Deodorise carpets, find lost items and more: 9 ingenious ways to make life easier with a vacuum cleaner

Let’s face it: vacuuming isn’t our favourite chore, in fact we often want to get it over and done with. But wouldn’t you rather do it so well that you didn’t have to do it again the next day?

Here’s 9 of the best vacuum cleaner life hacks we found – we couldn’t believe we didn’t know these before!

1. Glass light fixtures

Don’t spray and wipe your glass fixtures, only to spread dirt around – simply vacuum off the dust and fur before you wipe it over, preferably with the soft brush attachment.

2. Vacuum bed sheets and quilts between washings to keep pet fur from building up

If you are one of those “pets are allowed on the beds” kind of households, run a light weight cordless vacuum over the tops of beds to remove any extra fur balls between cleanings. This really helps cut down on the amount of pet fur that ends up on your clothes and washing machine filter.

3. Fix carpet dents with ice

Fix those unsightly dents in the carpet after you move furniture by placing ice cubes over them. As the water melts, the carpet fibres will raise up. Then simply run a vacuum cleaner over the spot to get the carpet to straighten up again.

4. Inflate an air mattress

Don’t have an air pump around? Use a bagged vacuum cleaner with a small nozzle on the lowest setting!

5. Extend out the nozzle

Get into narrow spaces (like a sliding door track) by using a cardboard tube as an extender for the vacuum hose.