Help! Gross vacuum cleaner smell

kielo

Hi

I moved into a new flat a month ago and quickly realized the vacuum cleaner the landlord left in the flat would be unusable. It was working fine but left the rooms smelling like someone had died in them. The smell was so bad I almost vomited.

So I bought a brand new vacuum cleaner and forgot about the old one.

Everything worked well at first but last week a cleaner came and used the new vacuum cleaner and it now smells exactly like the old one.

Has it ever happened to anyone here? I really can't imagine what could make a brand new vacuum cleaner smell like that so quickly. It's like a mix of rotten French cheese and dead animal and really makes me wonder what the cleaner vacuumed with it.

It's a newbuild and there are not so many hidden places or smell anywhere else so I don't think there is any actual dead animal anywhere.

P.S: I just noticed there is also a bit of water inside the vacuum cleaner under the bag. I really don't know where it comes from since there was no water when I used the vacuum myself.

macman

If the cleaner has used it to suck up some kind of liquid then they may well have killed it anyway-domestic vacs are not designed for that. Liquid passed through the motor will destroy it.
Take the filters out and wash/clean/replace as a first step, change the bag as well. Make and model would help.

kielo

What really confuses me is that the same cleaner used the same vacuum cleaner (Miele complete C2 powerline) in another apartment and it didn't smell.

We also used the vacuum cleaner several times and it didn't smell.

I just find it a weird coincidence that it would suddenly smell exactly like the vacuum cleaner the landlord left in the apartment.

I honestly don't know how liquid got there either.

shaun_from_Africa

Did the previous occupant have a dog or cat?
Animal pee under the carpet (possibly soaked into foam backing) doesn't always smell too much but a vacuum with strong suction can pull this up through the fabric and into the cleaner.

Norman_Castle

kielo wrote: »

I honestly don't know how liquid got there either.

Vacuuming a wet bathroom or kitchen floor.

rach_k

My OH decided to wash the filter on our vacuum and then put it straight back in, where it sat festering away until the next time it was used. From then on, it left the stench of death in every room (well, until I realised the problem and bought a new filter). Could something like that have happened? You would think a pro would know better though!

kielo

rach_k wrote: »

My OH decided to wash the filter on our vacuum and then put it straight back in, where it sat festering away until the next time it was used. From then on, it left the stench of death in every room (well, until I realised the problem and bought a new filter). Could something like that have happened? You would think a pro would know better though!

I guess it could be that but she used the vacuum cleaner in another flat without problem. And the landlord's vacuum cleaner has the same probllem which makes me think something in the apartment causes the smell.

Slinky

I have a GTECH airram and washed the filters. They are very thick and by the time they dried they were stinking and I got a horrible smell when I next used the cleaner. I solved it by soaking them in a bucket of bleachy water and drying them again. The first time used after this there was a bit of a bleachy smell but it soon passed. I always bleach the filters when cleaning them now.


I suspect the cleaner vacced up some water somewhere that has dampened the filters and they have just festered since.


I think it's bacteria which is making the smell

JuzaMum

Try vacuuming up some bicarbonate of soda and leaving it inside the vacuum for a while. It's good for 'soaking up' bad smells and cheap. I used this after vacuuming up soil from a knocked over plant pot which caused the vacuum to smell bad.

shortcrust

Just water and vacuum gunk can end up smelling like death if left to brew for long enough in the right conditions. I had a washing machine that was left closed, damp and unused for a couple of summer months. When opened it smelled so bad that I was certain a mouse or rat must have died in it. I stupidly washed a load in it thinking the detergent would sort out the smell. It took three washes to get the smell out of my clothes. I grew up with cats leaving mice all over the place and it was exactly the same smell.

Is it possible the vacuum's been stored in damp conditions? Perhaps condensation is building up inside.