Baking soda is affordable, easy to find, completely natural, environmentally friendly, and has excellent cleaning ability. We all know that baking soda is very effective and widely used. But will baking soda ruin your vacuum cleaner? Baking soda dust may cause permanent ruin to your vacuum cleaner motor, so we’d better not use baking soda in the vacuum cleaner. Baking soda has many uses at home. Baking soda can be used to freshen laundry, and it can also remove stains on soft furniture and countertops. In addition, baking soda is often used for carpet cleaning, but we’d better not use baking soda with a vacuum cleaner to clean carpets.
How Does Baking Soda Work?
Baking soda’s naturally antibacterial and deodorizing capabilities make it perform well when disinfecting carpets without using steam cleaners. To put it more simply, baking soda can often be used to clean excess dirt on carpets. Usually, when used for this purpose, sprinkle baking soda on the affected area, soak it, and then vacuum it.
Baking soda neutralizes odors and absorbs moisture. Its antibacterial property can also kill any mold, mold, or bacteria in the carpet. As we all know, carpets are difficult to clean because dirt and moisture will enter the bottom layer of carpets, while conventional dust collection is difficult to reach the bottom layer. Therefore, it is easy to understand why so many people choose to use baking soda to achieve this goal; Baking soda is easy to use and efficient.
However, some people find that using baking soda in this way can ruin their vacuum cleaners. If so, you may have an expensive repair on your hand, or in the worst case, you may eventually have to completely replace your vacuum cleaner. We will study how baking soda may ruin your vacuum cleaner and the ways to prevent any damage, as well as the cleaning alternatives you can use if you think baking soda is not suitable for you.
How Does Baking Soda Destroy Your Vacuum Cleaner?
Generally speaking, using baking soda in moderation will not ruin the vacuum cleaner. However, if you use too much baking soda at one time, or you often use the vacuum cleaner with baking soda, problems will occur.
Because baking soda particles are small, they can usually enter the motor at the bottom of the vacuum cleaner. Usually, the motor will be isolated from the suction area, but small particles will sometimes enter, especially when you use a slightly old or good vacuum cleaner.
These particles will cause irreparable ruin to the motor of the vacuum cleaner, and in some cases will lead to a complete short circuit.
Similarly, baking soda particles can clog vacuum bags or high-efficiency air filters. Although these particles are very small, they may remain in small holes in the vacuum filter. With the extension of service time, these blockages will gradually form, eventually leading to insufficient suction, overheating, and finally vacuum short circuit.
Read More: How to Clean a Vacuum Filter?
- Damage the Engine Motor of the Vacuum Cleaner
The motor of the vacuum cleaner needs to be cooled regularly and absorb the surrounding air. Considering that baking soda particles are as small as 70 µm, they are also easily inhaled. The more this happens, the more they enter the state, and the more they work overtime.
- Clog the Vacuum Cleaner Filter
Baking soda can also clog the filter, preventing air from entering the motor. This will lead to failure and poor performance until failure eventually occurs. The most common problem with vacuum baking soda is that it will block the filter. Baking soda particles are even difficult to remove from washable filters, which means you need to buy alternatives more often. If your vacuum cleaner doesn’t have a washable filter, sucking baking soda with a vacuum cleaner will definitely shorten its life.
- Cannot be Completely Removed
When you use baking soda on the carpet, part of it will stay below. Even if you decide to take this risk, the vacuum cannot take it out. Baking soda deodorizes by absorbing the odor. Therefore, if you can’t remove it, the odor will remain. No matter how big a vacuum cleaner you use, you can’t completely remove the baking soda.
- Wear out Your Carpet
Baking soda particles are not only small but also very sharp! Its texture can work wonders, which is why baking soda is usually recommended for dishwashing and bathtubs. These sharp tiny particles enter the bottom of the carpet and destroy the fiber, which will cost you money to replace. You should also know that powdered baking soda and other detergents can’t remove stains on the carpet unless used with the aqueous solution. The smell will change only when the stains remain unchanged.
Vacuum cleaners usually cannot collect all baking soda particles in carpet fibers. This means that these particles may still adhere to the carpet, making them like little sandpaper. Over time, this will cause obvious wear and damage to the carpet.
In other words, baking soda can be harmful to your carpet and vacuum cleaner!
How to Avoid Damaging the Vacuum Cleaner When Using Baking Soda?
Baking soda is no more harmful to vacuum cleaners than other dust particles commonly found at home. Problems often occur when a large amount of baking soda is vacuumed.
If you do choose to use baking soda when cleaning carpets, you must use it in moderation. Oversaturation of the carpet will cause too much baking soda to remain at the bottom of the carpet, which may ruin the fiber and more likely damage the vacuum cleaner. Some special vacuum cleaners are less vulnerable to damage caused by small particles (such as baking soda).
If your vacuum cleaner has a bagless vacuum cleaner with an easy-to-disassemble filter, you may be able to completely remove the residue of baking soda after vacuuming. However, this is only a good idea. If your vacuum quality is good, there is an efficient filtration system. The poorly filtered vacuum will make baking soda particles escape into the motor or exhaust, which may be very dangerous.
You can check your specific brand and model of vacuum cleaner to understand its treatment effect on particles. If you are not sure, it is best to consult the manufacturer to avoid any damage or danger.
Why Do People Recommend Baking Soda?
The biggest reason why people recommend baking soda is that most people have it. Baking soda can help remove some odors. Many people use baking soda in the refrigerator to help eliminate odors. Naturally, people will think it is suitable for carpets or floors.
Another reason people use baking soda is to control pests. You may see someone recommend baking soda to bedbugs, ants, cockroaches, and any other creatures on the Internet. The idea is that baking soda will cut these creatures, dehydrating them and killing them.
This is not the best way. Borax is a better choice, but it still has disadvantages. The only way to deal with these creatures is to kill them with chemicals. Most of these home remedies don’t work, but people like to share them because it looks simple.
- Clean the Carpet
If you want to clean the carpet, you must use more than baking soda. Baking soda is not something to clean the carpet; It’s like pouring baking soda on your shirt to clean it. Yes, it takes to water and soap to clean the carpet. What about the smell? Many people think that baking soda is used to eliminate the odor, but it is the stains on the carpet that cause the odor. Using carpet cleaner will help remove stains and odors at one time.
Read More: Can You Vacuum Water – How to Clean?
- Smell
There are such products that you can use the vacuum cleaner to suck them up without damaging the vacuum cleaner. In addition, when you use vacuum cleaners, they can make your home smell good. An example is fragrance vacuum cleaner crystal lavender fragrance, which you can get here.
If your vacuum cleaner starts to smell like a dog or just smells a little disgusting, it works well.
Read More: How to Get Dog Smell Out of Vacuum?
Equally Effective Substitute for Baking Soda
Understandably, you may decide that it’s best not to vacuum the baking soda off the carpet. You may think it’s not worth the risk at all. In this case, you may want to know whether there are other equally effective ways to clean your carpet without endangering the safety and efficiency of your vacuum cleaner.
Next, there are two different technologies to try. Each is very effective, and completely free of chemicals and toxins.
First, you can use white vinegar. Like baking soda, white vinegar is a good natural detergent with antibacterial and deodorizing capabilities. Just mix the same amount of distilled water and white vinegar in a clean spray bottle, and then spray it on the carpet to refresh quickly and easily.
If you want deeper cleaning, you may need thorough steam cleaning. Buying steam cleaning equipment may be expensive, but you can also hire professionals or rent steam cleaners for one-time deep cleaning. The water and detergent will be dispersed on your carpet and then removed with the suction mechanism of the steam cleaner. This can wash away any dust or debris, and also kill bacteria and mold.
You can also consider using a vacuum cleaner with a high-efficiency air filter. Compared with conventional air filters, vacuum cleaners with high-efficiency air filters usually collect more dust, pet fur, and particles.
Vacuuming at the right speed will remove more dirt and stains than you think.
You can use your usual soap and water to clean the surface stains. In addition, you can buy some fragrant tablets, and you can easily remove the smell with a vacuum cleaner. You can also buy a non-toxic vacuum freshening product – go to the supermarket. They are also big enough not to get into your engine or carpet. Or you can find a professional ink and Pet Stain cleaner. It is affordable and will save time with a good job guarantee.
Conclusion
If you can’t use baking soda properly, it may harm your vacuum cleaner’s internal components. However, with a little elbow grease (and perhaps some vinegar), you can quickly restore your vacuum to its former glory. We sincerely hope that this article has helped to make things clearer for you; please contact us if you have any further inquiries.
