Cleaning tight spaces can be a headache. Finding the right attachment to clean these spaces takes time. It always involves spending a little bit of extra cash. Furthermore, some spaces may also call for one to lift a vacuum cleaner or hold it in place for prolonged periods, something that can be quite tiring. Luckily, with a few small areas cleaning tips, anyone can be able to overcome most of these challenges.

What Does “Tight Spaces” Include?

Tight spaces are areas that don’t provide enough vacuuming freedom. These spaces may be too high to be easily reached. They may also feature obstacles that make it hard for a vacuum cleaner to fit. Sometimes, it is spaces that are just too narrow or too small for any type of vacuum nozzle or attachment to fit.

The following are the most common types of tight spaces around the home.


• The space between the sofa and its cushions

• The area between the wall and desks or tables
• Crevices in a car’s armrest or seat
• The tracks of sliding doors

• The area in-between window tracks

• Corners that are next to furniture or any other type of fixtures

Why Do We Need to Vacuum in Tight Spaces?

Foodstuffs, dirt, debris and other items can get stuck in narrow spaces and small areas. However, while these areas are typically hard to vacuum, one still needs to vacuum narrow spaces for the following reasons.

To Create a Clean Environment

When food particles, debris, and other items get stuck in places like the area between cushions and the sofa, they create an eyesore. Even if one cleans the rest of the home, the sight of these items will ruin the whole. Getting rid of unwanted particles and items from these spaces will transform the space from an eyesore.

To Improve Air Quality

Dust accumulates in tight spaces. Any kind of activity in these spaces will cause these particles to get airborne and this is something that will ruin air quality. To keep the dust in these spaces from contaminating the air in a home, vacuuming is recommended.

To Prevent Mold Growth

Hard-to-reach areas experience little to no airflow. In areas that experience high levels of humidity, these spaces can be susceptible to developing mold growths. Vacuuming helps to keep mold at bay.

To Prevent Bad Odors

When foodstuffs get stuck in narrow spaces, they can decompose. Any liquid that spills in these spaces can also encourage rotting. Vacuuming removes these particles before they have time to decompose. As a result, it reduces the odds of ending up with a bad odor in a home.

How to Vacuum in Tight Spaces?

Using the Crevice Tool

Most good vacuum cleaners come with attachments that are designed to make it easier to vacuum hard-to-reach spaces. The crevice tool is an attachment that comes with most vacuum cleaners and it typically features a narrow end that can fit in most tight spaces. With a hole that is wide enough to allow dirt to get sucked in, the tool allows for better direction of a vacuum’s suction power and thus allowing for more effective cleaning of hard-to-reach vacuum blind spots.


The Dreame T20 is a good example of a cordless vacuum cleaner that comes with a great crevice tool. This tool, referred to as the Crevice Nozzle, is narrow enough and effective enough to direct the vacuum’s power to the tightest of spots and thus allowing for effective narrow space cleaning.

Taking Advantage of the Vacuum’s Extension Wand

Most vacuum cleaners for small spaces come with a tool that is meant to extend their reach. When this wand is attached to handheld vacuums, reaching spaces that are hard to reach because they are being obstructed by furniture or corners that are just too high, becomes much easier. This is so especially when it is used together with other useful attachments like a good crevice tool.

Moving Furniture

A great way of finding a way to clean areas that are generally hard to reach is to simply get rid of them – although temporarily. For example, the space between a sofa and the wall is considered a tight space. When one moves the sofa to the center of the room, and away from the wall, it ceases to be a tight space and it can thus be vacuumed easily.

Even though this is something that one doesn’t have to do every time they vacuum, doing it once in a while is advisable. And in cases where there isn’t enough room to allow you to fit a vacuum in small crevices by moving furniture to the center of the room, one can still create space by taking some of the furniture or items outside.

Using a Homemade Cardboard Tube

There are times when even the best of attachments are not enough to allow for effective and convenient vacuuming of tight hard-to-reach areas. In such circumstances, using the cardboard hack is a brilliant solution. This is mainly because the cardboard is flexible and nimble enough to fit almost any space, no matter how tight or small. What is even better about this solution is the fact that it is free since all that you need is a used cardboard tube.


To create this DIY solution, get a long cardboard tube and then squish it so that it can fit the end of the vacuum. When squishing it, take care not to block it. Attach it to the end of the vacuum, and then tape it. To get to fit any crevice, all that is needed is to flatten the opposite end. And since the cardboard is flexible, fitting it into any opening should be easy. This includes vent openings, cup holder creases, gear shift area, drawers, window tracks, and door tracks.


Given the potential for air contamination, bacterial growth, and bad odor that poorly cleaned tight spaces present, going the extra mile to ensure that these spaces are free of any food, liquid spills, dirt, and debris is always recommended. Finding a great vacuum cleaner that has the right attachments for tight spaces is a good place to start.