It’s refreshing to walk into your home when everything is orderly and all the surfaces are sparkling clean. Unfortunately this is not always the case, time goes by and dust builds up quickly, especially with timber floors! But not far away is my old friend the vacuum cleaner, a necessary piece of machinery when it comes to home maintenance!

Before I plug it in and proceed to clean, I make sure that I have new vacuum cleaner bags handy. These are paper bags that trap the dust particles and allergens that settle all over your home and confine them to a bag which when full is removed and tossed in the bin. If you notice you vacuum cleaner getting sluggish, chances are the bag is full.

Another handy tip is to check the pipe for obstructions, such as coins, socks or any other foreign objects that may have mistakenly make their way into the pipe during cleaning. This is not an uncommon occurrence especially if the floor was not adequately cleared before vacuuming.

So now that all the preparations are out of the way time to get on with your hovering. You will notice that there are various attachments of different sizes, assuming you have a cylinder vacuum as opposed to the upright kind. Personally I prefer the pull along type of vacuum. I find it more practical and diverse, especially when it comes to areas like stairs. The interchangeable brushes are also handy.

I start with the larger brush attachment for the general floor areas and for cleaning my rugs, these you may need to take a little more time on as the dust tends to get trapped in the fibres of the carpets, so just glide over it a few times to make sure all those stubborn particles are removed. If you have any stains on your rug I would suggest using foam upholstery cleaner. Simply spray on the affected area, let the foam soak in then vacuum the excess out.

Once the general areas are clean and dust free, I move onto those corners and hard to reach areas that dust tend to collect in.

This is when i use the fine attachment; it reaches right into those corners and behind furniture. I find myself using this attachment on the sofas as well, especially if you have cats like mine that tend to relax on your sofa. Just run over the sofa quickly and the pet hairs are gone. Now just puff up the cushions and your house should be spotless!