Cleaning Inside of a Vacuum Hose

The hose is an essential part of a vacuum cleaner without it; your vacuum cleaner is useless. The tube takes a beating every time you clean your home and works the hardest to pick up dirt and debris around the house.

Cleaning inside of a vacuum hose and outside is often a task that is forgotten and should be part of your routine cleaning. If you do not, it gets dirty, and over time, the hose may become blocked.

A blocked hose can cause many problems such as a decrease in suction, a smelly hose, blows out dust everywhere, and makes a horrific sound.

That is why we will show you how to clean the hose of a vacuum cleaner in four easy steps. We include what tool to use, how to get rid of an unpleasant smell in the hose, and sanitize it.

Before we start with how to clear a clogged vacuum hose, let us look at what is the best tool to unclog vacuum hose and other items that you can use.

The best tool to help you unclog a vacuum hose would be a long stick from either a broom or mop. The long stick will allow you to push out the gunk that is clogging the hose.

Other items that you could use are:

• A straightened out wire hanger. But be careful not to poke holes into the sides of the hose.
• Use a second vacuum cleaner with powerful suction to suck out the dirt and debris clogging the hose.

Let us begin with the step-by-step guide to cleaning inside of a vacuum hose:

Step 1: Turn off and unplug the vacuum cleaner.

Before you start with any cleaning task of an electrical appliance, including a vacuum cleaner, it is always best to make sure that you first switch it off and unplug it.

Step 2: Detach and Dislodge

Whether you need to unclog a Shark, Bissell, Hoover, Miele, Dyson, Black and Decker vacuum, they will all work more or less the same. Detach the hose from the vacuum cleaner by either twisting it to loosen it or pressing a button. Read the manual if you are unsure of how to detach the hose from a specific type or model of the vacuum cleaner.

An example would be to unclog a Miele vacuum is to detach the suction hose from the canister by pressing the release button and lift the tube out of the socket.

Once the vacuum cleaners hose is detached, lay the hose out straight on the ground on some newspapers or plastic, big enough to catch the dirt lodged inside the tubing. If you can see the debris on the end of the hose, try removing it with your fingers. If not, take the broom or mop handle and gently slide it through the entire length of the hose.

If the broom or mop handle is stopped by something along the way, then there is something stuck in the vacuum hose. Look to see if you can see what is there; perhaps there’s a sock stuck in the vacuum hose.

To get the sock out, see if you can pull it out with your fingers and, if not, continue to push it out the other end of the hose.

Step 3: Wash, Rinse, and Dry

Take advantage of this opportunity to clean out the vacuum hose properly. The opportunity would be to wash, rinse, and leave the hose to dry altogether before re-attaching it to the vacuum cleaner again.

Washing the hose

There are many methods of what to clean clogged dust collection pipe with, but they all include using a tub or sink filled with hot water. As for what to use to wash it, choose:

• Use a couple of drops of liquid dish soap with a cap filled with bleach
• Mild laundry detergent

First, wash the outside of the hose in the soapy solution water; you can also use a cloth to get stubborn dirt off certain areas of the hose. To wash the inside of the hose, swirl the hose around in the water, and then hold it up in a “U shape,” trapping some water inside, place one hand on each end to block the water from coming out. Shake the hose from side to side to clean it.

If you need to know how to clean a smelly vacuum hose, make a solution of white vinegar and warm water and pour it through the vacuum hose. Allow it to sit for two to five minutes before rinsing it out.

To sanitize the inside of the vacuum hose, you can mix a solution of vinegar, warm water, and baking soda. This solution will get rid of any germs and bacteria lurking around on the inside of the hose.

Rinse the hose

Rinse the hose by running clean water directly into the hose and allow the water to run through the length of the hose and out the other end. Make sure you have rinsed all the soap from both the inside of the hose and on the outside.

Leave the vacuum cleaner hose to dry.

Once you have rinsed the hose and have drained the excess water off, leave it to dry. Hang it over a railing of some sort for four to eight hours so that it can dry on the inside and out entirely.

Step 4: Re-attach the hose

Once the hose has been cleaned, washed, and it has dried altogether, you can re-attach the hose to the vacuum cleaner again. Then continue with your task of vacuuming your home with an unclogged and clean hose.