As the most heavy-duty cleaning instrument in most homes, your vacuum will get dirty over time. To ensure that the vacuum keeps working, you need to keep it clean once it has gotten the job done. Here we have a general guide to cleaning a vacuum cleaner that should work, no matter what vacuum model you have.
Below we have covered the steps involved with cleaning your vacuum, from general maintenance cleaning to deep cleaning. There may be small, model-specific differences related to your vacuum but, if you compensate for those, you can still clean your vacuum.
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Cleaning The Filter
In all vacuums, you’ll need to clean its filter once you’ve hoovered up enough dust and debris. Pretty much all models should have a removable tray built into it, which houses the filter and other parts. You should take the filter out and take it somewhere where you can dispose of the dust inside it.
When you’re in a suitable location, tap the filter against hard surfaces so that solid dust and debris are knocked out of it. It also stops dust clouds from forming when you wash the filter. To do that, leave it under slightly warm running water until it visibly becomes cleaner.
Now that the filter is wet, you should leave it to dry. In most cases, this will take about a day, but your vacuum-specific instructions may outline a more accurate time. Vacuums are electronic, so waiting for the maximum amount of time is safest before putting the filter back.
Not all filters are washable. In that case, you’ll need to tap them to remove as much dust as possible. Other filters use a tray that instead gathers and compacts dust into conveniently removed cubes. In that case, remove the tray, take it somewhere safe, and dump the compacted dust somewhere where it won’t be missed. You can dispose of these in the general trash.
Cleaning The Brushes
Cleaning the filter is essentially cleaning the vacuum, but other components may need cleaning over time. For example, most vacuum cleaners use brushes at the bottom and on specialized nozzles if the vacuum has a hose attached.
When those brushes track across the floor, they’ll become dirty too. While they shouldn’t need cleaning as often as the filter, you’ll need to clean the brushes from time to time. The most common problem with brushes is hair, which can accumulate and get tangled within the brushes.
First, you should unplug your vacuum or otherwise make sure that it won’t turn on if you accidentally brush up against a button. Then arrange the vacuum so you can access the bottom, where the brushes are. If you have a jam, get scissors and cut strands of hair or thread, without cutting the brush bristles.
Remove what you can from the bristles and, if able, you can lightly clean them with warm water on a cloth. You don’t want to immerse it into any water when there are electronic parts involved. As always, make sure the brushes are thoroughly dried before trying to use the vacuum again.
For nozzle brushes, just detach them from the hose and clean them easily by physically removing debris and running it under warm water.
Deep Cleaning
For deep cleaning, you won’t just follow the above steps, but you’ll also go a step further by cleaning the tray/canister with warm and soapy water. A deep clean is usually necessary where there are bad odors coming from the vacuum.
You may want to give the main body of the vacuum a light rub down with a soapy water cloth or some other pleasant-smelling solution. As always, this should be done carefully so that you’re only touching the plastic chassis of the vacuum and not any of the electronics contained within.
If the vacuum still has odor problems, maybe replacing it entirely is the best step. Like so many cleaning instruments, vacuum cleaners have a hard-set shelf life where they become too dirty or damaged to be cleaned or repaired.
Conclusion
Those are the three main ways that vacuums can be cleaned. For a full clean, you’ll want to do all three so that your vacuum tray, brushes, and body is clean and smells good. These are commonalities that you’ll find with most modern vacuums. Sometimes a vacuum will have a bag instead of a tray, where you just need to empty it to clean.
