The GoVacuum Blog

Maintaining your vacuum is an oft-neglected but important step towards keeping your home clean. When your vacuum is well-maintained, your home stays cleaner and you feel healthier. Follow these five simple vacuum maintenance steps and get your money’s worth out of that vacuum.

Note: Make sure your vacuum is unplugged and cool before performing any of these steps.

• Check out the dust container every time you use it. If your vacuum is bagless, empty the bin every time, even if it’s not full. If it uses disposable bags, you don’t actually have to use a new bag every time, but if it’s 2/3 full (up to line), you definitely should. Shake out the casing around the bag, and wipe it down, to keep it dust-free.
• If your vacuum is of the wet variety (water filtration or cleans up spills/liquids), rinse out its tanks and clean it with a disinfectant solution periodically.
• If your vacuum has a hose, reverse the direction you insert it in periodically to change its wear pattern and prolong its life.
• Clean and replace your filter regularly. Check your specific model’s owner’s manual for details on how regular is regular for your vacuum.
• On uprights: make sure the beater-bar belt (say that 3 times fast) is properly adjusted and positioned correctly. Check your model’s specific owner’s manual for diagrams that explain what is correct. If the belt is broken or coming apart, it’s time to replace it. Be sure to remove string, hair, and other debris from the bar and other attachments after every use. It may sound tiresome, but it’s easier than dealing with long-term build-up sporadically.

It’s best to keep all the bags, belts, filters and parts on hand at all times for easy maintenance.  Most brands and models are available for purchase online.