Quick Guide to Cleaning With a Handheld Vacuum

December 28, 2021 by Mulberry Maids

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When utilized correctly, handheld vacuums are a key tool to help clean certain areas throughout the home in an efficient and easy manner. They are super light and maneuverable, and can be taken out quickly for little spills. Additionally, many full size vacuum cleaners will have handheld attachments and options that work really well for the right jobs. 

Keep reading on to learn more about what the most trusted maid service in Windsor recommends for the best places in your home to use a handheld vacuum or wand attachment. With this quick guide, you’ll be able to utilize your handheld vacuum to its fullest potential!

What are the best areas in the home to use a handheld vacuum or attachment piece?

Before we dive into using a handheld vacuum throughout the home, if you don’t have an effective vacuum yet, check out our vacuum cleaner guide to help pick the right one. Additionally, you want to always make sure that your vacuum is clean and ready to go before using it throughout your home, for tasks such as cleaning your rugs.

Handheld vacuums and handheld vacuum attachments are very handy to use throughout the whole home. If you are using a small handheld unit, make sure that it is always charged up after each use, as their battery power will decrease quickly. For handheld attachments, try to keep them as clean as possible, which may include soaking the brushes and other attachments in a soapy water mixture after heavy use, as well as cleaning the handle areas.

The actual use of the vacuum will depend on the exact model you have, but all of these types of vacuums should be able to effectively clean the follow areas in your home:

Baseboards

While really dirty baseboards that have not been cleaned for a long time will need to be hand wiped with a wet rag, baseboards that have accumulated dust and debris can quickly be cleaned with a handheld vacuum attachment. One great way to go about this is to use a detachable canister vacuum with a wand attachment. Put on a brush vacuum head, and simply run it alongside all of the baseboards in your home. This should be sufficient to vacuum up all the dust and debris.

Similarly, you can also use a small handheld vacuum for this task. Depending on what attachment pieces you have, you should be able to find one that is suitable to run alongside the baseboards. This won’t be as easy as with a wand from a canister vacuum as you will need to bend over to reach the baseboard, but should be equally as effective. 

As with all things cleaning, once a deep scrub of your baseboards has been done, consistently cleaning your baseboards with a vacuum will keep the job quick and easy as you keep grime buildup at bay.  

Cabinets and shelves

Like baseboards, cabinets and shelves can be easily cleaned with a handheld vacuum attachment. Depending on the attachment pieces that you have available, the efficacy of the vacuuming will vary. Unlike with baseboards, using a long wand attachment usually won’t be the most effective method. Instead, if your vacuum will allow it, use a handheld attachment mounted straight onto the hose from the vacuum canister. This will make manoeuvring much easier, and will allow you to reach all the areas of the cabinets and shelves that you need. 

A small handheld vacuum will usually be the better choice for these areas, as they are so small and easy to work with. Use whatever attachment piece you have that seems to fit in the space the best. A thin flat piece will usually help best with getting into the corners and edges of the cabinet shelves. If you are performing a move out cleaning, it is always best to do a disinfecting wipe of the area after vacuuming it. Simply spray a disinfecting all purpose spray onto the shelf, let it sit for a few seconds, then wipe it away with a clean microfiber cloth. This will help to get all the leftover debris off the shelf, while getting it disinfected for future use. 

Small Spills

This is the most obvious use of a handheld vacuum, as they are super quick to just grab for a small spill cleanup. The best way to be prepared for this use is to have the vacuum fully charged at all times, so you can just grab it and clean up the mess quickly. 

A regular vacuum can do the job as well, but will be a bit more of a hassle to grab, plug in and put away. 

Interior Ovens

Handheld vacuums and handheld attachments work really well for the cleaning of interior ovens. While it is possible to use the vacuum in the oven before anything else is done, it will make more of a mess of your attachment pieces, as you will be dealing with burnt on food, grease, and other debris. If your oven has a self cleaning function, it is best to run this first. Once that has been completed, all of the debris should have turned to an ash like state. Using your vacuum attachment of choice, simply vacuum out the interior of the oven. 

Once that has been vacuumed out, you can complete the full cleaning by using an all purpose spray or degreaser, with either a rag or scouring sponge to really scrub at the sides of the oven. 

Window Sills and Tracks

Like cleaning baseboards and shelves, hitting the window sills with a handheld attachment can be a quick way to vacuum up dust and debris that accumulates on ledges. The tracks can also be tackled with a handheld attachment. Simply open up the windows to expose the tracks, and run whatever attachment piece you have that fits in the space the best, to suck up whatever debris and dirt that has accumulated in the space. Typically a handheld attachment piece off of a canister vacuum will work best as it can take a great deal of suction to really get the tracks cleaned out. 

Once you have cleaned out the tracks with the vacuum, you can use a wet rag or all purpose spray to really finish up the cleaning job. Tracks can get very dirty and grimy, and it may even be useful to use a paper towel to get all of the remaining dirt and grime out, so you don’t ruin your reusable rags. 

High Corners and Edges

If you do not own a high duster tool, a handheld wand attachment on a canister vacuum can be very effective in sucking up dust and cobwebs throughout the high areas of the home. Take the attachment piece and run it along all high corners and edges in your home, paying attention to any extra buildup that needs to be taken care of by hand. This is a quick and easy way to high dust your home. 

Underneath Furniture

The areas underneath furniture are often neglected, as they are easy to save for another day. While a handheld vacuum typically won’t be too effective for this job, an attachment wand can do the trick. Oftentimes, trying to get underneath furniture with a regular push vacuum is not possible, as it will not fit, or will only reach the edges. While this task will sometimes be a bit more physical, it will be easier and more efficient than moving the furniture to allow use with a regular vacuum. 

To get underneath the furniture, use the wand attachment with a brush tool if possible. This will work best for most floors (though this method is not as effective for carpeted spaces). You will need to get down on your knees or bend over sharply to get the attachment underneath the furniture, but it will be very quick to get an adequate cleaning of the space. 

The best maid service in Windsor at your fingertips

Mulberry Maids is your go to full service cleaning company in Windsor, CO, whether you live right next to the beautiful Boardwalk Park or elsewhere in the area, we have got your cleaning needs covered! Our staff is fully trained and very professional, while our customer service and ease of scheduling is unmatched in the local area. 

Give us a call today to get on our schedule or to ask us anything you’d like about cleaning or our services. You can also learn all you need to know about us on our website, where you can book your cleaning in under 60 seconds or browse numerous articles on all things cleaning on the Mulberry Maids Blog.