A beautiful Christmas tree cannot be missed during the holidays. If you opt for a real Christmas tree instead of an artificial one, you will undoubtedly have to deal with pine needles on the floor. Not only when moving or decorating the Christmas tree: often the Christmas tree already loses pine needles if you lightly touch it.
Luckly, a vacuum cleaner can help you easily clean up these pine needles. However, there are a number of things you should pay attention to before you just suck up the pine needles with your vacuum cleaner. It can quickly become clogged or even break.
Is it OK vacuum Christmas tree needles?
If you come across pine needles everywhere in your home, you naturally want to get a vacuum cleaner over it as soon as possible. However, it is not as good an idea as it seems: because the pine needles of a Christmas tree can contain resin, they can cause a blockage. They can stick in the suction brush, after which the suction power of the vacuum cleaner can be greatly reduced.
Before you start vacuuming, it is smart to exchange the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner for a crevice tool. This reduces the chance that the vacuum cleaner will become clogged and that pine needles will accumulate in the vacuum cleaner. I also strongly recommend that you check whether your vacuum cleaner bag (or the dust container with a bagless vacuum cleaner) is empty enough: the pine needles ensure that the dust container fills up very quickly.
Using other vacuum cleaners
If you have a handheld vacuum cleaner or a stick vacuum with an integrated handheld vacuum, it can also be a good idea to grab it. The pine needles do not have to travel a long way to end up in the dust container. In addition, with these two types of vacuum cleaners you can vacuum under the tree much easier and more mobile, so that the chance of contact with the Christmas tree is much smaller.
Recently, iRobot released the news that its robot vacuum cleaners can now also recognize Christmas trees. This also prevents the robot vacuum cleaner from hitting the Christmas tree and thus creates a new mountain of pine needles all over the floor.
Alternative: sweep them up with the broom!
The best option in my opinion is the regular broom. You keep your vacuum cleaner nice and clean and you pick up the broom much faster! Sweep the pine needles together and simply throw them in the trash! You can also consider choosing a stick vacuum that is designed for hard floors. In addition to their high maneuverability, these models are also effective at picking up needles and other debris from carpets. Discover the top options for the best stick vacuums for hardwood floors!
Robbert Tigchelaar has made testing vacuum cleaners his life's work. He has dedicated himself to conducting fully independent and valuable tests of vacuum cleaners to provide consumers with honest advice. His expertise in vacuum cleaners has been highlighted in The Washington Post and the Daily Express.
