A Consumer-Driven Industry

The vacuum cleaner industry can be described simply as very competitive. Consumer price points and consumer demand are driving the engineering process for new vacuum cleaner units, resulting in new and improved benefits for consumers and increased sales for manufacturers and retailers.

Industry unit sales of full-size household vacuum cleaners in the third quarter of 2001 were higher than any other third quarter in history, according to the Vacuum Cleaner Manufacturers Association. Despite a weak economy, industry sales of full-size household vacuum cleaners remained strong in 2001 with 19,332,921 total units sold, slightly down from the previous record year of 19,550,381, according to the same source. Sales have increased substantially over the past 16 years, rising from 9.3 million units in 1985 to nearly 20 million in consecutive years 2000 and 2001.

Bagless Vacuum Models Clean Up In Sales

Before beginning a discussion of bag vs. bagless vacuum models, it's important to explain how they both work. Vacuum cleaners operate by developing suction with a fan that discharges a powerful stream of air from the rear of the casing. This sets up a powerful current of air that carries along any dust particles from the carpet or floor when the suction nozzle is applied. The goal is to have the air stream pass through the filter in which the dust is collected without appreciably obstructing the flow. (Source: Complete Computer Solutions, www.iao.com/howthing)

Traditionally, vacuum cleaners only had conventional, bag-type filters that trap particles deep inside the filter. In these models, the bag acts as the vacuum's only filter: dust collects in the bag, which then has to be emptied from time to time. As the bag fills with dust, the vacuum cleaner power gradually diminishes because of the increasing airflow resistance.

Most newer designs of vacuum cleaners are bagless - introduced in the mid-1990s after industry research showed that consumers considered the task of buying replacement bags to be a difficult one. According to a survey conducted by Industrial Research Center on behalf of W. L. Gore & Associates, a range of factors has led to consumer frustration - from not being able to find bags for older models of vacuum cleaners to running out of bags when it was time to clean.

According to the Fourth Annual Housewares Census conducted by HOMEWORLD BUSINESS®, consumers reported a purchase preference for bagless vacuum cleaner models, up from 37 percent in 1999 to 62 percent in 2001.

Bagless units contain a primary filter, often found in the collection bin in the form of a cartridge of pleated media; some manufacturers also add a final, or post-motor filter, for higher filtration efficiency on the exit air stream. While many of these final filters have met High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) standards for filtration, to date, traditional cartridge filters (pre- or post-motor), can clog easily and deteriorate over time-reducing the vacuum cleaner's airflow, suction and cleaning ability.

Fighting Indoor Air Pollution

In recent years, comparative risk studies performed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its Science Advisory Board (SAB) have consistently ranked indoor air pollution among the top five environmental risks to public health.

EPA studies of human exposure to air pollutants indicate that indoor air levels of many pollutants may be two to five times, and occasionally, more than 100 times higher than outdoor levels. These levels are of particular concern because it is estimated that most people spend as much as 90 percent of their time indoors.

According to the American Lung Association, poor indoor air quality can cause or contribute to the development of chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma. In addition, it can cause headaches, dry eyes, nasal congestion, nausea and fatigue. People who already have respiratory diseases are at greater risk.

The vacuum cleaner is one of the best defenses in managing indoor air pollution, according to the Vacuum Cleaner Manufacturers Association. It literally can remove pounds of dirt, dust and contaminants from the home during each use.

Original Equipment Manufacturers Promoting Filtration

According to the Fourth Annual Housewares Census conducted by HOMEWORLD BUSINESS®, as the industry has become increasingly competitive, vac makers have looked to technology to provide key points of differentiation. From improvements to bagless upright designs to eliminating common sources of returns such as broker belts, vacuum cleaner manufacturers are applying technological solutions to enhance consumers' value perception of floor care products.

The Census also reports that filtration, which has become a cost-of-entry feature on most upright vacs (other than entry level units), could soon become more of a differentiator as some suppliers have begun to ramp up claims comparing their filtration levels to those of competitors.

Americans Seeking Better Vacuum Filtration

Consumers think vacuum cleaner filtration is important. Ninety-six percent of Americans responding to a recent survey conducted by International Communications Research and sponsored by W. L. Gore & Associates, the Delaware-based manufacturer of CleanStream® vacuum filtration products for home and commercial uses, said they think that vacuum filters are important for good air quality.

In the same survey, Americans ranked filtration third among the features that are most important to them when buying a vacuum cleaner, right behind a vacuum cleaner's power and its manufacturer's reputation. In fact, a vacuum cleaner's style, as well as its comfort, weight and handling were less important than filtration to consumers.

However, consumers also think that their own vacuum filters could be better. Only 30 percent of respondents said that their vacuum's filter is more than somewhat effective at trapping pollen, pet dander and most other allergens and airborne impurities found in the home. With new technological advances in filtration, vacuum cleaner manufacturers are competing to be the first to change that perception. In the past few years, many advancements have been made.

The Next Generation of Vacuum Filtration is Here Today

The next generation of vacuum cleaners are featuring a completely new "media" or material of construction. W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., the makers of waterproof, breathable GORE-TEX® fabric and a world-recognized leader in industrial microfiltration for over 25 years, is leading this trend in surface filtration. As the world's leading experts in expanded Polytetrafuoroethylene (ePTFE) technology, Gore engineers were able to translate the composite membrane technology that allows GORE-TEX fabric to be air-permeable but not water-permeable, and the unique performance traits Gore ePTFE technology delivers in pharmaceutical processing, pollution control and medical applications, to everyday home care.

CleanStream® filters, made with a space-age polymer and engineered with composite membrane technology, can stop particles at the surface of the filter while resisting permanent clogging. The particles can be easily tapped away clean from the surface of the filter, restoring like-new airflow and efficiency.

In addition, more efficient filters may help prevent vacuum cleaners from prematurely burning out motors or wearing down other mechanical parts, by keeping ultra fine particles away from the motor, thus preventing overheating and wearing down of the vacuum motor through dirt and dust buildup.

CleanStream filters come in a range of filtration efficiency levels to respond to burgeoning consumer interest, including "high efficiency" and the increasingly requested HEPA rated filters. HEPA rated filters capture 99.97 percent of household dust, pollens, bacteria and many allergens, while "high efficiency" rated filters that capture 99 percent. Both are effective at capturing particles as small as 0.3 microns or 1/300th the diameter of a human hair.

CleanStream Filters: A Product Borne Out of Necessity

In 1993, a toner cartridge recycling company asked W. L. Gore & Associates, the maker of GORE-TEX fabrics and a world leader and authority on microfiltration, to design a filter for wet/dry vacs that would prevent super-fine toner dust extracted from the cartridges from bypassing the vacuum's filter. Gore designed a vacuum filter featuring the company's patented composite membrane technology and the unique polymer on which the company's products are based, ePTFE. A new product line was born.

CleanStream filters were then tested for use with drywall dust, which led to test marketing in local hardware stores under the CleanStream filters tradename in 1995. Filter efficiency of the media and Gore's composite membrane technology was clearly superior to the functionality that existed in the marketplace, so the company expanded its product line to include after-market filters for all the major manufacturers of wet/dry vacs. Distribution was steadily expanded beyond professional contractor and drywall markets as do-it-yourselfers began to demand better dust containment from their wet/dry vacs. when cleaning up on the job. Soon, everyone from professional chimney sweeps to weekend woodworking hobbyists were realizing the benefits of CleanStream filters.

In 1997, Gore began developing a HEPA panel filter for a major European consumer products company. The European marketplace was driving toward HEPA efficiency due to a greater consumer consciousness toward environmental friendliness and health awareness. The 99.97 percent filtration efficiency rating of the CleanStream HEPA filter is inclusive of both the dust particles collected as well as carbon emissions emanating from the vacuum cleaner motor. Gore had successfully designed a surface filter that could replace mircofiberglass depth filter units and offered the additional benefit of being cleanable and reusable.

Beyond being cleanable and reusable, the CleanStream filter has maximum "Airflow Recovery Capacity" (ARC), which refers to the filter's impact on airflow over the course of multiple cleaning cycles. The higher the ARC rating, the greater the vacuum cleaner's ability to maintain maximum airflow, without replacing the filter, over the course of a normal vacuum cleaner lifetime. Maximizing a vacuum's Airflow Recovery Capacity enables consumers to capture more dust with every pass of the vacuum. This results in more efficient cleaning and a cost savings over replacement filters.

In December 1998, Gore began development of a primary filter system to be used in a bagless upright vacuum cleaner for Royal Manufacturing Company, the makers of Dirt Devil® brand vacuum cleaners. The CleanStream filter was successfully introduced to the marketplace in the Royal Dirt Devil® Vision vacuum cleaner in 1999. Since that time, primary filters for additional models have been developed and Gore has continually expanded its relationship with Royal and other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the United States and European markets.

Filtration Reaches New Heights in Efficiency

CleanStream filters have raised the bar for vacuum cleaner filtration. Once a measure of the percentage of particles retained down to a certain size, today efficiency by CleanStream filter standards means not only stopping microparticles, but doing so with like-new performance every time the filter is cleaned. It resists permanent clogging, is easy to clean and can last the lifetime of the vacuum cleaner.

CleanStream filters have evolved from the technological know-how that put Gore products on the moon, in heart valves and vascular graphs, and in the electromagnetic shields found on cell phones. Like GORE-TEX fabrics, which block out water while letting air pass freely through, CleanStream filters block out microscopic dust particles and will allow airflow capacity to return to like-new performance with simple cleaning. With CleanStream's surface filtration system, vacuum suction stays strong. CleanStream filters deliver an Airflow Recovery Capacity* (ARC) rating of 90 percent recovery after 100 cleaning cycles, when cleaned in accordance with manufacturer's recommendations. Airflow helps prevent overheating of the motor; and vacuum cleaner performance remains constant.

(* ARC - The percentage of original air permeability of the media recovered after cleaning, laboratory tested at 20 fpm with aluminum oxide test dust; 30 psi pulse clean. Testing was performed in accordance with VDI 3928, testing of filter media for cleanable filters.)

CleanStream filters are easy to remove and clean. While other cartridge filters are disposable and must be replaced every six to 12 months, the exclusive "nonstick" surface of the CleanStream filters allows users to clean and reuse the filter over and over again. Over the life of the vacuum cleaner, consumers can save hundreds of dollars by not having to purchase replacement filters. A few quick taps of the filter on the side of a waste can releases any dirt clinging to the surface, making the filter immediately reusable and restoring peak airflow through the filter.

When compared to the cost of ordinary replacement filters, consumers will save approximately $250 to $300 over the lifetime of their vacuum cleaner with the cleanable, reusable CleanStream filter. Heavy vacuum cleaner users, like pet owners, can realize savings upward of $500 to $700 over the lifetime of the vacuum cleaner.