Vacuum smells like dog!

[Al]

When we vacuum our rugs it makes the room smell like "stale dog" (for lack of a better phrase) for a while. We do have a dog, a small (clean) Bichon, but she has no noticeable smell, and 'way back when our vacuums didn't raise a dog smell.

We formerly used a Eureka bagged vacuum cleaner, and we thought the smell was due to that cleaner, so we switched to our current Hoover twin-chamber bagless. The Hoover is actually worse than the Eureka, as it tosses out fine dust while it vacuums!

Any advice on how we can get rid of the dog smell, and whether we should consider switching from the Hoover? Thanks.

[G Henslee]

That is the major culprit necessitating regular cleaning incl/ shampooing of the popular pebble-tec floorin that folks are installing on interior floors. The stuff's porous and all those little flakes of dead skin from feet and other debris will make the room smell like a gymnasium if not kept constantly clean.

[wayne]

you can buy scented beads you vacuum up that help stop odors. Have you made sure you have cleaned you bags?

Wayne

Al wrote:

[Al]

Thanks for the advice, but I should stress:

-We use a bagless vacuum, and have thoroughly cleaned it twice.

-Bichons don't shed hair (though I realize that like all dogs they shed skin flakes, etc.). They're known as a great breed for people with allergies.

-The Hoover blows dust.

-We've tried a baking-soda based deodorizer, but it didn't really work.

-There is no dog smell in the house--this just occurs on vacuuming.

Any more suggestions on a new vacuum, or how to stop this smell when we vac?

[Lee]

Try putting in one of those softener things the wives put in with the laundry it will make the air smell better coming out and in my house I have 2 Belgian Shepard (long hair) and I vacuum twice a week with no smell. Each time I vac I get enough hair to fill the baggless container.

Lee

[Amun]

1. Steam clean the carpet

1. Central vac, vented to the outdoors

2. Replace the carpet

You may not smell the dogs in the house, but I'll bet your guests can, but may be too polite to comment. The vacuum just pulls the smell out of the carpet, it won't make it's own smells.

But if your present vacuum is blowing dust, you have a second problem.

AMUN

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Switching brand will not help. You have a used dead dog living in your vacuum cleaner. Hair, dander, flakes of dried skin. You're family's dried old skin is in there also. If you don't believe this, just take your dog into the low rays of the sun and brush his hair. Amazing, huh?

[Edwin Pawlowski]

That is good. You don't want stuff laying in the decaying.

OK, but no dog is free of everything. they still have odor causing elements about them, just like every animal and you and me too.

That is not good. Is there a filter missing? If not, maybe a new vac is needed anyway as it is just making things worse as is. Get one with a HEPA filter.

Over rated

There is dog smell in the house, you just don't detect it. How do you think people survive at jobs in landfills and sewage treatment pants? They become immune to the smell, just like you have to your dog. The odor causeing parts of the dog are scattered around the house, on floors, on table tops, drapes, etc. Now you pick th em up and concentrate them inside the vacuum cleaner and then you blow a lot of air across the top of it. Instant dog. There may be other factors in your air that are making it even worse.

Nose plugs.

[Pasar]

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in news:hjJZe.133$ [e-mail]:

Burn incense after vacuuming.

[Chuck B.]

Read the latest issue of Consumer Reports. Big article about Vacuums. No bag you will get dust and smell.

[Goedjn]

What are the rugs made out of, and what's under them?

[willshak]

On 9/25/2005 9:03 PM US(ET), Al took fingers to keyboard, and typed the following:

Two types come to mind:

1. Rainbow vacuum. Dirt/dust drops into a water reservoir
2. Central vacuum. Dirt/Dust contained in unit and fine dust and odors are vented outside. The first requires no renovations to the house, and is pretty expensive. The second type could be cheaper, or as expensive as the first, if you just bought the parts and installed it yourself.

[Al]

I'm pretty sure that the post that suggested the problem lies with our bagless vac is on target. I'm going to check the relevant issue of Consumer Reports. Thanks!

[Michael Thomas]

I used to have that problem. I owned a Kirby G6 best of the best or so I thought... Didn't own a dog and my vac would smell up the entire house every saturday. I used the HEPA bags and did everything that I was supposed to but nothing helped. Then I had a Rainbow sales lady show up. She did a few simple demonstrations:

1 She held a spotlight next to my bag while the Kirby was running but not picking up dirt (looked like a dustbowl in the midwest) 2 She held up the same spotlight next to the Rainbow NO DUST AT ALL Rainbow filters with water (wet dirt don't fly) 3 Had me vacuum a high traffic area 1ft by 2ft for several minutes until I was sure it was clean (so I thought) 4 Went over the same area with the Rainbow 1 time and picked up a handful of dirt I was shocked and sold Then came the sticker shock $3500 I was impressed but not that impressed. So off I go to Craigslist and found a second hand previous generation Rainbow for $150 that price I can handle. Of course this machine was only about 80% of the power and cleaning ability (still way better than any other machine you can buy). Bonus: it was a fraction of the price of the new one. I was so impressed when I used it for the first time it cleaned so well the water turned to mud. I have since had several vacuum cleaner salesmen come to the house and when they see I have a Rainbow they just give up and leave. So I went from being a die hard Kirb user for 20+ years to a Rainbow and I can say that I will never own anything else.

Bonus I was able to get rid of my shop vac and this machine cleans the air while you vacuum I no longer have to dust every week,

[Art Todesco]

Ouch! $3500? For that you could install a central system and ALL smells go outside. When we moved here 4 1/2 years ago, money was tight and my wife didn't want a central system, like in the old house for the past 35 years. However, I bought a shop cleaner for the basement and 2 vacuums for the house. I hated them all. The shop cleaner needed constant cleaning as the filter would instantly plug up after one use. So, I bought a used central unit for me in the basement. I eventually expanded it to the main level and never looked back. Later I bought a new lighter weight hose with a sock. I never had a sock over the hose in the old house and I don't know why. It makes it much more maneuverable around corners and furniture. Even my wife admits she likes this. The hose carries AC to the power brush. The power brush is also new and works much better than any of the older ones. Plus, I only have to empty it once or twice a year.

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Red Green:

That works.... sort of...

$900 in 1990 is about $1,600 in 2014 dollars per

OK.... only half.... but I am guessing the Rainbow door-to-door business model is around extracting the highest price the sales person can.

[EXT]

Don't ever forget to empty that water out after vacuuming. In a couple of days it will smell worse than a sewer spill. The problem is that sometimes one stops vacuuming when interrupted, and then fails to come back to the vacuum to use or empty it. Then it is turned on without cleaning and the whole house will stink worse than your old dog. I still find central vacs better when they are exhausted outside of the house.

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per EXT:

You have me thinking. I dislike the noise of most vacuum cleaners.

But I'm guessing that retrofit of a central vac is a major undertaking - probably not worth it.

Is there any middle ground? Maybe something where a central vac outlet could be installed, say, in the soil stack area and then an extended hose?

[Dan.Espen]

I have a retrofit, not a big job at all. A pro did it in under a day.

Hoses are from 30 to 36 feet.

Mark a garden hose at 30 feet and find central locations that cover the whole house. That tells you where and how many outlets you need or if the job is feasible.

[Art Todesco]

I've installed 2 systems myself and it's not that big a deal. If you have ever worked with PVC pipe and cement, that's big part of it. If you have an open basement, that makes the job a whole lot easier. I only needed 2 inlets on this level, but after the install, I found a 3rd would be really handy. That one was really hard to install because of a step up area from the living room to the rest of the house. I probably should have just put it somewhere else. The main suction unit is in the garage. In my previous house, I originally had it in the basement. It was noisy when it was running. It seemed to be bothering my more and more, so I moved it to the garage. Well, moving it, the noise continued getting worse. The motor bearings were starting to fail and eventually screeched to an unbearable level ... but that was after more than 20 years. A new motor/fan unit fixed that.