If you should own the best vacuum cleaner in the world and take no care of it, it would be as if you had none. Every bit of machinery that was ever or will ever be made needs care. Any mechanism “acts up” if neglected. It is true, that the vacuum cleaner needs very little care, probably oiling once a month and the removal of the dust after every cleaning operation. The oiling is easy to understand, but the reason for removing the dust after every operation is: that, if the dust bags clog up, the egress of the air is impeded, and therefore the action of the motor is impeded, and the fan’s speed is diminished, causing a decrease in velocity and air supply which is what makes the cleaner more useful than a broom. Do not be fooled by big talk and glib printed matter about high vacuum power, and long air and water columns. What is needed for a good cleaner is air displacement at a sufficiently concentrated point or surface to maintain a high air velocity. A vacuum cleaner might show in a technical test a tremendous vacuum and when used on the carpet the nozzle be so constructed as to mitigate the power of the suction so created and, therefore, be ineffectual as a cleaner. Therefore, the salesman can talk glibly to the uninformed about vacuums and tests and never say “but our nozzle is so large or so high or so low that the air intake is bad.” Too much vacuum often makes the machine heavy by sucking too heavily upon the carpets. Of course, raising the nozzle here will help this fault. MOTORS! Another battling point is the question of whether the motor put in horizontally into the casting or that which is put in vertically is the better. They all talk glibly on this subject, but heed it not. All that is necessary for the purchaser of a cleaner to know about the motor is that it should be made by a reputable firm, have a good speed that is spectacular and that it be not imbedded too deeply in unnecessary fixings to be oiled and cleaned. The universal motor is best for the average purchaser as it works well on indirect or direct current, whichever is supplied to you in your neighborhood. Nearly every cleaner employs a universal motor. Every vacuum cleaner manufacturer has some point of his own that makes him the most delightful of talkers. Here are some very useful devices which are worthy of mention, but for the most part are matters for individual choice: The enclosed dust bag. Steel motor case. Nickled steel motor case. Aluminum motor case. Wheel bearings inside the nozzle. Wheel bearings outside the nozzle. Detachable nozzle. Air cooled motor (most motors are cooled by in and outgoing air). Dust bag on top of the handle shaft. Adjustment with nut for stair cleaning. Self adjustment to keep handle erect when released from holding (very convenient). Automatic current cut off. Extra roomy hooks for electric cord on the handle. Oil cups protected from dust (should be always).