Credit: Realtor.com
Do you roll your vacuum cleaner out of the closet only when it's time to clean your carpet? Well, you're missing out. Whether you've got an upright, canister, or cordless, this household appliance has never been more powerful, versatile, and, dare we say, fun. You might need to invest in an attachment or two, but trust us, it's worth it!
Read on to learn about all the things a vacuum can do.
1. Make your house smell better
“You can use a vacuum to freshen the air,” says Leslie Reichert, founder of GreenCleaningCoach.com. “Put essential oils onto a cotton ball and place in the empty bag, then let it run for a few minutes.”
2. Groom your dog
Some vacuums have gentle pet-friendly attachments (with cute names like the FURminator) to collect hair as you run the brush over your pet's body. And, generally speaking, pets love how this feels!
3. Clean your mattress
Over time, mattresses can collect dust and dust mites. To get rid of them, “run the vacuum attachment across your mattress, making sure to get the cracks and crevices,” says Debra Johnson, resident cleaning expert for Merry Maids.
Here's more on how to clean a mattress.
4. Inflate a kiddie pool
You heard that right: "You can use the reverse suction to blow up a kiddie pool,” Reichert notes. Save your lungs!
5. Clean your curtains
6. Prolong the life of your fridge
The inside of your refrigerator isn’t the only part you need to clean—don’t forget about the exterior bottom! After pulling the refrigerator away from the wall, use a vacuum attachment to clean the coils, where dust can collect and impair its performance.
Here's more on how to clean refrigerator coils.
7. Recover lost jewelry
Earring rolled under a heavy dresser? Place hosiery over the end of your vacuum cleaner attachment, then direct it into or under that hard-to-reach place to retrieve your valuables.
8. Use as a leaf blower
Remember how vacuums can run in reverse? Most units do a fine job of cleaning debris from particular areas (see our next point).
9. Clean your decks
Who needs a power washer when a vacuum in reverse will do?
10. Brush those blinds
Use your vacuum to remove dirt from plastic blinds.
“The slats are easy to unhook,” cautions Kaloyan Dimitrov, a professional house cleaner with Fantastic Services, "so brush upward only.”
11. Breathe new life into old throw pillows
Sprinkle on baking soda, let it set 30 minutes, then use your brush attachment to clean away your pillows' fusty odors.
12. Unclog a drain
Whether your toddler dumped a handful of sand or some other toy down the drain, there’s a drain unclogger vacuum attachment for that!
13. Give your plants some TLC
Dusty houseplants needing a little touch-up will heart what a brush attachment can do to their leaves.
14. Remove grime on patio furniture
Why waste all that water hosing off your patio furniture when a car-cleaning nozzle on a vacuum will do?
15. Clean heating vents and radiators
Can’t quite reach in between the phalanges of your radiator? Or deep inside a heating vent? Two words: crevice tool.
16. Make your windows sparkle
Before you break out the glass cleaner, vacuum the sills and edges of your windows.
17. Remove cobwebs
Use your vacuum to remove dust and cobwebs not just from horizontal surfaces, but also from your corners and walls.
18. Kill fleas
In addition to sucking up pet fur, vacuuming even kills fleas. One Ohio State University study found that vacuuming kills 96% of fleas in all stages of their lives, thanks largely to that powerful air current.
19. Decrumb your toaster
Toaster overrun with burnt crumbs? Yep, your vacuum attachments should have you covered; just use the smallest in the bunch.
20. Get those baseboards ready for the glove test
No judgment if you're not one to crawl on the floor and wipe off your baseboards. Plan B: Run a vacuum cleaner over them instead.
21. Remove dryer vent lint
After unplugging your dryer, remove the hose from the back of your dryer, then vacuum out as deeply as your nozzle will reach.
Here's more on how to clean dryer vents and why it's important for preventing house fires.
22. Remove carpet odors
Need to freshen your carpet? Sprinkle baking soda on your carpet, let it sit for a half-hour, then vacuum.
23. Polish your ceiling fans
No one ever thinks about the state of their ceiling fan—until they look up and realize how dusty the blades are. Invest in a ceiling fan attachment (a long tube with a bend at the end) to lick this.
24. Give framed art the brushoff
Even delicate canvases can be dusted with a vacuum cleaner’s dusting brush attachment.
25. Lighten your lampshades
A good vacuum attachment can pull the dust from your lampshades regardless of the fabric.
26. Clean the TV screen
Attach a rounded brush attachment to your vacuum hose to quickly dust off your TV screen in time for the next big game.
27. Clean your couch
“Don’t underestimate the power of running a vacuum over a fabric couch to remove dirt and debris before you use another cleaning method,” says Johnson. Just check the care instructions first.
28. Turn back the time on your carpet
If a piece of heavy furniture has left a rut in your rug, “use a floor steamer to revive the carpet fibers, then vacuum to raise the dented carpet back to its natural height,” says Johnson.
29. Get the gunk out of your keyboard
Invest in a micro-dusting attachment set, and you can suck out all those embarrassing crumbs lodged in and around your “caps lock” button.
30. Get rid of mosquitoes and flies
If you're not great with a fly swatter, try going after bugs with your extension hose. At the very least, you'll entertain your kids.