How to Clean Vacuum Cleaner Easily in 8 Steps: Step by Step Guide

Clean Vacuum Cleaner

Vacuum cleaners are electrical gadgets used to clean the dust particles present on any floor. They work by means of suction of motor and are made up of different useful tools in the meantime. John S. Thurman first introduced them in 1899. 

Cleaning a vacuum cleaner isn’t a handy task, but methods might differ from gadget to gadget. And that’s because every vacuum cleaner has its own efficient system and tool adjustment inside, depending upon the structure and size. 

In this article, we will share with you simple and efficient methods and tips to clean up vacuum cleaners without any such effort. All you need to do is, stay with this article so that you don’t miss any method. 

Here’s your destination. 

Cleaning a Vacuum Cleaner – Step by Step

If you don’t know how to deep clean a vacuum cleaner, here’s the step-by-step guide. 

It has been observed that difficulty in cleaning and many other things depend upon various vacuums. Some are really easy to clean, while some need intricate planning. But here are a few things found to be similar in all. These include a filter, fan, beater bar, and motor. 

Also, you need a few things that will be used while cleaning the vacuum. These are soap or cleaner, a small brush, and gloves if you want. Now, you have done with the equipment you need for cleaning.  Let’s go to the exact procedure.

Step 1 – Dismantle the Vacuum

In this step, all you need to do is to remove all the washable parts to clean them. They are like filters and fans or other attached accessories with the vacuum. Simply remove them and place them aside for cleaning purposes. 

Step 2 – Cleaning of Filters

There are two types of filters a vacuum comes with. One is washable, and the second one is non-washable. You need water in a larger bowl, a toothbrush, and dish soap for washable ones. Check out the user manual and find out how many filters your vacuum has and where they are located to get them out. 

Once you find them, get them out and start cleaning with a toothbrush. Add disinfectant into the water, forcefully use the toothbrush and then rinse in cool water; once you are done with the cleaning, air dry for more than 24 hours. 

Now, what do you need to do if your vacuum has non-washable filters?

In this case, simply rub the dry toothbrush on the filters to remove dust or tap filters a couple of times against the surface to remove dust particles. Sometimes, non-washable filters are only changed, not cleaned. 

Vacuum filters have specific durability even if they are washable, so you need to replace them when they reach the durability time to have a better experience with vacuum cleaning. One important thing – always check the user instruction guide to understand the installation procedure of the new filter. 

Pay attention – do not assemble the vacuum until the filter is completely dry. This is because it might increase the chance of mold growing inside the vacuum, which leads to severe health issues. 

Step 3 – Canister or Dust Bag Cleaning

Nowadays, most modern vacuum cleaners come up with canisters. But still, if you have a vacuum cleaner with a dust bag and want to clean it thoroughly, you should read the user manual guide. Generally, manufacturers don’t recommend washing dustbags; instead, they ask for a replacement. 

Now, let’s talk about the vacuums with canisters. For this, we recommend removing it from the vacuum and then putting it in warm water. Make sure you’ve added enough disinfectants for better cleaning and bacterial targeting. Now, take a useless toothbrush and scrub the canister properly. 

Do it for over 10 minutes or more until it is thoroughly washed. Then, rinse with cool water and air dry for more than 24 hours. Keep in mind, don’t remove it from the unit without learning proper instructions, or don’t assemble it before it is properly dry

Step 4 – Clean Attachment Accessories

This is the easiest step that you don’t need to get yourself into complexities. In fact, just put out the accessories you’ve removed before and add them into warm water soapy, scrub and then rinse in cool water. 

Sometimes, attachments have hairs caught inside them. In this case, just cut them with scissors and wash them. After rinsing with cool water, leave for air dry for one day. After they get dry, simply attach again, and that’s all.

Step 5 – Clean Interior

You can do the step at the end of cleaning all accessories, or even at the start depending upon you. But we recommend you do this after cleaning attachment accessories. Here’s how you should do this. 

Just pick up a useless toothbrush and put soapy water in a bowl. Dabble the toothbrush into water and promote cleaning the interior gently. We recommend downward strokes to ensure dirt comes out or use a dryer (hair dryer) to force air to remove any stubborn particles from debris. 

If you’re using a dryer to forcefully remove the stubborn dirt particles, then wear glasses to avoid anything that comes into your eyes that may cause allergic reactions. 

Step 6 – Beater Bar Cleaning

A beater bar is a part where most of the dirty particles stuff accumulate. You need to carefully cut down the hairs you caught inside the bristles without damaging them. Here’s a tip: first check out if the rolling brush can be removed, then unscrew it to properly clean the inside debris. 

Now, scrub with soapy water and brush even from corners. Once you are done with this – get a cotton bud and put a few drops of surgical alcohol onto this. Rub the cotton pad in the bottom of your vacuum cleaner to remove any of the stubborn dust particles inside. Don’t worry; alcohol won’t damage the material or color inside the vacuum. 

Step 7 – Clean Exterior Unit

For this purpose, you only need a useless or cleaning microfiber cloth to wipe down the vacuuming unit. Rub with the cloth a bit forcefully and ensure proper cleaning of stubborn stains and dust.

Step 8 – Final Wipe Down

It is the last step you need to perform. 

Check out whether all the parts are completely dried; if they are, install all the parts and give your vacuum a final wipe down. Now, you’re good to go without any hassle. 

Plus, you can also install any new part if you want to install it. This is because sometimes we see damaged parts inside the vacuum upon cleaning so that you can replace the parts with new ones to promote efficient working and fix all the parts again. 

These are the steps by which you can clean up the vacuum cleaner. But the thing is you need to keep a lot of things in mind along with these steps to avoid highly. So, you won’t damage the efficiency of your vacuum cleaner. 

For better navigation, we have compiled a list of things you must avoid while cleaning your vacuum.

Things To Remember While Cleaning Vacuum

You should avoid a few things so that they won’t damage you. And yes, here are these. 

Turn off Vacuum

Firstly, ensure that vacuum is turned off because if it is on, the beater bar might damage your clothes and hair and cause serious injury. So, always first ensure that vacuum is turned off and unplugged. 

Then promote cleaning your vacuum with the help of the steps we’ve described above.

Electric Faults

Sometimes, vacuums might have electrical damage or wire sticking inside. It might cause you severe damage or affects the efficiency of vacuum working. For this, you should repair it first and then turn on your vacuum. 

And yes, that’s what you’ll only get to know when you completely remove all accessories during cleaning. 

Water and Electrical Components

Be careful cleaning all the electrical components present inside the vacuum. They might be wires, suction motor casings, or else. While cleaning, you’re highly restricted from using water. Because even a single water drop with electrical components can cause an electrical fault. 

For cleaning electrical components, you should use a dry brush or a useless fiber cloth.

Why Should You Clean up Vacuum Cleaner

A vacuum cleaner is a machine that requires proper maintenance and care after a fixed period. If you don’t care for its maintenance, surely it will be no longer essential for you. Some people throw their vacuums out from home because they no longer work well. 

To have better cleaning and effective vacuum cleaning, you should clean up vacuum cleaners. Still, if you don’t understand why exactly you need to promote maintenance and cleaning of your vacuum cleaners, here are the reasons:

To Enhance Performance

The first and foremost reason you should clean vacuum cleaners is to enhance their overall performance. The vacuum machine has parts, including a brush, beaten bar, and fan bristles, requiring proper care and maintenance to increase its performance. 

According to expert electrical engineers, gadgets won’t be able to effectively perform if they don’t get proper maintenance and care.

Promote Longevity

The second reason includes adding value to their longevity. As per users’ experience, if a vacuum cleaner is not cleaned for more than 18 months, it will no longer be used. But proper maintenance and care will add value to their longevity, and you can use the gadget for years without losing its potential performance power. 

The step-by-step guide on how to clean your vacuum and everything else is described above. In fact, you are provided with the exact procedure and how long it will take to clean shared for you. 

Avoid Dirty Air Emission

If you don’t know, improper cleaning of vacuum might cause you bacterial infection or some other disease symptoms. Obstructed dust particles, when accumulating inside for a longer period, they give rise to the birth of harmful bacteria, which makes the emission of air dirty from a vacuum cleaner. 

It can cause you serious diseases and affect the performance of your vacuum cleaner at the same moment. So, what do you need to do? For this, especially check out how to clean the bottom of a vacuum. 

The Bottom Line

Cleaning vacuum cleaners isn’t intricate, but you only need proper guidelines. And yes, that’s what we have shared in the above article for you. We simply defined the whole procedure for how to clean vacuum brushes, bristles, beater bar, and fans, inside and outside with details. All you need to do is, read each step carefully and clean up your vacuum cleaner accordingly. 

Now, we’d like to hear from you about the experiences you’ve had with vacuum cleaning. Get to know us quickly in the comment box below. 

Richman Aurthur

Hey, it's me, Richman Arthur - your cleaning guru with 18 years of vacuum wizardry under my belt. Let's chase away those pesky dust tumbleweeds and make cleaning fun

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