How a Vacuum Cleaner Works

Hi, I'm Josh from eSpares, and in this video I'm going to be explaining to you how a vacuum cleaner works.

Here I have a couple of different types of vacuum cleaner, they all function using exactly the same principle that of air pressure, namely the difference between high air pressure and low air pressure.

It's exactly the same principle as when you drink from a glass, through a straw, you create a lower air pressure in your mouth and as a result the ambient air pressure around the glass, forces the liquid up through the straw and into your mouth. It's exactly the same with a vacuum cleaner.

Now, a vacuum cleaner contains a motor and when you turn the vacuum on, the motor drives a fan, which lowers the air pressure inside the appliance and this is what creates a partial vacuum. As a result the ambient air pressure outside the vacuum forces the air through the hose and into the appliance.

Once the air is inside the vacuum, the dirt is filtered out in a couple of different ways, depending on the type of appliance you've got. If it's one like this which uses a bag then the air passes through the vacuum bag, which is made of a porous material, while the dirt that's suspended in the air is dropped into the bag and left behind.

If you have a vacuum like this, which uses a canister, the air is spun round the canister at a very high speed and it's thrown out to the sides where it drops down to the bottom and collects.

Here I have another type of vacuum, this is a wet & dry machine and if you're using this vacuum for washing, the dirt is suspended in water particles. Because water particles are heavier than air particles, as the water comes up into the vacuum, it drops down into a reservoir below.

Now, here I have a standard vacuum motor, at the bottom we have the fan in this cylinder here and this is what creates the suction in the first place. So the air comes through and over the fan and passes the motor, cooling it. While here is a motor from a wet & dry machine, again the fan is in this cylinder here at the bottom but there are vents round the side which the air is thrown out of. Then on the top is an additional fan which is designed specifically to cool the motor as well.

For a range of videos on other appliances, check out our other eSpares videos.

Thanks for watching.