Disinfecting vacuum hoses...

[fantomfan57]

How do you clean yours?

I put a quantity of baking soda in one end and follow it with 1 1/2 cups of white vinegar. As soon as the combination froths up...immediately, I hold the hose up by the ends, repeatedly drop one end and then the other to make sure the concoction coats the entire inside.

Do this outside, can get messy. I then run hot water through the entire length and MAN, the stuff just flows out....dirt, grime and who knows what. After the water runs clear, I hang it up for several days to dry.

Cleans and deodorizes.

I do this with plastic and vinyl hoses only.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I do the same thing you do, except I usually just spray the outside with Mean Green or other all purpose cleaner, and spray some inside.

It is really satisfying getting all that crap out of the hose and see the water run clear.

Sometimes I use a Magic Eraser on the hose if it has scuff marks. If the vacuum has a blower port, I usually put the hose on it and let the machine dry it with exhaust air.

Summer is best time to wash parts, as when I put them out in the hot Florida sun, they dry in about 15 minutes. Hoses take longer though as steam builds up inside, so it can take a day or two.

 

[blackheart]

A recent discovery.

Pipe brushes or a vent brush can work wonders for the interior!I picked up a libman brand vent brush from menards it's about 1.5" in diameter with pretty soft bristles. I insert it into one of the ends twisting it as i can. I'd like to either attach it to a pole or perhaps even attach it to a flexible covered cable which could then be attached to a drill. As is it's a little short to reach the complete interior but i push it through to at least get some agitation. I just put some water and cleaner in the hose swish it around, scrub it out and rinse.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Libman-Vent-Brush/19300129

 

[detroitdirtbag]

Now you got me thinking. I have a tube bird feeder brush, I’ll have to extent the handle some how with a long dowel or something. Your rite, it should be cleaned somehow. I clean my big Rigid shop vac, but the motor comes off to use as a blower so it’s easy to clean. Pretty slick how they did this, I’ve rinsed out the hose, it’s always filthy.

 

[suckolux]

I rinse them out good outside, then put them in the laundry tub, hot water and some liquid Costco detergent,slosh and soak a bit. Strong stuff, pulls the oils out of your skin. Like the smell too.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Have you ever

cleaned one of those collapsible vinyl hoses? They've got to be stretched out as best you can to clean all the nooks and cranny's.Same with drying the hose out, it's got to be stretched out while that's happening.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Stretch hose

I have washed one of those collapsing hoses, from a Kenmore Progressive. It definitely wasn't as easy as a regular hose, but it came out ok. I left it out in the sun all day, took a while to dry because the water inside the pleats turned to steam when it heated up and didn't dry very fast. Possibly one of those brushes might work well on that though.

Otherwise, I'd soak a pleated hose for a while to loosen up dirt in the pleats more easily, then flex it around several times until most of it's washed out.

 

[vacuumdevil]

I throw mine in my front load washing machine on gentle. Gets them super clean.

 

[superocd]

For the two vacuums I've restored that came with hoses (Kirby Sentria and Avalir) I've soaked them in hot water, Persil and bleach, followed with a good rinse. Makes them look and smell new. Obviously antique cloth hoses or older vinyl hoses may need a more gentler approach (no bleach -- maybe Mr. Clean antibacterial?) but I feel like most modern hoses are able to withstand this, especially hoses that aren't wire-splined like you see in stretch hoses.

 

[ultralux88]

I run them through a dishwasher. Just don’t use the heated dry.

 

[detroitdirtbag]

I do car parts when I go to a show and stay at a hotel, I clean all my parts before I go home. Pot scrubber cycle really works well on greased parts. You can put rims in the bottom tray too.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Those dirty electrified hoses

Any tips on cleaning the electrified hoses that have the wiring for the power nozzles? Like my Kenmore canisters. I don't want to pour water through the pistol grip handle. Pushing a damp rag that was dipped in sudsy water and wrung out through the hose seems like it would take forever and a day to clean.

Without being able to run water through the hose, it's going to be a different game. I use the expandable extension pole to unclog a couple hoses that measure 9 ft. or more. Running a dry round bristle brush would get some of the junk out but not as good as swishing hot sudsy water through.

If your vacuum cleaner has an exhaust port you could probably blow the right sized brush on through a few times and it would take some dirt with it. Any ideas?

 

[ultralux88]

I even run the electric ones through, all you have to do is let the things dry thoroughly.

 

[huskyvacs]

What you need is an industrial enzymatic cleaning solution to clean them properly and get out the bacteria and junk and remove the smell. Just put them in a sink or bucket with the solution (likely has to be diluted depending on strength) and leave them sit overnight and the cleaner will break down all the gunkyness left behind.

A lot of off the shelf soaps and cleaners don't have the ability to clean beyond surface grime. If you ever washed vacuum hoses and parts and then they are clean, but still smell like bowling alley shoes, that's one reason why.

Especially if you own pets, or have received vacuums from pet houses, that wet dog smell from the breakdown of keratin in the hair fibers rotting in the bag that gives them the musty odor.

 

[ultralux88]

Here's a very heavy enzymatic detergent that I find works very well.

https://powerizerclean.com

 

[ultralux88]

that wet dog smell from the breakdown of keratin in the hair

This is actually caused by the lanolin (oil in the skin) that is on the hair. You'll notice that some dogs have dryer coats than others, the more oily their coat, the more smell you will get as that lanolin gets rancid and begins to rot. The hair itself won't actually create much smell as it breaks down.

 

[huskyvacs]

Oh okay, thanks, I was always saying it was keratin. I had a Husky and when I would use my bagged vacuums it would get pretty rank in between times the vacuum was sitting.

 

[ultralux88]

It does smell bad, and when most people ask me what they can do about it, I tell them the only good solution is to stop venting vacuum cleaner exhaust back into the room with you. Couldn't even tell you what the bag in my vacuum smells like, but our dog is one with a dryer coat, so her hair doesn't smell as bad as quickly. There's also lots of dander, and that will have some oils from the skin in it regardless of how dry their coat. The dander will begin to stink eventually, no way around that.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I noticed too with our dog we had before (RIP), my vacuum bags would get that smell. She had an oily fur. The dog we have now has a dryer, longer hair and I haven't noticed the smell as strongly.

As for electric hoses, at least with the vinyl hoses I have, looking in the end, it looks that the electrical wires are all sealed within the vinyl. So I don't think there would be any harm at all in washing them out.

But I would definitely let them dry for a week or two before connecting them back up. Also keep the ends of the hose from being immersed in water, since you don't want the electrical plugs, receptacles or connections in the elbows getting wet.

I have before put the hoses on the blower port of the vacuum and let it blow warm air through for a few minutes, like I did with my Constellation.

Flexible hoses like the ones on modern uprights and the old Hoover Ultraflex hoses, take a long time to dry because of all the hundreds of grooves where water can hide when the hose is collapsed, whereas regular vinyl hoses have no such crevices.