Is more suction created if you press harder on a vacuum cleaner?

Question

My friend insists that pressing harder on the vacuum attachment while cleaning the stairs results in the vacuum picking up more junk (cat hair, etc.). Is this true? I was under the impression that a vacuum has more than enough suction to pull cat hair out of the carpet without my help.

Answer 1

One way to judge if there is more suction is to listen to the sound of the motor. For example, if you put your hand over the end, completely blocking off the flow...the motor is not working as hard (less air being moved, so there is less drag on the motor) and will speed up, so the pitch of the noise is higher when there is less vacuum. It might sound or seem like it's working harder, but if you measure amp draw with wide open vs. completely closed intake, it draws fewer amps closed up.
So if it speeds up (pitch goes up) when you press hard, there is less vacuum, and less vacuum means less cat hair being pulled up.

Answer 2

No, there is no more suction if you press harder. Your friend is incorrect. Most vacuums will have enough suction power to remove cat hair from carpet, but if you have a lot of cats, or your cats shed a lot, you might want to get a rubber broom and brush some of the cat hair up before you try to vacuum.

Answer 3

If you press to hard you cut down on the air flow. Which means you pick up less.

It works best to just let vacuums beater touch the carpet lightly.

If you are using a vacuum with out a beater bar (the brush that turns) it don't pick up the cat hair as well

Answer 4

It just works the powerhead (the sweepers) harder and beats up your carpet. Go high with your powerhead setting and keep setting it lower until it's clean. Cat and dog hair get tangled up in there and you would need tweezers to get out every hair. A good steam cleaner does a much better job

Answer 5

the amount of suction is dependent on the horse power and rpm of the vacume motor, and sixz if the impeller and orrifise opening