people those who suffer from asthma and other allergic syndromes.

Filtration Efficiency:

This is the percentage of particles that is retained by the filter as the air pass through it. If the filtering efficiency increases then automatically particle size will also increases.

Handle Remote Control:

This is more commonly found on cylinder models and can make life that little bit easier as you as you do not have to bend down to work or adjust the controls.

Motor Brushes:

These are the carbon rods that are found in the vacuum cleaner’s motor. These brushes are held against the commutator in order to supply electricity to the armature windings. These are also called as carbon brushes.

On-Board Tools:

The tools and accessories are stored around or inside the cleaner’s casing. Some manufactures used to cram too many tools in to too small a space.

Operating Radius:

Takes into account the hose and power cord length of a vacuum cleaner and is a measurement of how far away from an electrical outlet a vacuum can be effectively used.

Paper Bag:

The paper bag in a vacuum cleaner consists of a special paper enclosure in to which the dirt and air are directed as part of the filtering system.

Power:

The power value is measured in Watts. The higher this value the more powerful the motor of the cleaner. Values typically range from 600W to 2000W. Bear in mind that there are other factors which also affect suction power and cleaning efficiency including the bore or diameter of the hose and the number of levels in the filtration system so a more powerful motor will not always guarantee greater suction.

Voltage:

The electric potential is expressed in terms of voltage. The voltage in typical house hold ranges from 130 – 220 volts.

Watts:

Watts is the unit of measuring electric power. And in this context, it is used to indicate the overall power of the vacuum cleaner’s motor.