Ohio State University recently completed experimentation on vacuums and their effectiveness on killing flees.

Read the full article here.

Central vacuums don’t just assist in killing flees, dust mites, and other creepy crawlers. Central vacuums will go a step further by completely removing them AND their eggs from your living space. Imagine a home free from the terror that these insects cause - no more bites, itchiness and rashes caused by bugs, veterinarian bills due to flees, etc.

Imagine a healthier home and you.

One central vacuum dealer recently told MD Manufacturing of a situation where a homeowner went into coughing fits every time the central vac was on. It did not matter that the central vac was in the basement, vented to the outside, or had a caulked muffler. It seemed that the carbon dust from the motor was being stirred up and the dealer was wondering what to do. He had sought out a true measurement of the dust particles, and ventured to think that a brushless motor might be helpful.

In this situation, however, the issue may be one of two things: dirty air from the central vacuum exhaust, or carbon dust allergies.

First, the problem may be dirty air. Just because there is a port on the side of the unit for the exhaust does not guarantee that the motor is housing air tightly and capturing all the exhaust’s dust. With the brand and model number, we can give you a definitive answer about this. Also, if there are any restrictions in the exhaust, it will cause accumulated pressure. This too would cause air to escape around other places of the motor. In fact, it can even force the air back out the exhaust cooling intake vent, possibly creating this particular homeowner’s coughing fits.

Most likely, however, this homeowner is suffering from the carbon dust from the motors. MD has two solutions for this: First we offer our Silent Master Model SR that contains a brushless Switch Reluctance motor from Ametek. The motor has a high-speed computer onboard and sends pulses to magnets evenly spaced around the motor armature. This magnetic force pulls the motor in a circular motion all the way up to 30,000 RPM. It’s absolutely fantastic engineering! The motor does not emit any carbon and is designed to last about 5000 hours. We have been using it for about 4 years. The cost for this motor is a bit more than the normal motor, but has these additional features.

Our other option would be MD’s AirForce central vacuum unit. Although it does contain carbon brushed motors, the motor is totally encapsulated inside the vacuum chamber and so all of the carbon dust is contained in the single exhaust port. You could actually install this unit in a closet and seal the door because it does not require any intake air-cooling.

Harmful carbon dust emissions are not only a problem to allergic homeowners, but they also prevent the home from getting as clean as possible. MD Manufacturing has taken a few steps toward remedying this problem, providing the best central vacuum units available.

Under normal operating conditions, a typical central vacuum will move about 40-100 CFM (airflow) if used with a power brush on carpet. An avg. 2,500 sq. ft. home contains appx. 20,000 cubic ft. That would equate to replacing the entire amount of air in the house in about 3 to 8 hrs. Vacuuming for 30 min. would suck up 6 to 6.25% of the air in the home. But where does that air come from? It comes from the outside. But how does it get in? Our homes are not so tight that the windows implode when we run the vacuum too long! Air must come through microscopic holes and pores in every surface. It comes through the drywall, flooring, windows, and doors. One open door for 10 seconds could bring in 1,400 cubic ft. of air (or 7%)—this is estimated from a person walking in at 4 mph and the airflow associated at a 7′ x 3.6″ opening. If we were really concerned about this we would air-lock the doors to our homes!

It is true that outdoor air has less particles per million. But they often contain pollens and other irritants. For the most part, these agents are filtered out as the air enters the home. This is because airflow from the vacuum into the home through the microscopic permeations is of such a small total volume that these bothersome particles cannot come in. Indeed, they can hardly move. When a vacuum nozzle is set two ft. from a dust column, the dust will barely move!

All this to say that homes really can be cleaned extremely well. And by far, a central vacuum is the best appliance for maintaining the cleanest home possible, since it removes much more dirt than conventional vacuums. For more information, visit MD’s health facts page.