Here's How Often You Really Need To Change Your Vacuum Bag

If your trusty vacuum cleaner isn't quite doing the great job it used to, the first thing to check is whether the vacuum bag or container is full. As it gets fuller, the efficacy of the vacuum lessens. To understand why, it's important to know a bit about how a vacuum really works.

Vacuum cleaners pick up dust and debris by using negative pressure, akin to how you use a straw, according to Cosmos. When you suck in through a straw to sip a drink, it creates negative air pressure in the straw, which is lower than the pressure of the surrounding atmosphere. This causes the liquid to flow up the straw. However, when the vacuum bag becomes full, the negative pressure weakens, and the vacuum can't do as good a job at cleaning your carpet and floors.

So, that begs the question: How often do you really need to change or empty your vacuum bag to keep the vacuum running its best? Read on for the answer.

Many people think it's normal to wait for a vacuum bag to become filled to the brim with dust, dirt, and debris before emptying it. However, that's not the best approach. Your vacuum will start performing in a less-than-optimal manner once the bag or container becomes two-thirds of the way full, according to BobVila.com.

So, if you want to get the very best performance out of your vacuum cleaner, make sure you stop periodically to check how full the bag is. This is especially true if you find that the vacuum isn't working as well as you'd like. Don't jump to conclusions that the vacuum needs a tune-up or should be replaced. Often, simply emptying the bag is enough to get it back to regular working order.

Also, what materials you typically vacuum up will have an impact on how often you need to change or empty the vacuum bag. For example, if you're regularly cleaning up fine dust, pet hair, or dander, the bag will fill up faster and need to be emptied more frequently, according to West Allis Vaccum. The company suggests emptying it once or twice every six months.