How to Clean a Vacuum Cleaner Brush?

The vacuuming brush is an intricate attachment that comes with every vacuum cleaner. Without which, vacuuming your apartment would be very hard especially reaching out to hidden areas of your apartment.  To get the most out of your vacuum cleaner, you need to clean out the brush as often as possible. If you fail to get rid of the dirt on a vacuum brush they will end up back at cleaning surfaces. You should clean the vacuum brush by either washing it with mild soap and water or using your bare hands to remove the dirt within it.

In this article, we will address in a stepwise format, how to clean a vacuum brush.

Step 1- Safety

Since the brush is usually located within the vacuum cleaning compartment, the first step to cleaning the vacuum brush is to unplug the vacuum from the power socket. Do not attempt to access the vacuum brush within without cutting off all power supply to the vacuum.

Step 2: Open the Vacuum brush compartment

To access the vacuum brush that needs to be cleaned, lay the vacuum cleaner on its side to expose the screws. Use a compatible head screw to unscrew all nuts from the base of the plate. A lot of vacuum cleaners should have about four screws locking the brush compartment in place. Keep the screws in a safe place so that you don’t lose them. 

Step 3: Pop out the Brush

Once you have taken out the base plate, the roller brush should be visible to you. You have to pop out this brush by gently nudging one side of the brush till it gently slides out of the roller belt. Be careful with this process so as not to cause unrepairable damages to the roller belt. Take note of the orientation of the brush on the roller belt so that it will be easy to fix back once the cleaning process is over.

Next Read: How Often Should You Vacuum Your Home?

Step 4 – Washing the Vacuum cleaner brush 

After taking out the brush attachment of your vacuum cleaner, hold it over a bucket of warm water. Mix the warm water with a mild detergent such as dishwashing soap for best results. Using your hand, scrub off the dirt from the brush by placing it into the soap water and agitating it against the foam. This process will knock out loose dirt that may have accumulated over the bristle of the brush. 

Alternatively, you may opt to use a suitable stick to pick out stubborn dirt particles that may have caked within the brush. 

Step 5 - Drying

Drying the bristle brush is the next step to follow. When you are done washing the brush, use dry rags to clean the inside of the attachment. They should remove any cake mode or dirt that may still be lingering inside. Pat dry the bristle with a rag by running it through the vacuum brush from side to side several times until all soaked up water has been dried up. After you have done this, place the vacuum brush on its side to dry completely before attempting to use it again.

Step 6 - Combing the Brush

Combing the brush may be a necessary step to clean out all dirt that may be hanging on the hair of the brush. To do this, have an old comb handy. Use the comb to work your way through the bristles of the vacuum brush several times. This process will help to pull out any debris or hair that escaped to the cleaning and drying process with a rag. You will have to do combing several times until you're certain that the brush is as clean as you want it to be. 

Step 7: Rinse and Repeat

You should carry out regular cleaning activities with the vacuum brush if you want to see an improved efficiency with your cleaning process.  Cleaning should be done frequently if you make use of the vacuum cleaner on a regular basis. All you have to do is follow the outlined process in this article. 

To determine the frequency of cleans required, draw out a cleaning schedule based on your usage. However, strive to clean out the accumulated dirt from your vacuum brush at least thrice a year or every three months. If you discover that the brush is leaving more dirt behind than it is cleaning then it’s an indication that the brush needs cleaning. However, you shouldn’t wait until it is obvious that the brush needs to be cleaned before you do so.