How long do you REALLY vacuum for? (flooring, how much, dishwasher)

[Vacuumman]

This question comes up everytime someone talks about getting a new vacuum...How long is the vacuum actually running when I clean the house?

It seems that everyone I talk to thinks they run the vacuum much longer than it's actually on for because they include moving it room to room, messing with the cord, emptying the canister or bag and moving furniture.

I'd love to hear what everything on here has to say ......

[cynwldkat]

Since I have pets and my hubby has allergies to their fur I take my time and do a good job vacuuming--about 20 minutes per room. That's straight vacuuming--no stopping in-between.

[Ohiogirl81]

Since my vacuum doubles as a duster, I spend a lot of time in each room with the vacuum on, turning it off only to attach/detach the hose as I move from vacuuming the floor to dusting the furniture, walls, upholstery, etc.

[Kathleen1971]

With three big dogs, one fat cat, a dirt back yard and light frieze (Stainmaster my butt) carpet I spend every day vaccuming. I tend to do about 20 minutes a room but with a combo living/dining area I spend more time there. Of course I have to admit that with my new vacuum I now love vacuuming so it makes the ordeal a bit easier lol.

[TKramar]

Don't have many rooms with carpet. Peel and stick tile in most rooms.

[Donn2390]

The size of the house would be a major factor in determing how long it takes to vacuum.
We have a very large home, over 4000 Sq ft, but there is only two of us here, and both extremely neat. There are rooms I never enter except to dust and vacuum, so it takes no time at all. We also have a lot of tile. We are in the process of redoing the floors, so we will have more hard surface floors, leaving carpet on in the six bedrooms and the formal livingroom/dining room.
My wife dusts every Friday, and I follow her with the vacuum. Her job takes longer than mine. I can vacuum the whole house in under an hour. My purpose in vacuuming is to make all of the cute little vacuum tracks nice and uniform, with no footprints. Some rooms only get vacuumed once a month, because there is simply no traffic in those rooms.

[Vacuumman]

I'm thinking I only spend 10-15 minutes of actual vacuuming (run time w/ power on) to clean the carpet in my living room, dinning room and three bedrooms (one small study).

I'm going to time it with a stop watch tonight ......

[cynwldkat]

Funny you should mention timing this....I suppose it's my "sick" mind but at one point I decided to time each and every chore I do in my home just to see how much time I spend doing them. That is what I did---dishwasher takes under 5 minutes to empty, vacuuming takes aprox 20 min a room, folding and putting away one load of laundry takes about 5-10 min., dusting takes an hour (because of moving all the items), bathroom takes 1/2 hour to throughly clean, making my bed takes under 5 min but changing all the bedding takes 15 min. It may seem an odd thing to do but for some reason it makes my chores seem like less of a job knowing how little time they actually take! Call me strange but it works for me!

[Coldjensens]

USe a roomba. No idea how long it runs.

[nynraleigh]

I never timed it, but I don't mind vacuuming, so to do the entire house thoroughly, it would be 45+ minutes, but avg probably 10-15 minutes per room, carpeted stairs takes a good 15-20 minutes, carpeting upstairs and wood flooring downstairs with area rugs...but I make sure all the furniture, mouldings, etc are done as well, not just whip through the room and put the vacuum back in the closet. I have a Kenmore Canister with all the bells and whistles, so it's easy to maneuver, quick release feature works great to get the straight suction attachments on/off to do everything, the mini power head jr. for the stairs works great...no I don't work for Sears, but love this vacuum.