I come across some weird stuff when scrolling through TikTok. Fortunately, my algorithm knows I like cleaning content, but it still came as a bit of a surprise when I was suddenly watching videos of people putting watermelons on top of their vacuums.
At first glance, it seemed like a silly trend that I'd happily put into the same category as people using ice to clean their toilets. But then, I read the comments. Suddenly, I was amazed to find out that this method has been used for years — just perhaps not with watermelons.
Adding weight to the top of your vacuum applies pressure that makes the suction more effective and ensures the vacuum is closer to your carpets. While you can use actual weights or other kitchen products like a heavy bag of dishwasher salts, it just seems like a watermelon is more fun.
So, I put my produce to the test. Here's what happened when I put a watermelon on my vacuum for a better clean.
Spoiler alert — it's a little bit chaotic. But first, here's my inspiration.
This is TikTok user @justhaimomthings biggest video yet with 4.2 million views (at time of writing), 191k likes and over 500 comments.
Demonstrating the hack, she writes: "Whoever said to use a watermelon to clean your carpets, I hope you win the jackpot."
While Hailey is using a carpet cleaning machine, there are plenty of others using it just on their vacuums.
One user writes: "I mean anything with weight will work, but go ahead and use produce". While another says: "I usually use one foot to hold it down and hop on the other".
While I don't fancy hopping around my house, I do fancy trying out whether a watermelon could do the trick.
Putting it to the test
Watermelon acquired, I placed it onto the front of my vacuum as so many TikTokers before me had done and... it immediately rolled off as soon as I moved the vacuum.
While it seems scientifically impossible that the watermelon would split if it rolled onto the carpet, I'm also moving house soon, so I took it fairly slow. Turns out to keep the watermelon in place I had to go incredibly slow. But, it appeared to be working.
The concept is that the added weight on top of the vacuum would push it deeper into the carpet and it certainly did. But, I worry about the effect the weight might be having on my vacuum, as well as how it reduced its ability to move around.
I'm also just not sure if the time it seemed to be taking me to push the vacuum around was really worth it. I persevered nonetheless so I could give it my final verdict.
The 'juicy' results
In theory, it's a fantastic idea (sort of). It absolutely vacuumed my carpets better with a deeper clean and more suction and I even noticed its effectiveness in the carpet afterwards and in the amount of dust and dirt I gathered.
But, using a watermelon is not the fantastic part. Using weight, sure. Using a watermelon that rolls off every time I move my vacuum with a little too much vigor, no.
I wouldn't recommend putting yourself through the watermelon hack – unless you happen to eat a lot of watermelon or you feel like it might be fun. I would certainly recommend the concept though and leave the watermelons for everyone else.
What else could I use?
I'd definitely try adding a different weight to the top of my vacuum for deeper cleans; maybe a bag of rice or a hefty bag of pasta. But, it left me feeling like maybe my vacuum just hasn't got very good power.
I've used vacuums in the past that allowed you to toggle from hard floor to carpet settings, and there was a noticeable increase in suction when I switched to carpet mode, which gave me confidence that this was sucking up deep-rooted dirt. The model I'm thinking of is the Miele Complete C3, but there are also cordless options such as the Shark Stratos.
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