Vacuum cleanerPrint

Vacuuming without back pain

Did you know that you cover about 21 kilometres a year while vacuuming? Invented in 1901, a pure luxury and reserved exclusively for men at the time, a vacuum cleaner is standard equipment today. And we use it a lot: an average of two hours per week is spent vacuuming in German households. Yet vacuuming is not necessarily among the most popular tasks. No wonder, because vacuuming can cause back pain.

Making your vacuum cleaner back friendly

How can back problems be avoided? Sometimes the little things are what makes a normal vacuum cleaner back friendly. Easy adjustment of the vacuum cleaner to various body heights for example. Or the ability to adjust everything directly on the handle. This means nobody has to bend over, everyone can work in an upright posture. That can be crucial because people sometimes suffer from lumbago caused by bending over.

The carrying handle should be ergonomically designed and arranged so you can carry the vacuum cleaner close to the body. A slim vacuum cleaner body helps as well. The closer to your body you carry the weight, the easier it will be on your back. Headlights on the floor nozzle may not be essential, but they certainly are very helpful in dark places – for example when vacuuming under the sofa and glass cabinet.

What else can you do? With upright vacuum cleaners, ensuring that the floor unit follows along easily and with little resistance is recommended. Large ball-bearing wheels ensure precise manoeuvrability and a rotating caster wheel maximises agility. That means you do not have to turn your upper body, avoiding twisting movements that are hard on the back.

Back-friendly, cordless vacuum cleaner

Cordless hand-held vacuum cleaners are also recommended. They make the bothersome pulling back and forth of the cord, which is often far too short, a thing of the past. Bending over is greatly reduced as well since you are not constantly connecting the plug to a different outlet.

Just as with upright vacuum cleaners, some hand-held models also have the on/off switch and power level controls on the upper handle of the cordless vacuum. This ensures an upright working posture regardless of the body height, since certified units must either have a large functional angle adjustment or an adjustable telescoping tube for length adjustment. An ergonomic handle with control unit is another plus.

Unlike the classic upright vacuum, cordless vacuum cleaners do not have a suction tube that is separate from the suction unit. The two parts are combined into one. This makes it all the more important for the unit to be as lightweight and manoeuvrable as possible. The suction brush should easily swivel to the left and right, with adequate vertical swivelling. This makes it easy to vacuum under tables.

If the vacuum cleaner also has what is called a parking function, allowing it to be easily set down upright and free-standing, this eliminates the bothersome and often very cumbersome need to lay it down. The parking function lets you pick up and use the cordless vacuum quickly and easily at any time. This also makes it easy to set it into the charging station. A floor nozzle equipped with LED headlights is an especially useful feature. It makes sure that dust and dirt in dark areas will not escape you.

All-rounders also have benefits for the back

With battery-operated vacuum cleaners, the motor unit is often positioned low down for optimum weight transfer. But this positioning is impractical when vacuuming under beds, cabinets or sofas. With some vacuum cleaner models, the motor unit can be quickly shifted up along the telescoping tube.

When the vacuum cleaner also has a carrying handle on the motor and the end of the shaft, cleaning ceilings is easy as well. Also useful: a unit that can be folded up to a handy size and includes a comprehensive package of accessories. Vacuuming furniture, pictures, stairs or hard to reach areas is then no longer a problem thanks to the good manageability.

The 2-in-1 system for fast and universal application

A 2-in-1 vacuum is also handy. It also allows everything to be adjusted on the upper handle. You can also take out the suction unit with a click. This gives you a practical hand-held vacuum that can be used anywhere it happens to be needed. For example to clean furniture or in the car. Appropriate accessories make it even more versatile.

Checklist

• Adaptation to the body height is a basic requirement, so that anyone can work in an upright body posture and without having to bend forward excessively. This is accomplished by means of large function angle variability or an adjustable telescoping tube.
• For proper operation of the vacuum cleaner, it should ideally be equipped with ergonomic handles. With cordless vacuums, the handle position should at least be adjustable for safe, easy and comfortable operation. Easy swivelling of the suction brush in all directions makes the work easier.
• No matter which version you prefer, the functional operating elements – switching on and off, and adjusting the power level – should be conveniently accessible on the handle in an upright body posture to minimise bending over. Ideally an automatic suction power setting can be activated here as well.
• Carrying handles should always be ergonomically designed. A slim vacuum cleaner body additionally ensures that you can carry the unit close to your body, further reducing strain while carrying.
• Headlights on the floor nozzle are not essential but very useful. They improve cleaning results, especially in darker areas (under furniture).
• Cordless hand-held vacuum cleaners should also be combined with a convenient charging station, which is easy to install and can be used to store the unit as well.
• A free-standing parking position is also important for cordless vacuum cleaners. This makes it quick and convenient to use.
• Aside from user-friendly removal of the dust collection bag, also pay attention to the easy and secure attachment of the suction tube to the floor unit for upright vacuum cleaners. This for example leaves one hand free to open doors or when climbing stairs while carrying the unit.
• Comprehensive accessories and a removable hand-held unit for cordless vacuums ensure ultimate versatility in various areas.

Minimum requirements for cordless vacuum cleaners

• Comfortable to use with various body heights
• Free-standing parking position
• Convenient charging
• Comfortable handle position
• Convenient operation of functions
• Avoidance of malpositions and strain while carrying

 Nice to have

• Comfortable operation with ultimate versatility, for example when cleaning under furniture or overhead
• Headlights on the floor nozzle

Minimum requirements for upright vacuum cleaners

• User-friendly removal of the dust collection bag
• Comfortable handle position
• Easy and secure attachment of the suction tube
• Individual adjustment of the working height to the body height
• Usability of the suction tube and floor nozzle with minimum effort
• Convenient operation of functions
• Avoidance of malpositions and strain while carrying
• Easy and comfortable movement of the vacuum cleaner body

Nice to have

• Headlights on the floor nozzle

Products in this sector with the AGR seal of approval

Unfortunately none at present!