How To Clean A Vacuum Cleaner

How To Clean A Vacuum Cleaner
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You love your vacuum cleaner because it makes cleaning your home so much easier and faster, but even though it cleans your home so well, when was the last time you gave your vacuum cleaner a proper clean?

If you don’t maintain your vacuum cleaner, it can experience a range of problems, such as clogged filters, reducing its ability to keep your home in good condition.

How often should you clean a vacuum cleaner? You should aim to clean your vacuum cleaner thoroughly once a year, but you should empty its dust bin when it becomes two-thirds full. 

With that in mind, here’s how to go about cleaning your vacuum cleaner. We’ll start by looking at why cleaning this device is so essential. 

Contents

Why Cleaning Your Vacuum Cleaner Is So Important 

Why Cleaning Your Vacuum Cleaner Is So Important 

We’ve already touched on how keeping your vacuum cleaner in good condition prevents damage to it, such as in the form of blockages, but it also has other benefits.

When you vacuum your home, most of the dirt the vacuum cleaner picks up enters the dust bag or bin, but some end up in the beater bar and filters. You don’t want dirt and bacteria to stick around there!

Over time, this debris can damage the components of the vacuum cleaner, increasing its chances of experiencing wear and tear. This can also cause your vacuum cleaner to have a shorter lifespan.

Generally, a vacuum cleaner has a lifespan of approximately eight years, but you can make it longer by looking after and cleaning it! 

Cleaning your vacuum cleaner ensures that it can continue cleaning your home in the most effective way.

For example, a clogged filter won’t be able to effectively remove allergens and dust from the air, while a clogged beater bar brush won’t be able to pull up fur and hair.

This will make your home less hygienic, and if you’re an allergy sufferer you’ll certainly notice the difference. 

How Do You Know When Your Vacuum Cleaner Needs To Be Cleaned?

How Do You Know When Your Vacuum Cleaner Needs To Be Cleaned?

If it’s been a while since you’ve cleaned your vacuum cleaner or emptied its dust bin, you should do it to keep it in good condition. Some vacuum cleaners will show you via indicator lights or levels when you need to empty their dust bin. 

In addition, if you can tell that the vacuum cleaner isn’t removing dust and debris as well as before, or you have to go over the same areas of the floor before the vacuum cleaner picks everything up, those are signs you need to clean your vacuum cleaner immediately!

What Tools And Supplies Do You Need To Clean Your Vacuum Cleaner?

What Tools And Supplies Do You Need To Clean Your Vacuum Cleaner?

To ensure you can clean your vacuum cleaner properly, you’ll need to have some tools at hand. These include the following:

  • Microfiber cloth
  • Small cleaning brush (a toothbrush can also work) 
  • Scissors 
  • Disposal bag 
  • Dish soap 
  • Water 

How To Clean A Vacuum Cleaner: Nine Easy Steps To Follow

Now that you have all the tools and supplies you need, you can go ahead and start cleaning your vacuum cleaner. It’s a good idea to clean your vacuum cleaner outside the home to prevent any dirt or dust from getting inside.

Step One: Unplug And Dismantle The Vacuum Cleaner

Step One: Unplug And Dismantle The Vacuum Cleaner

When taking the vacuum cleaner apart, make sure that you always work on it when it’s unplugged. You will be working with water, so you don’t want the unit to be plugged into an electrical outlet!

Remember the parts you took apart and when so that you can put everything back together later. Remove replaceable and washable parts, like the attachment tools and filters, and place them aside. 

Step Two: Clean The Dust Bag

You should take apart as many parts of the dust bin as possible so that you can clean them and dispose of the debris that’s accumulated inside the bin. Check the vacuum cleaner’s instruction manual to see how to do this.

Wash your dust bag. You should submerge it in soapy water. Let it soak for approximately 10 minutes. Then, use a microfiber cloth so that you can clean inside and outside of the dust bin. Rinse it well with water and set it aside so that it can air dry. 

Step Three: Clean The Filters

Some vacuum cleaners will have more than one filter, so check the specs of your specific model. 

If your model has a washable filter, you can clean it by running it under water and scrubbing it with a toothbrush or small brush. Rinse the filter in water and let it air dry for 24 hours.

If your vacuum cleaner has a non-washable filter, you should just tap it a few times to loosen any dirt that could be clogging it. Or, use a microfiber cloth to remove any dirt.

Pro tip: Your vacuum cleaner might have an indicator light that will alert you to when its filter needs to be cleaned or changed. Check the instruction manual to find out if this is the case.

Step Four: Clean Dirt From Inside The Vacuuming Unit

Step Four: Clean Dirt From Inside The Vacuuming Unit

Now that you’ve pulled the canister away from the rest of the vacuum cleaner, you can clean the inside of the vacuum cleaner with a brush or cloth.

If you have an air compressor, this is a valuable tool that you can use to remove hard-to-reach and stubborn dirt from inside the unit.

Step Five: Remove Hair From The Beater Bar

The vacuum cleaner’s beater bar gets tangled with pet fur and hair, which can cause it to stop functioning properly. You can cut off this accumulation of hair with scissors. Just be careful not to cut the bristles of the beater bar.

Step Six: Clean The Motor Belt

The belt of the vacuum cleaner should be cleaned with a damp cloth. This will remove any dust from its surface.

While you’re cleaning it, check it for any damage. If the belt has cracks in it or it’s become loose, note that it’s time to replace it. 

Step Seven: Clean The Exterior Of The Vacuum Cleaner

Now that you’ve cleaned inside the vacuum cleaner, don’t neglect to give the exterior a wipe down with a microfiber cloth. This cloth works well to collect and trap dust particles so that they can’t enter any nooks and crannies.

Step Eight: Clean Any Vacuum Cleaner Attachments

Step Eight: Clean Any Vacuum Cleaner Attachments

While cleaning the vacuum cleaner, you should also clean any of its attachment tools, such as its dusting brush, extension wand, and crevice tool. Wipe them down with a microfiber cloth and check these attachments for any blockages. 

Step Nine: Reassemble The Vacuum Cleaner

Once you’ve cleaned the vacuum cleaner inside and out, you need to ensure you only reassemble it when any parts of it that you’ve washed have been allowed to dry properly. Never, ever, put wet or damp parts back into the vacuum cleaner

How Can You Make Your Vacuum Cleaner Smell Good?

How Can You Make Your Vacuum Cleaner Smell Good?

If you’ve cleaned your vacuum cleaner but it has an unpleasant smell, you will want to know how to make it smell good. An easy way to achieve this is by sprinkling ground potpourri into the vacuum cleaner’s dust bag. 

Another method you can try is to sprinkle a few drops of your favorite essential oil onto the vacuum cleaner’s filter. 

Related Questions

How do you clean a bagged vacuum cleaner?

How do you clean a bagged vacuum cleaner?

A bagged vacuum cleaner has a bag that has to be replaced when it becomes full. Usually, your vacuum cleaner will have an indicator light that comes on to let you know when you have to replace it. 

How can you disinfect the attachments of your vacuum cleaner?

Rinse the attachments with hot water. Add a tablespoon of bleach to a spray bottle that’s filled with water. Spray the solution over the attachments, and then rinse them and allow them to air dry.  

Conclusion

If you haven’t cleaned your vacuum cleaner for a while, you should do so to ensure that it can clean your home thoroughly. This also helps to prevent wear and tear, increasing the lifespan of your vacuum cleaner.

After reading this article, you know everything you need to know about how to clean important vacuum cleaner parts, such as its belt and filter, to keep your unit in excellent condition so that your vacuum cleaner can keep your home in good nick, too.