New Delhi, Sept. 14 -- A vacuum cleaner is supposed to make your home feel cleaner. But if you switch it off after cleaning and are greeted by a strange, musty smell, something is clearly not right.

I have used and tested quite a few vacuum cleaners over the years, and this is one of those problems that is easy to ignore at first. You empty the dust bin, put the machine back in its place and move on. But the smell usually doesn't disappear on its own. In fact, it can get worse the next time you use the vacuum, because whatever is causing it is still sitting somewhere inside the machine.

The good news is that a smelly vacuum cleaner doesn't necessarily mean you need a new one. In most cases, the problem comes down to dust, hair, moisture...