14 tips with a vacuum cleaner that will come in handy: advice from professional cleaners

Have you dropped your earring and can’t find it? Or maybe the last pill in the box is hidden on the carpet, but you don’t want to go to the pharmacy? You can “catch” all these objects using a vacuum cleaner.

“Remove the nozzle, place a sock directly over the hose, secure it with a hair tie, then vacuum the floor – this will help pick up small items on thick carpet or in areas under the sofa “, explains Petya Kholevich, head of the cleaning service.

Have the legs of a table or sofa left deep marks in the carpet? To get rid of them, all you need is a vacuum cleaner and ice cubes. “Put ice on the marks, wait for it to melt. Fluff the fibers with your fingers, then use a vacuum to lift them, advises professional cleaner Eunario Chacón.

Surprisingly, but true: a flea vacuum is a one-way ticket. As American scientists found out, without any chemicals, it destroys 96% of adult insects and 100% of young ones. According to the researchers, this is due to the impact of the brush and a powerful air flow: the parasites lose their shell, which protects them from dehydration, and therefore die quickly.

“Add a teaspoon of cinnamon to your trash bag and your house will smell great after cleaning. Do you prefer another scent? Take any essential oil, put a few drops on a cotton swab and place it in a bag. Opt for eucalyptus, pine, clove or wormwood if you want an antibacterial effect,” advises Holewicz.

A friend came to visit us to spend the night and the air mattress pump broke? Turn on the vacuum cleaner and bring the hole through which the mattress is inflated to the grille of the device, from which the air comes out.

“The crevice tool can remove dust from many hard-to-reach places, but there are some it’s too big for. In this case, place a roll of toilet paper over the pipe and flatten the end into the desired shape,” advises Chacon.

Another surprising fact: the sound of a vacuum cleaner can soothe small children – scientists believe it is as monotonous, quiet and whistling as the sounds a child hears in the womb. Most likely, you will have to experiment with the position of the device – to use the hack, you need to calculate the distance at which the volume will be optimal.

Furniture and rugs go through a lot: some have dogs sleeping on them all day, others have kids dropping pizza and spilling cocoa. “If you realize that something that can’t be washed smells bad, sprinkle baking soda on it, leave for 15 minutes, then vacuum up the powder; this will help freshen the fabric,” advises Alicia Sokolowski, president of the cleaning company.

For a refrigerator to function well, it must be cleaned not only on the inside, but also on the outside. A layer of dust on the condenser can cause the unit to overheat – remove it by moving the refrigerator away from the wall and cleaning the coils with a vacuum cleaner equipped with a furniture brush. (For a keyboard with crumbs, this method is also great.)

There are things that take up a lot of space in the closet; it is usually recommended to reduce their volume using vacuum bags and special pumps. However, in reality they don’t need it – you can achieve the same effect using a regular garbage bag (it must be durable) and a vacuum cleaner.

There is no special fastener for curtains, but the upholstery fastener is ideal in such cases. Pull the curtains so there are no wrinkles, turn the vacuum cleaner on to minimum power, then work through the fabric: curtain maker Emily Booth advises working from top to bottom and paying close attention to the bottom edge, which accumulates a lot of dust. .

Also read: How to clean curtains without removing them: 5 simple tips to save your energy

Condensation occurs when warm air meets a cold surface, and in winter it can become a real problem, often causing mold to grow. If you have a vacuum cleaner designed for wet cleaning, you can use it to collect condensation, preventing the growth of fungus.

This problem doesn’t only arise in a home where family members are clean-shaven and only have Sphynx and American Hairless Terriers as pets. Every other housewife knows what a vacuum cleaner brush turns into over time. We usually clean it with scissors, but Alicia says it’s easier to use a seam ripper to cut any hair or threads stuck in the bristles or silicone insert.

Don’t want to end up with a mark on your wall, baseboard or door because you brushed the surface with your vacuum cleaner? There is a very simple solution: seal the sides of the floor nozzle with adhesive tape.

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