If your vacuum smells bad, this will help you out! Here’s how to deodorize your vacuum cleaner so you can breathe freely again.
For years, like most people, I didn’t realize that you’re supposed to deodorize your vacuum cleaner when your vacuum smells bad. I mean, vacuum cleaners are meant to clean your house, right? It always seemed like something was really wrong when the very machine that was meant to make my homes fresher and cleaner, was making my house actually kinda stinky every time I turned it on. I thought maybe I was doing it wrong, or that my pets were just smellier than normal pets. But that just wasn’t the case.
Everyone knows that pets can get a little stinky, especially dogs that love to run around outside. It turns out that there are other factors that contribute to a smelly vacuum cleaner though. Actually, you don’t need to have pets at all to run into this problem. That dreaded vacuum cleaner stench is the result of hair and fibres, both human and animal, as well as all the dust that your vacuum picks up. Dust isn’t just little particles of dirt. It has pretty much everything in it, including skin cells that are shed around the house by its various occupants.
What to do When Your Vacuum Smells Bad
When you think of it that way, it definitely makes sense that you need to deodorize vacuum cleaners, doesn’t it?
So here’s what you need to know!
The Type of Vacuum Cleaner Makes a Difference
Of course you can’t prevent your vacuum from having to clean up dust that will make it smell. That’s what it’s for after all! You can, however, choose a type of vacuum that’s less likely to have the smelliness problem.
I find that using a bagged vacuum really cuts down on vacuum smells. It traps everything inside a sealed bag immediately upon picking it up. You’re also able to throw everything out and have an (almost) completely clean and fresh vacuum every time you switch out the bag. This Miele C2 Electro+ uses bags and I find it stays a lot fresher-smelling longer than my bagless style vacuum cleaners.
I do also use bagless vacuums and I enjoy how convenient they can be but the process for de-stinking them is just a little bit different, but not really any more difficult. So if you have a vacuum like that, don’t worry!
How to Deodorize Vacuum Cleaners
If you have a bagless vacuum cleaner, you’ll just need to take one extra little cleaning step in your vacuum deodorizing routine. Instead of changing the bag, you’ll empty out the chamber where all the dirt, dust, and hair is collected. Then you’ll wipe it down with a cloth with warm, soapy water. This simple step will really make a difference and will prevent dust from building up and caking onto the walls of the dirt collection chamber over time. Leave it open to dry thoroughly before you close the little trap door and start using the vacuum again.
If you have a vacuum cleaner that uses bags, it can actually still be helpful to wipe it out every once in awhile. Just wipe the interior of the vacuum where the bag sits every once in awhile when you change out the bag.
Clean or Change the Filters
On some vacuum models, you’ll need to change the filters out for new ones regularly. On some you’ll wash and re-use the same ones. Read your owner’s manual to find out which type of vacuum you have. Changing the filters about once a month is considered pretty standard, but feel free to do it more often if you find that it’s needed. The filters for my Miele vacuum actually come in the box along with the new bags, so that’s really convenient.
If you need to wash your vacuum filters instead, just rinse them out in cool water until the water runs clear. This can take up to about 5 minutes because, as you’ll see, a surprising amount of dust builds up in the filters, even if they look perfectly clean. Keep rinsing and gently tapping or ringing out your filters until no more dust comes out. Leave your filters to dry for 24 hours before replacing them.
Clean Your Rotating Vacuum Attachments
It’s possible for your rotating power attachments, like the one you use for carpets, to get pretty clogged up without you really noticing. So it’s a good idea to turn yours over and have a look at it every once in awhile. It could be that you have quite a bit of fur and hair stuck in a ball in there and it could be accumulating caked-on dust around it and contributing to the vacuum smells.
Start out by using a pair of tiny scissors or a stitch-ripper to cut through any hair or fibres that have gotten wrapped around the rotator. Next, take a pencil or something like that and poke it up into the tube and see if there’s anything stuck in there. If you find a fur ball, just knock it around a bit and it should dislodge. Turn your vacuum on and suck all that mess up that’s been clogging things up! Finish up by cleaning any caked-on dust with a little soapy water and letting the power attachment dry completely before using it.
Freshen and Prevent New Stinkiness
Now that you have a clean vacuum, inside and out, it’s time to add a nice fresh scent to your vacuum. This will help the air that your vacuum pushes out into your home to smell nice when you turn it on, rather than stinky. To do this, try to vacuum up something fresh-smelling each time you change the bag, or empty the dust collection chamber. Then, do it again each time you finish up a vacuuming session.
There are some really convenient and natural products available in the form of little granules that you can sprinkle down on your carpet and then vacuum up, or you can make your own! I like to combine baking soda in a little jar along with about 30 drops of essential oil and just sprinkle that down on my carpets. If you use the right essential oils, you’ll even be helping to fight bacteria that can contribute to the smell in the first place. I like to use something really fresh and clean smelling like lavender or lemon or lemongrass.
Try it Out!
And that’s how you deodorize vacuum cleaners! If your vacuum smells bad, it can be saved if you follow these steps. It may take a little bit of work the first time you do it, but if you keep up with it, it will hardly take any effort at all! Try it out and let me know how it works for you!
Don’t forget to pin this for later so you can remember how to deodorize vacuum cleaners if your vacuum smells bad too!
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Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.