How to Clean Your Vacuum’s Hose the Right Way

Your vacuum has lost efficiency? Or maybe it’s starting to smell and after replacing the bag, the smell still persists?

Well, maybe it’s time for you to check the vacuum hose. Maybe, it needs a cleaning!

The same way around, a dirty hose will make it very difficult for you to clean your house properly.

So, if you want to maximize your vacuum’s cleaning capacity, then you should clean your vacuum hose on the insise and outside on a regular basis.

Why should I clean the vacuum hose?

The hose is an important part of the vacuum cleaner. That is because vacuums rely on the air movement, and that air will always have to get through the vacuum hose, dirty or not.

But the vacuum hose is something that usually goes unnoticed if there isn’t a clear problem with it such as a clog or a hole on it. But what we don’t know is that a clean hose is crucial for the vacuum to work at it’s full potential. The same importance as having clean filters and an empty bag or canister.

Not to mention, that the shape of a vacuum hose makes it prone to getting clogged and if we do not keep clean on a regular basis, it will most certainly get clogged.

And you don’t want that, trust me!

So here are two good reasons why you should clean a vacuum hose regularly:

– Prevent the vacuum hose form clogging, which can cause a lot of damage on your vacuum cleaner in the long term.

– Making sure you’re cleaning your house in the most efficient way, and not polluting the air at the same time you vacuum with dirty air coming out of your vacuum.

How often should I clean a vacuum hose?

Now, I know it’s difficult to know when to clean a vacuum hose, especially on the inside as it is nearly impossible to see what going on in there.

That’s why a good general rule of thumb is to clean it as often as you would do a deep clean on your whole vacuum cleaner: that should be at least once a month. But it depends also on how often do you use your vacuum cleaner.

If you have pets around that leave lots of hair and dirt, then you should be more careful and clean it even more, as hair and dirt together make the perfect combination for blockages.

Tools you’ll need

Here are some tools you might need or find useful to have around when doing a regular cleaning of your vacuum hose:

– Large cleaning brush

– Long feather duster

– Cloth or towel

– Gloves

– Bleach

– Mild soap or detergent

6 Steps to Clean your Vacuum Hose

Now it’s time to get into action. Follow this steps if you want ot have a clean and fresh smelling vacuum hose!

Step 1. Unplug and detach the hose from the vacuum

First you need to unplug the vacuum if you where using it before. Just for safety reasons. You don’t want your vacuum to start working when you’re trying to take the hose off!

Then detach the hose from your vacuum cleaner. How to do it depends on the brand a model you have. It should be as easy as twisting it or pressing a button but if you can’t find the way, look for instructions in the user’s manual.

PRO TIP

Avoid using excesive force. If you feel like you have to, then you’re probably doing it wrong, as they aren’t designed to be difficult.

Step 2. Unclog the hose

You may have decided to clean your vacuum hose because, as we said before, you think there’s a clog in it that’s not letting your vacuum funtino properly. Then what you need is to remove it entirely before using your vacuum again.

But even though unclogging might seem pretty easy, a vacuum hose is more delicate than it seems and that’s why we’ve prepared a specific article explaining everything you need to know to do it the right way and avoid damaging it even further. So go read it if if it is your case!

If you don’t have a clog but just wanted to do a regular cleaning to your vacuum hose, keep reading!

Step 3. Remove as much dirt and dust as posible

If you’ve removed the clog or even if you haven’t, before washing the hose, it’s advisable to remove the remaining dirt and dust that may be hanging inside it.

A long feather duster will be very useful to do so but if you don’t have one you can use a the stick of a broom and a clother rapped around it. Introducce it inside the hose and twirl it both ways to loseen up all the dirt and dust and then pull it out.

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Doing this before getting the hose into water will prevent mud creation inside of it.

Step 4. Now it’s time for a bath!

Now that you have a cleaner hose, it’s time to get weet.

Depending on the size of the hose you’ll need to use a sink or a bathtub. Fill it in with warm water (make sure it’s not too hot!). Add at least a teaspoon of bleach (depending on the amount of water you’re using) and a nice amount of mild soap or detergent.

Put on a pair of gloves and mix it all up before submeging the hose into it. Introduce the hose in the water and let the inside be filled with it. Then use a cloth or a towel to rub the hose on the outside.

Once you’re done with the outside, hold the hose in a “u” shape (this will allow you to keep some water on the inside), and shake it! Then let the water drain. Repeat this process as many times as needed, until the water inside stays clean even after shaking it. You just need to fill it again with new clean water and shake it again.

PRO TIP

If the inside is really dirty you can use a large cleaning brush to help you scrub and loosen the dirt.

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You’ll see how useful this process is!

To end this step you just need to let the whole water drain and rinse the hose on the inside and outside with cold water to remove all the remaining soap. Let the water flow through the entire pipe and out from the other end.

Step 5. Sanitize it!

If you want to make sure you’ve killed all the bacteria and germs, you can try and sanitize it by mixing a cup of warm water with one third of vinegar and sinking the large cleaning brush in the mixture. Then introduce the brush into the hose and scrub like you did before.

Vinegar will not only kill the remaining germs but also eliminate all the bad smells.

Let it dry and rinse it afterwards with running water as before.

Step 6. Let it dry and place back

You’re almost done! You just need to hang the hose somewhere how to let all the water drain. A shower curtain rod is a good place to do so as you won’t get all messed up with any water that may fall out.

You’ll need to wait for several hours before placing it back on the vacuum.

Once you’ve placed it back, try turning your vacuum cleaner on and see if it works correctly. And you’re done!

When do I have to replace the vacuum hose

Sometimes there’s nothing you can do to extend the useful life of a vacuum hose. No cleaning or fixing will do the trick.

You should replace if it has developed holes or leaks; more so if your hose is made of plastic.

Placing some tape around may feel like enough but the truth is you might be putting your vacuum’s mototr at risk. Because even if you feel like there are no air leakages, there are. And these can make the motor to overheat and stop working in very short time!

If you’re going to replace it, just look at the users manual and you’ll find which model and type you need to buy. It should be the same as the old one in size and length!

Conclusion

You might be thinking ho w terribly boring all these cleaning is… there’s nothing less enjoyable. But belive me, if you try and keep a regular cleaning of all the parts of your vacuum cleaner, then it will only take you a few minutes each time!

If not, that’s when you’ll need almost a whole day to get your vacuum clean and ready. Not to mention how much you can be shortening its life by not keeping it clean.

I hope this guide was useful! Here you have some other articles on how to maintain and keep you vacuum cleaner clean and ready for the next time you use it!