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melle_sacto_gw

Vacuum lines in the carpet

This is sort of OT, but something I've always wondered:

is it a special kind of vacuum, or a special kind of carpet, that when you vacuum you can see the tracks of where you vacuumed?

it's nothing I've ever been able to replicate in the places I've lived. (I've probably only ever lived in places with cheap carpet, but I have a powerful vacuum so I'm thinking maybe it's a particular type of carpet).

I've also noticed this with certain lawns -- when the mowing is complete you can see the crisscrossing tracks. Not in our grass ;-)

What gives?

Comments (8)

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    9 years ago

    The carpet will determine whether tracks show. Low pile, not at all. Some people don't like them and won't buy carpet if it leaves tracks.

    On lawns, it may be that one blade is slightly higher than the other is you see the unevenness or it could be, when freshly mowed, the grass is knocked down in one direction, then the other which should disappear as it grows.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    It's just the effect of light hitting the pile, or grass, which is also dependent on the height of each. You'll notice that golf courses never have those lines. That is because they get a very close shave. Whereas, baseball fields often even have designs mowed into them; they keep grass taller, and softer, than a golf course, so they can do that with the mower.

    Depending on which direction you're vacuuming or mowing, you're leaving the carpet/grass leaning in difference directions, and the light hitting it, or not, is what creates those lines.

  • mom2sethc
    9 years ago

    Hi!

    I can answer the mowing question! Some mowers come with a special striping kit that makes those stripes, I know becuase dh had to have one with our new mower!

  • melle_sacto is hot and dry in CA Zone 9/
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Interesting, thanks for cluing me in :-) I kind of like the look of the vacuum stripes because you can tell the floor was vacuumed. But I bet it gets irritating to see footprints!

  • edie_thiel
    9 years ago

    Thick plush carpeting that has a level cut (same height) for every strand will leave vacuum tracks; I think that type is also called Saxony? Frieze (different heights in the texture) and low pile and/or berber (loop) don't leave the vacuum lines.

    I'm reminded of an episode of "Monk" where he took hours to vacuum his floor precisely so that lines matched up. :-)

  • Bretthall100
    9 years ago

    That right. Thanks for sharing this topic.

  • withoutanh
    9 years ago

    When I was in college in the (ahem) early 70's, I was paid to rake the vaccuum lines out of a carpet in a home I cleaned. They sold "shag rakes" for the purpose.

    I'm glad the rest of you don't remember this. I can't imagine paying someone to rake my shag.

    Oh dear, I may have coined a euphemism...

    Sara

  • hhireno
    9 years ago

    The comic Carrot Top does prop humor. He has a set of wheels on a rope that you pull around the room so that it looks like you vacuumed the carpet. (It's funnier when he's explaining it but it was the first thing I though of when I saw the post title so I wanted to share it.)

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