Cleaning A Vacuum Cleaner That Smells

Although vacuum cleaners have made our lives much easy but they require maintenance too. You can not use your vacuum continuously without giving it sufficient maintenance. If you do so, you will soon encounter issues with your cleaner.

There are multiple issues that you will encounter with your vacuum cleaner. Most of them result from failure to maintain the vacuum. The issues of vacuum cleaners include blockage, smell, fading suction, and many more.

Although all of these and other issues have proper remedies to restore vacuum functioning, they should not happen in the first place. If you maintain your vacuum efficiently and maintain its hygiene, you’ll certainly be away from these issues.

The Smelling of a vacuum is one of the most common issues which can be encountered. There are many reasons why your vacuum smells. Let’s look at the ways of how to clean a vacuum that smells.

Ways Of How To Clean A Vacuum That Smells

Smelly vacuums are not only unhygienic, but they can also make your home smell bad too. Hence, you should maintain the hygiene of your vacuum to maintain the aura of your home. The majority of the vacuums smell due to the accumulation of dirt and clogging.

Here are ways to clean a vacuum that smells.

Empty The Dust Bag

All the sucked dirt and debris of your house ultimately goes to the dust bag through the filter. You should timely remove and empty the dust bag to maintain the cleaning efficiency of your vacuum and prevent it from smelling. Moreover, if your vacuum comes with a dust bin, then consider emptying it. You should also wash your dust bin with soap and hot water.

You can also add a small amount of baking soda and vinegar to kill all the bacteria.

Clean The Filter

All the dust reaching through the dust bag goes through the filter. Hence, dirty filters can also be a reason for smelly vacuums. You should consider cleaning your filters and the surrounding body. Sometimes clean looking filters also have a considerable amount of dirt in them.

Keep your filters under cold running water until the water becomes clear. Do not fix the wet filter in the vacuum. Dry your filter for at least 24 hours before placing it back.

Some vacuums come with non-washable filters. Hence, for these, you have to replace the filter entirely. For washable vacuum cleaners also you should replace filters every 12 to 14 months.

• Clean Your Brushes 

Brushes are majorly exposed to dust and dirt. They are responsible for cleaning all the residue on the floor through their mechanical action. Consider cleaning your brushes every six months.

To clean the brushes, make sure your vacuum is not attached to a power outlet. Detach the brush. Remove all the residue and cut the hair strings, be careful you shouldn’t cut the brush bristles. Wash the brush with soap and water if it is detachable. If the brush is not detachable, spray with vinegar and water after removing the residue.

Do not place the brush in the head before drying. Let it dry for 24 hours before attaching it to the vacuum head.

Dirty Hose

The hose is one of the first pathways the dirt and debris cross before reaching the dirtbag. A significant amount of residue gets attached to the body of the hose due to its increased surface area and coiling. This can cause your vacuum to smell bad.

To clean the hose, detach the hose from the body. Remove all the residue with the help of any long object or a brush. Fill water up to 2 inches in the sink and add soap. Place the hose in it and let it sink in, and clean. After 2 hours, move the hose to and fro in the sink to clean the remnants.

Drain clean water in the hose and let it dry for 24 hours by hanging it vertically.

Reasons Why Vacuum Smell Bad

There are multiple reasons which contribute to your vacuum smelling bad. Here are the most common reasons which cause your vacuum to smell bad.

• Pet Hair

Pet hair often gets sucked in during your house cleaning. It causes your vacuum to smell bad. The bad smell is strong and can also affect the odor of your room. Pet urine also causes your vacuum to smell bad. You will obviously not vacuum pet urine, but it can be stuck to pet fur.

The combination of pet urine and smell make the mustiest smell.

• Accumulation Of Mould

Moisture and dirt promote mould growth. Mould can be easily grown inside the dirt bag and the filter of your vacuum. Most of the time, moulds are also grown inside the coiled tube of the hose. The moist and humid environment inside the vacuum body promotes mould growth. Moulds smell bad and, in the long term, can hinder the cleaning efficiency of your vacuum.

• Dust And Residue 

Although the vacuums are meant to clean the surface before cleaning, the surface should be made vacuum-proof. This means that food spills and liquid should be picked up. Vacuums don’t only clean dirt but will also suck the residue such as food particles, liquid spillage, coffee beans, and much more.

This will allow the growth of bacteria inside your vacuum, which will cause your vacuum to smell bad.

• Vacuum Belt

The vacuum belt of the vacuum is subjected to wear and tear. The continuous rotation of the vacuum belt causes hair strings, food particles, and dirt particles to stick in. The stuck-in particles accumulate in the belt and cause the vacuum to smell in the long run.

Final Verdict

Conclusively, vacuum smell is due to many factors. At the same time, most of them are due to poor hygiene conditions such as food particles, hair strings, pet hair, and failure to clean the vacuum timely.

There are many methods to clean the vacuum. However, you can choose one according to your feasibility. Spraying vacuum brush and filter with vinegar and baking soda significantly prevents bacteria from multiplying and also prevents mould formation.

The best way to keep your vacuum away from smelling is to maintain its hygiene, not only of one component but of the whole assembly. Replace accessories such as filters, brushes, and dirt bags timely to maintain proper working of vacuum.