The Vacuuming Technique All Over TikTok Getting Floors Cleaner Than Ever

While vacuums are much more convenient than mops, sometimes they don't do the trick as well. It seems that just days after vacuuming floors and rugs alike, you feel the telltale squish of crumbs or hairs on the bottoms of your feet. It might not make sense at first, but it might be because you're vacuuming incorrectly. We know what you're thinking — using a handheld isn't rocket science. How can you do it wrong? You turn it on and move it back and forth, letting the beater brush do its job. But that's only partially true. For best results — and more dust and dirt collected — you need to incorporate something called "slow vacuuming."

Since no one enjoys cleaning, we instinctively push and pull the vacuum quickly over floorboards or area rugs to finish the job at record speed. After all, the beater brush dislodges the dust, and the engine sucks it up, leaving behind a cleaner floor. While that's true, the swift and sharp motions aren't allowing you to get the dirt and grime embedded deeper in the rug fibers or tile grout.

As the @thedirtyapartment's TikTok demonstrates, with slow vacuuming, you're simply going to vacuum your floors more slowly, moving at a snail's pace. While at first it might seem unnatural, try not to lose patience. Since you're moving about an inch a second, you're giving the beater brush more time to kick at a rug's fibers or brush against the grooves of wood or tile grout — dislodging embedded dirt and dust.

As this detritus loosens, the vacuum sucks it up into its canister or bag. And while this is, of course, how a vacuum cleaner works, by moving over surfaces more slowly, you're giving your cleaning appliance more time to do its job. You're letting it stay in one spot for a bit longer, which enables it to pick up even more dirt.

While vacuuming like this will take you more time, it'll also ensure you're getting the deepest clean you can. What's more, it may even, ironically, save you time overall as each spot you vacuum will only need one pass. Finally, if you don't foresee yourself doing this slow vacuuming routine every week, you can start off by doing so on a monthly basis. Per TikTok, you should see immediate (game-changing) results.