From the experience the author has had with portable vacuum cleaners, some thirty makes having been tested for the Treasury Department by him and by the Bureau of Standards, the use of such cleaners is not considered as either an efficient or sanitary means of mechanical cleaning.
If a cleaner requiring small power is required, one of the smaller stationary plants, costing not over $300.00 and operating with ¹⁄₂ or ³⁄₄ H. P., is considered a better investment than $125.00 paid for a portable cleaner.
If the purchaser feels that he cannot afford to pay more than $125.00 for his vacuum cleaner, a type such as the Water Witch can be furnished for this price. This cleaner is placed in the basement, with arrangements for starting same from any floor. The manufacturers state that this apparatus produces a vacuum of 2 in. mercury in a carpet renovator, 4 in. mercury in an upholstery renovator and exhausts 25 to 30 cu. ft. of free air per minute with open hose. The machine operates by water pressure and the manufacturers state that it requires about 6 to 8 gals. of water per minute. All air is exhausted outside of the building and all dust washed down the sewer with the exhaust water. It is therefore, a fairly efficient and sanitary cleaning system.
The statements made above apply to parties who own their residences and occupy offices in modern buildings. There are, besides these, a great many who live in rented houses and apartments or occupy offices in buildings where the owners are not sufficiently progressive to install stationary cleaning plants. To supply the needs of this class is evidently the field of the portable cleaner, as even the poorest of these machines is more effective in the removal of dust and dirt than the broom and carpet sweeper.
The selection of a portable cleaner by one who must necessarily resort to the use of such a cleaner should be made with care. The motor should be looked into and only one which has brushes readily removable and one in which the condition of the brushes can be easily noted should be selected. Lubrication is important. A good cleaner should be so constructed that it can be operated for at least 100 hours without relubrication.
The dust bag should always be on the suction side of the vacuum producer and of such a design and construction that at least ¹⁄₂ peck of a mixture of 40% sand, 30% flour, 15% sweepings and 15% Portland cement can be picked up from the floor and retained in the bag and the machine still be capable of picking up material from a bare floor.
A good test for capacity of a portable machine is to pick up ¹⁄₂ peck of such material, then fit a thin disk with ⁷⁄₈-in. diameter opening over the end of the hose. A machine, to be of any value, should show a suction of 3 in. water and a first-class machine will show 8 in. under these conditions. This will do fairly good bare floor work. To ascertain if the machine will clean carpets, use a similar disk with ⁵⁄₈-in. diameter opening, when a suction of 7 in. water indicates the lowest value and 16 in. about the best that can be obtained from any portable cleaner. Cleaners must be readily portable and should not weigh exceeding 75 lbs.
Transcriber’s Notes
Inconsistent and unusual spelling have been retained. In several places the text appears to be incomplete or jumbled; this has not been corrected. In many of the illustrations reference letters are given in uppercase whereas the text uses lowercase letters; this has not been standardised.