How Does the Fan Cause the Vacuum Cleaner to Pick Up Dirt?

Airflow

• The main fuction of the fan inside the vacuum cleaner is to direct the airflow from the cleaning head to the dirt collector--either the bag or bagless dirt collection bin. The fan blows inward using angled propellers, causing the air inside the vacuum to spin upward and pull in more air from the intake valve on the underside of the cleaning head. The narrower the intake valve, the stronger the suction. The design of the vacuum aims to make the intake narrow enough to adequately intensify the suction delivered by the fan, while wide enough to pull dirt and debris across the entire length of the vacuum cleaner's cleaning head.

Cleaning Head Design

• The design of the vacuum's cleaning head is intended to funnel the airflow supplied by the fan across the length of the cleaning head. Common cleaning head designs include angles inside the head to force the dust and dirt collected by the suction and action of the brush roll up into the cleaning head and into the vacuum's intake. The most effective vacuum cleaners match strong suction with an angled cleaning head. Less effective vacuum cleaners are flawed by inadequate suction from the fan, poor cleaning head design or both.

Brush Roll

• The brush roll is designed to agitate and sweep the surface of the carpet. The agitation is necessary to shake loose dirt from the carpet so it can be removed. A worn or damaged brush roll will place all of the burden of cleaning the carpet on the suction provided by the fan. Even the most powerful cleaners will not effectively clean carpeting with suction alone.

Belt and Motor Shaft

• The vacuum cleaner's fan spins during operation at an equal rate of the motor shaft. The motor shaft drives the vacuum cleaner's belt. The belt wraps around the motor shaft and the brush roll to join the parts in a unified effort to clean the carpet. If one of the componets is not working or working ineffectively, the entire effort of the cleaner is diminished. The vacuum cleaner is most efficient when the fan is spinning at optimum speed, the motor shaft is spinning at a comparable speed to drive the belt and the belt is spinning the brush roll to agitate and sweep the carpeting at a likewise rate.