Many vacuum cleaning machines are purchased with great enthusiasm by highly motivated people wanting to finally have a home free of surface dirt.  The machine is brought home, unboxed, all the parts are connected, and the first cleaning is performed.  Although the machine is exactly the same as in the store, it seems more difficult to move for some reason and it just doesn’t seem to turn like the store machine did.

The first impression has been made, and each cleaning session thereafter seems to reinforce the slight, but ever-present frustration with either the accessories, or just moving the machine across the floor.  There are many reasons for the frustration, but what seems to be the most common reason is the machine – well –  is just too heavy or awkward with all the accessories and super sized waste container.  Removing the waste container is hard and it doesn’t want to come out, or slide back in!

Bottom line it’s hard to push around an upright or tug a pull behind canister around the house or apartment with one hand.  Emptying the wast container is a real hassle and creates billows of dust when it’s emptied in the trash.  What was an easy task in the store is just more involved at home.

The same is true for handheld machines.  The grip was easy to hold for a short period in the store, but is uncomfortable when cleaning the entire car floor, kids playpen, or pet bed.  The problem is not the new owner.  Rather, the problem is the ergonomics of the machine’s design.  Most machines are purchased as general cleaning machines that can do any number of tasks with any number of accessories.  This is a recipe for disaster and almost always a prescription for replacement in 12 months.

There is a common complaint heard from many owners of upright machines, particularly with the hose and attachments on-board.  The complaint is that their machine is really hard to push when cleaning carpets in the home.  There is a straightforward solution to the problem, but it involves a quick discussion regarding physics.

The solution has to do with three areas: force vectors, friction, and incident angle of attack.  Who knew using a vacuum cleaning machine would involve physics!

Force vectors are what physicists use to describe the application of energy in a given direction.  If a pool ball is hit by a queue stick there is a force conveyed to the ball which causes the ball to move in a particular direction (vector).

If the pool player wants the ball to move in a different direction the ball is struck in a slightly different spot with a different angle from the queue stick.  This causes the ball to move in a different direction or different vector.

Our ball moving across the pool table is moving in a straight line (vector) towards another ball.  When our ball hits the second ball it transfers some of it’s energy to the second ball causing the second ball to move away in a different direction (vector).  Our initial ball, after striking the second ball and giving up some of it’s inertia in the form of kinetic energy, also moves away in a different direction (vector).  Eventually, the pool balls will stop rolling because there is another factor to consider in their  movement.  That factor would be gravity and friction.

Gravity is constantly pulling the balls down against the pool table surface.  When a pool ball rolls across the surface it is being pulled down into the felt of the table which is causing friction against the table.  The friction is slowly impeding the ball from moving forward so it eventually stops rolling.

In like fashion to our pool balls, when an owner pushes a machine they are applying force to the machine in a specific direction (vector).  Similar to our pool balls, the machine being pushed has the same factors governing it’s direction and speed.

As force is being applied by the machine owner to move it forward, it is being applied in a particular direction (vector) using the control handle of the machine.

Unlike our pool balls that were all in the same operating plane (flat surface), the machine is pushed forward at an angle determined by the machine operator’s arm.  This angle is called the initial (incident) angle of attack.  The incident angle determines how force will be applied to the machine on the floor.

Because the incident angle of the control handle is greater that 0 (zero – horizontal) there will be a force vector pushing the machine into the floor and, at the same time, pushing the machine forward.  If the incident angle was 0 (zero – horizontal) then the machine would act in the same manner as the pool balls discussed above.  As the incident angle increases to 27 degrees (about 18 inches from the floor) there is more force applied in a downward direction (vector) and less force applied in a forward direction (vector).

When the control handle is raised even further the downward force vector increases and the forward force vector decreases.  This continues until the handle is upright and the downward vector is 100 and the forward vector is 0 (zero) – no movement forward.

When a machine operator chooses an incident angle for the control handle of the machine, there is certain angle where the forward force vector and the downward force vector are equal.  The goal of the machine operator is to find an incident angle where the forward force vector is greater then the downward force vector.  This will make the machine easier to push because the machine is not being pushed into the carpet which increases friction and resistance to forward motion.

The bottom line: lower the control handle when pushing a machine forward and it won’t be so difficult to move it across the carpet.  Dance with your machine by swooping forward and pulling gently back, then twisting and swooping once again… 1-2-3, back-2-3, pivot-2-3, swoop-2-3, back-2-3, pivot-2-3, swoop-2-3…

Put your earbuds in and find a good waltz like: The blue Danube, The second waltz, Sleeping beauty waltz…

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