A handle for a wand of a vacuum cleaning appliance includes a handgrip portion and a conduit for receiving an air flow. The handle includes an aperture for admitting ambient air into the conduit. A first valve occludes a first portion of the aperture, and a second valve occludes a second portion of the aperture. A control mechanism moves the first and second valves away from the aperture to admit ambient air into the conduit. To reduce the force required to move the valves away from the aperture, the control mechanism is configured to move the second valve away from the second portion of the aperture before moving the first valve away from the first portion of the aperture.