Does your vacuum cleaner stink ? Most households have some type of odor issue associated with their vacuum cleaner. If you have indoor pets, yours can be quite severe. There are a lot of products on the market that are targeted to the pet owner to help mask some of these odors, but you should beware of almost all of the powder types. Brands such as “Love my Carpet” and “Carpet Fresh” are the absolute worst possible thing you can do to solve this issue. They not only cake up in the carpet and cause terrible damage to the carpet and pad, but they destroy vacuum cleaners as well. Also, using those products will void your vacuum cleaner warranty.
The best, most effective way to eliminate odors from your vacuum is an active charcoal filter. There are a handful of quality vacuum cleaners equipped with these. Some come with the filter already installed, and some offer it as an option. Miele has the highest rating for dust free capacity, and has a full line of S2 and S5 canisters that have active HEPA filters, and they now have a new S7 upright “Cat & Dog” machine that comes with an active charcoal filter installed. Riccar , Sebo, and Lindhaus also have several offerings with charcoal filters too.
One side note to consider when shopping for a new vacuum; Just because a machine says “Animal” or “Pets” does not mean it has any provision for pet odors. In fact, most big box store brands, such as Bissell, Hoover, and Dyson, have machines labeled for pets; but are absolutely no different than their non pet labeled product, other than the color. It’s all just a marketing plan to peak your attention, since you own a pet. Bagless cleaners have the least amount of filtration, and no provision for odor control.
The second best way to deal with an odor problem, if you don’t have a machine that will accept a charcoal filter, is to use some sort of fragrance to mask the odors. Viewmont Vacuums carries several different brands, and a multitude of different fragrances to suit your taste. And these products won’t harm your machine or your carpet.
Don’t forget to have your vacuum serviced regularly and have the filters changed to maintain peak performance and odor free,clean air.
