Vacuum Cleaner
. Vacuum Cleaner, electrical appliance in common use for cleaning furniture, floors, rugs, and carpets by suction. Generally, vacuum cleaners are of two types: the vertical type, which is light and moves over the surfaces to be cleaned, and the canister, or tank, type, which trails a long hose with a nozzle that can be moved over the area to be cleaned. An electric motor inside the appliance turns a fan that creates a partial vacuum and causes outside air to rush into the evacuated space. This forces any dirt or dust near the nozzle into a bag inside the machine or attached to the outside. Most vacuum cleaners have a variety of attachments that can be used to clean different types of surfaces, such as window sills and thick rugs and carpets; some are also equipped to polish floors and shampoo rugs. A reversible motor on many appliances is used to blow dirt out of difficult and inaccessible surfaces and also to spray paint.