Vacuum cleaners, steam mops and floor care equipment

The machines that clean a floor: upright, cylinder, cordless and robot vacuum cleaners, and steam mops. Belts, brush rolls, filters, hoses and the blockages that make a machine feel as though the motor has failed.

Common failure modes

• A drive belt stretched or broken, so the brush roll no longer turns
• A brush roll wound solid with hair and thread
• A filter never washed, which starves the motor of air
• A blockage in a hose or a wand read as lost suction from a worn motor
• A full bin or a full bag left in place

Procedures

• My vacuum has lost suction — can I just wash the filter?A vacuum cleaner that has lost suction usually has a clogged filter, and most machines have two or three of them in plac
• Which filter do I need for my shop vac before I vacuum water or dust?A wet/dry vacuum, also called a shop vac, needs a different filter for a different job, and fitting the wrong one is the
• How to change the belt on an upright vacuum when the brush stops spinningA smell of burning rubber, a brush roll that has stopped turning, and a vacuum that pushes dirt around instead of pickin

Where this stops

Motor repair, switch repair and the replacement of a mains lead are outside this repository.