Soil

Soil
Getty Images

When your family’s shoes bring outside dirt and soil inside your clean home, you may be tempted to get out the vacuum. Bad idea. You could stain your carpet and cause the particles to get embedded even deeper into the material. Wet soil could also cause problems for the motor.

Advertisement

Clumps of hair

Clumps of hair
Shutterstock

As someone with long, thick locks that shed constantly, I can honestly say vacuuming large amounts of hair just isn’t worth it. It clogs up the machine, and you’ll need to fish it all out just to make the vacuum work properly again. Gross. Save yourself time and extra effort by sweeping it up or, if it’s on a rug or carpet, just use your hands.

Shredded paper

Shredded paper
Shutterstock

Vacuuming up heaps of shredded paper is just as bad as heaps of hair, leading to a clogged machine and a screwed-up motor. A broom is the best solution to this mess, unless the shredded paper is on a carpet, in which case you may just need to use your hands. Good luck.

Large pieces of glass

Large pieces of glass
Getty Images

Cleaning up broken glass is always a precarious situation, we get it. But copping out by doing the job with a vacuum can ruin the inside of your machine. Then you won’t be able to vacuum anything. Throw away big pieces by hand (wear thick gloves if you’re afraid of getting cut) or just sweep it all up.

Don’t miss these genius cleaning tips from professional house cleaners.

Sign up here to get Handyman’s favourite stories straight to your inbox!

Source: RD.com