Why Are Vacuums So Loud?
There are several reasons that vacuums are loud. First and foremost, it’s because they have powerful motors that send air flowing through the machine at a high rate of speed.
It’s this high-speed airflow that sucks up dirt and debris from your carpets. This airflow is also responsible for most of the noise pollution emitted by your vacuum cleaner.
The other reason vacuums are so loud is because of the way they are engineered. Most vacuums have metal fan blades that create an intense, high-pitched whining sound when they spin quickly. The motor in a vacuum cleaner is also made of metal, which can produce an additional loud noise as it spins.
Due to the fact that the majority of vacuum cleaners today use large motors and metal fan blades in their construction, noise pollution is almost unavoidable.
However, there are some things you can do to reduce the amount of noise your vacuum produces. One of these things is to make sure your machine has a good quality muffler attached to it.
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12 Reasons Why Your Vacuum Is Louder Than It Should Be
If your vacuum is making an annoying racket when you turn it on, there may be something wrong with your machine. But don’t worry, there are plenty of things you can do to fix the problem before buying a replacement.
1. The motors in the most inexpensive vacuums are not designed for efficiency
They spin so fast and use so much electricity to do it, that they generate a lot of heat. If you’ve ever noticed how hot your vacuum gets when you use it a lot, now you know why: It’s burning off all that extra energy as heat because it doesn’t have an efficient way to turn it into work.
2. No noise-reduction systems at all to quiet them down
Some upright vacuums have mufflers on their exhaust ports that reduce some of the noise coming out of them, but they don’t reduce much of the motor noise or vibration noise inside the vacuum itself. Only a handful of expensive vacuums have sound-dampening liners in their bodies (like cars have) or other active noise-reduction systems (like headphones do).
3. You have a full vacuum bag
When your vacuum bag is full, it will restrict the airflow, which increases the amperage drawn on the motor. This causes your motor to work harder, requiring more energy and making more noise in the process.
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4. The brush roll is set too low
If the brush roll is too close to the floor, it will make more noise as it hits the floors while you’re cleaning.
The brush roll has hair or debris wound around it. If there’s hair or debris wound around the agitator bristles of your vacuum’s brush roll, it can cause quite a racket as you vacuum.
5. You have hard flooring
If you have hard floors instead of carpeting in your home, you’ll definitely notice an increase in noise level when you use your upright vacuum cleaner. This is due to the fact that with hard floors, there’s nothing to absorb any of that extra sound energy coming from your machine!
6. You may need a new belt
The belt on your vacuum cleaner controls how fast and how smooth the brush roll spins while cleaning up dirt and debris on your carpet or flooring. The belt may not be broken but could have stretched out over time, causing it to slip more often than usual, making a loud squealing noise while vacuuming.
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7. Your vacuum is clogged with dirt or debris
Over time, dirt and debris can get caught in your vacuum’s hoses or in its filters, blocking air from flowing properly through the system and making a constant noise that is loud enough to hear throughout your house. This can also cause your vacuum to lose suction power as well because there is no airflow running through the system smoothly.
8. Motor mount loose or broken
Your motor should be securely mounted to prevent vibration and reduce noise. If your motor mount has come loose or broken, make sure to repair it right away so that you don’t damage your motor or belt.
9. The vacuum needs to be cleaned
Your vacuum cleaner may need to be cleaned. The roller brush in the cleaning head of the vacuum is usually powered by a belt, which can get worn out if debris gets caught under it, throwing off your belt’s alignment. And as the belt wears, it can start to slip and make a squealing noise.
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10. You have the wrong vacuum for your flooring
Some vacuums work better on different flooring than others, but you can also choose the attachment that’s right for your flooring, too. If you’re using a hardwood floor attachment on carpeted floor or vice versa, you may find that your vacuum makes a lot of noise.
11. You’re using the wrong beater bar height
If you’re using a beater bar brush roll on carpeted floors, you’ll want to adjust the beater bar to the correct height for the carpet pile before starting to vacuum. Adjusting it for high pile carpet when cleaning low pile carpet will cause the vacuum cleaner to work harder and make more noise.
12. Something is stuck in the brush roll
If there are fibers from your carpet or hair wrapped around your brush roll, this can cause it to get stuck and make noise as it tries to spin. Make sure you check your brush roll often for debris and clean it off regularly.
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In summary, The way most vacuum cleaners work is by sucking air in through a filter. The air travels through the machine and pushes dirt, dust, and particles out of the vacuum through the hose. This process creates a pressure imbalance that makes noise.
The harder you suck, the louder the machine gets, which is why you’ll notice your vacuum is loudest when you’re trying to pick up stubborn dirt or hair.
A vacuum doesn’t have to be so loud, though. In fact, many vacuum cleaners aren’t as loud as their predecessors — in some cases, they’re nearly silent.
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Allan Wilson who in the offline world has an extensive background working in research, analyzing statistics, improving work processes, team leading, and implementing training to improve results and now thanks to more than 3 years dedicated to this site is now also a highly regarded researcher of brands.
Allan has a long history of developing brands online way back before blogging existed creating websites using HTML code in Notepad. Allan established brands in the Info Product Marketing arena such as infoproductmarketing, ebookresellerkit, reprintrightsmarketing, along with many other successful websites (and a few failures along the way). Allan has also authored numerous ebooks, owned and operated membership sites, created eLearning courses, and more.
