How to quiet a vacuum cleaner? – Your preferred cleaning tool may be the vacuum until it becomes too noisy. You don’t expect your vacuum cleaner to be completely silent, unlike some other equipment, possibly because of the type of work it does.
Despite this, there is no disputing that the greatest vacuums are those that strive to reduce noise. However, the second category of noisy vacuums—the kind that disrupts activity in your home and possibly even in your neighborhood—is what we’re concentrating on here.
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Noise of Vacuum Cleaner
Decibels are the logarithmic unit used to quantify a sound’s loudness or silence (dB).
The maximum sound level of a typical vacuum cleaner is 80 decibels (dB) (78-80dB). When the appliance becomes louder than this and you have to strain to hear everyday conversations, it is acceptable to refer to it as being too loud.
Where does the noise come from?
A vacuum cleaner’s noise may originate from a number of internal components. These elements could all have an impact on the volume and caliber of the noise your cleaner makes. Your ability to identify the noise’s source will be aided by your knowledge of the pitches in your vacuum cleaner.
Therefore, you can assess these before getting more help from a vacuum cleaner professional.
Any obstacles
This is the most frequent reason for the noise in a vacuum cleaner. The first thing you can do when the vacuum cleaner starts making odd noises is to check for obstructions in the machine’s routes.

A blockage in a vacuum cleaner typically occurs in certain areas, like the hosepipe and the filter.
The motor
The machine’s motor is a significant contributing factor to its noise. Typically, the cleaner’s first trigger when going up an octave is the motor. The most frequent reason for the high pitch noise coming from your cleaner’s motor is that the lubricant has run out. Other technical problems could also be to blame.
However, newer machines very sometimes have this problem and older ones seem to have it more frequently.
Openings and leaks
Not exactly a typical source of vacuum cleaner noise, this. Specifically on the plastic case, this happens when your appliance has a hole or a broken section. This could be on the hose or canister that’s making the noise.
This vacuum cleaner typically makes a whistling sound because of trapped air, unlike other vacuum cleaner noise sources. If your computer produces a noise like this, check to see if there are any holes in it before taking any corrective action.
Entrapped items
If something is stuck inside the vacuum cleaner’s compartment, a loud noise may be made. Two of the most frequent locations where foreign items can jam up are the beater brush and the canister (for the bagless vacuum cleaner).
Some of the most typical objects that become stuck in these compartments include books, coins, and clumps of hair.
A loud clamor from whatever is stuck within will let you know that anything is amiss. Most of the time, trapped objects in your cleaner make a loud noise. Therefore, if your vacuum makes a rumbling noise, something is probably stuck somewhere.
How to quiet a vacuum cleaner? TIPS & TRICKS to reduce the noise
Cover the air outlet
Most of the noise comes from where the air comes out. As the picture shows, it is usually in the back of the vacuum cleaner. You can cut down on noise by putting a piece of fabric over the air vent.
This seems pretty dangerous, don’t you think? The engine could, after all, get too hot. The catch is that I’m not saying you should completely cover the air vent. Get three or four pieces of fabric that are big enough to cover the air vent. About 10 tiny holes should be cut into each piece of cloth with a knife. Now, use a string or tight elastic bands to firmly attach these cloth pieces to the rim of the container to cover the air hole.
How does this make things quieter? Mostly because it will make less space through which sound can travel. But it’s important that there are still some ways for air to get through, so you need to cut those tiny holes in the material. If not, the engine will definitely overheat.
When you turn on the suction and it starts to push out air, the cloth will puff up like a balloon. That’s what you want to see. A few people on online forums have been helped by this clever trick.
If you worry that the engine will overheat, you should check your vacuum cleaner every so often to see if it is getting too hot. If that’s the case, the engine doesn’t like this method. If so, either cut the fabric deeper or give up and try a different method from this list.
Clean the filter
When the filters on a vacuum cleaner are dirty, it’s harder for it to take in enough air. That means the engine has to work harder (and louder) to create suction. So, cleaning your filter(s) can be a great way to cut down on noise.
Most vacuum cleaners have one or two filters. One is near the bag that holds the dirt, and the other is a HEPA filter. HEPA filters are very helpful because they pick up small pieces of dirt that older vacuum cleaners would just send back into the air.
So, take these filters out of the vacuum cleaner before you clean them. Put any dust and trash you find in the trash. Then use warm water to clean them. Put them back in the vacuum cleaner when they are dry. I think you should clean the filters every couple of weeks. Some people do it every time they clean their house. It’s what my wife does!
Remove any clogs
A small object stuck inside the vacuum cleaner will make the suction harder and the engine louder in the same way that dirty filters will. So check your vacuum to see if there are any small things stuck inside.
If the clog is big or hard to reach, you can remove it with a long object like a knitting needle.
And if the clog is hard to reach and you can’t get it out without dislocating your shoulder, I suggest taking your vacuum cleaner to a repair shop and letting the experts do their job.
Check for broken brush bearings
If the brush bearings are broken, the vacuum will make a lot more noise. People often think this problem is caused by a broken engine, so they throw away a perfectly good vacuum cleaner. So make sure the brush bearings are fine before you do something like that.
Maybe all the bearings need is a little oil. WD-40 is a great way to grease it up. Or something really did break. In that case, you can either replace the brush bearing or take your vacuum to a repair shop for a quick fix. Check out this video if you want to do it on your own.
Fix or replace a broken fan
I think you should check out the fan on your vacuum cleaner for two reasons:
- It could be dirty, making it work slower than usual and cause the engine to overheat, which makes it louder.
- It could also have one or more broken fan blades.
I think the best way to clean the fan is to run a wet tissue across the blades. Use a toothpick if you can’t get to them. I don’t have to take my computer’s fan blades out of the case to clean them, so I use toothpicks. This works fine.
If the fan blades are broken, you’ll just need to buy a new one. On YouTube, there are a few videos that show how to do it. This one isn’t too bad. But not all vacuum cleaners are the same, so you can’t just follow this method to the letter.
You can do it yourself, just like with other methods, or you can take it to the nearest repair shop and have a pro look at it.
Get a quiet vacuum cleaner
If your current vacuum cleaner is on its last legs or you simply don’t feel like tinkering with its inner workings, upgrading to a new model that is both cool and silent is your best option.
Conclusion
Noisy vacuum cleaners can be annoying for you and the people around you. Before you try to make the noise stop or find the way how to quiet a vacuum cleaner, you should be sure you know why it is happening. Most of the time, one of the problems above is the cause, and once you know which one it is, you know how to make a vacuum cleaner quieter.
Once the cause has been fixed, you can enjoy cleaning without worrying too much about the noise or getting annoyed by it. After all, what more can you want from a vacuum? See you at next articles at bestvacuumcleaning.com.