Vacuums

How to Identify and Fix Common Vacuum Problems ?

Our sources include academic articles, blog posts, and personal essays from experienced Vacuum Technicians :

When a user pulls the cord, extending it, the ratchets lock automatically, preventing the cord from rolling back up into its original storage position. A snap of the wrist or the press of a button will disengage the ratchets, unlocking them and allowing the cord to retract back into place.
The CA248 is a standard six foot (72 inches) US power cord that plugs into any standard desktop power supply rated to 120V AC.
Average Length

Most vacuum models including brands like Oreck feature models with a 30-foot cord. A cord of this length allows vacuum users to maneuver around their home and complete cleaning needs with ease.

Twisted Cord – Oftentimes we see that the rubber exterior of a cord is very twisted and disfigured by one of the ends of the vacuum. This is caused by the user either winding the cord from the plug to the machine or from the machine side to the plug with the plug still in the outlet.
It`s also important to pay attention to the vacuum cords. Tishko recommends checking them daily. Replacing a cord might cost $85 in labor and up to $130 for the new part.
Retractable Cord Reels

They use a spring mechanism to provide the retraction force. As the cord is uncoiled and pulled out for use, tension builds up on the steel torsion spring. Once the electrical power is no longer needed, the stored energy in the torsion spring is released, retracting the cord back to the reel.

If your reel will not latch, it could mean the latch spring is broken or the latch pawl or latch plate is bent. The broken or bent part(s) will need to be replaced.
Fortunately, you can fix broken electrical cords. Here`s how to fix an electrical cord by wiring a new plug or using a shrink tube.
Do fully insert the extension cord into the outlet. Do replace an outlet if a plug is too loose in the outlet. Do match up the plug and extension cord on a polarized cord (one hole on the plug is larger than the other). Do keep extension cords away from water.
A basic USB power supply will do the trick. A USB 2.0 cable can be stretched out for up to 30 meters, or 98 feet. On the other hand, USB 3.0 and 3.1 cables can only be extended to 18 meters (about 59 feet). The original cable being an active cable is assumed in this sentence.
The main difference between a power strip and an extension cord is their intended use. A power strip is used to add additional outlets from a single source. An extension cord is used to connect devices placed far from outlets.
Considering the original question about the hose, length matters. The longer a hose on a dust extractor, the more air friction it encounters. Portable dust extractor hoses aren`t perfectly smooth like the tubes you`ll find running through a shop.
1 Phase Vacuum Cleaner Motor, Voltage: 220 V.
Corded vacuums are plugged into the mains power so they generally (but not always) have stronger suction power and give you better results, particularly on carpets. For this reason, corded vacuums tend to be best for bigger homes with lots of carpet, pets and kids.
A vacuum cleaner gets power from a regular electrical socket, with the average upright design requiring between 450 and 3000 watts. However, the most often used versions use around 1400 watts, equivalent to approximately 1.4 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity each hour.
There are a few basic reasons why your charger would stop working: The wall socket is off or damaged. A damaged charger. There is damage to the device power port.
If you have to hold your phone at a particular angle for it to charge correctly, it may be that the port has come loose. This will need to be repaired sooner rather than later as continued use in this condition will likely cause further damage.
Test for a potential short circuit by touching each prong on the AC side of the power cord. If the multimeter beeps, your power cord is bad and must be replaced immediately. If your power cord is shorted, do not attempt to replug the cord into the AC outlet.
As a general rule, if the repair is going to cost less than half the cost of a new vacuum cleaner, it`s best to go ahead and get it repaired. When the service tops half the price of a new machine, it`s probably best to invest in a newer model.
Regardless if a cord is damaged by age, heavy use, pinching, or bearing too much weight (when an appliance is hung by its cord), a damaged cord increases the risk of electrical shock, fire, or electrocution, and should NOT be used. “The electric cord on your appliance contains a live wire that is securely insulated.
Extension cords can be used for power tools, clamp lights, etc. for temporary power connections. The cord must have a grounding pin (3-prong-plug) or be polarized (one blade is wider than the other) and be in good condition. A cord with damaged outer insulation, crushed outer jacket, or exposed wires must not be used.
The maximum length of an extension cord is set at 100-feet by OSHA standards. Any worksite that needs a longer extension must put a temporary power distribution box in place. 100-foot extension cords are ideal for both continuous use equipment like running power from a generator or powering a compressor.
Extension cords can overheat and cause fires when used improperly. Overheating is usually caused by overloading or connecting appliances that consume more watts than the cord can handle. Damaged extension cords can also cause fires. Extension cords should only be used temporarily.

Relevant Questions and Answers :

the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue

The power cord is fully extended and will not retract in Miele LUNA vacuum cleaner model s4580
ANSWER : Keep playing with it, it will go if you are careful. The alternative is to disassemble the device and get involved with the retractor system. This is not always a simple task with springs under tansion, reassembly required about 8 hands … which MAY be a small exageration.

Thanks for your question @ FixYa.com

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Power cord can not find replacement power cord for power brush attachment on kenmore canister vacuum, model #2491290 power brush attachment model # 5491290. i can not even find those model #’s anywhere online, not even partsdirect.com. any help would be great. thanks, david
ANSWER : Call 1-800-948-1358 ask for Buck mon.-fri. 9am-5pm est sat.9am-1pm est

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Miele Champagne Vacuum Cleaner Model S548 I was using the vacuum as normal, moved locations so I plugged into another outlet & suddenly there was no power to the vacuum! I tried it in several other outlets, tried the reset button… & still no power to the vacuum. Any ideas what could be causing this? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
ANSWER : Greetings from ,
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.This definitely sound like a cord reel issue to me. This is really the only problem that I ever see on a Miele vacuum cleaner. 9 times out of 10 the cord reel needs to be changed. If you purchase the cord from us, and it’s not the problem you may return it up to 60 days later for a full refund, that’s how confident I am that is what’s wrong with your machine.
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Ok, so you need to replace the cord reel on a Miele , no problem! I’ll attempt to try and walk you through this repair with a detailed explanation of it, and along with some pictures to help you. You’ll first want to buy the new Miele S500 series cord reel

So once you have the cord reel, you’ll need either a Phillips head screw driver for the older S514 models, or a T20 Torx Screwdriver for the newer S514 model vacuums. The picture below is actually of the Miele S518 Cat & Dog series, but for this repair the procedure and parts are identical to your Miele Champagne. You’ll need to remove the hose, wand, and power nozzle from the vacuum cleaner before you begin.

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The first thing you’ll wand to do is open up the bag housing, and remove the vacuum bag, as well as the exhaust filter which may be either the Cloth Super Air Clean Filter, or the HEPA Filter catridge which is blue in color. If you’re using the Super Air Clean filter, remove the filter, and then remove the bracket that secures the filter in place as well. Simply pull straight up on the bracket and it will come out.

Once the bag and the filter have been removed, you’ll need to take off the entire tool lid. While the vacuum cleaner is open so that you can see into the compartment where the bag just was, you need to pry two arms from the tool lid off of the main body housing. Simply put a screwdriver behind one of the blue arms, and pry inwards. Here’s a picture of what this looks like;

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Once you have removed both of these clasps, the tool lid will pull straight upwards and off, leaving you with only the bottom part of the canister. This is how the vacuum cleaner should look now;

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Now you’ll need to remove the black speed control box from the canister. There is one screw in the front of the black speed control box that needs to be removed. After the screw has been removed, turn the vacuum cleaner around so that the back of the machine where the cord reel goes into the vacuum is now facing you. If you look where the black speed control box meets the bottom part of the canister, you can see two clips that you’ll need to release before the variable speed control box can be removed. Simply put a screw driver and push in on the clip while lifting the black speed control box at the same time. Here’s where the clips are located on the vacuum;

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Ok, now that the speed control box has been removed, it’s time to separate the colored plastic from the base of the vacuum cleaner. There are 7 screws that need to be removed in order to get these housings separated. I have circled the location of each screw in the picture below;

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After removing all 7 screws, you can then simply pull upwards on the colored plastic housing, and remove the housing from the base of the vacuum cleaner so that the motor and cord reel are exposed. Once you have exposed the cord reel, you’ll need to remove the internal wires (white wire is in the higher posistion, and to the left of the lower right side black wire), as well as the rubber hose part. The rubber hose part simply pulls off, just like the wire terminals do. After removing these parts, you’ll need to remove one more screw with your screw driver. Here’s the picture of which screw needs to be removed;

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After the final screw has been removed, you’ll have to remove the rectangular shaped wire harness that sits at the top of the cord reel. Pay close attention to how this wire harness is correctly seated which will save some aggravation when putting the vacuum back together. Here’s a picture of the wire harness that needs to be removed from the old cord reel;

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Once the wire harness has been completely removed from the old cord reel, you may simply pull up on the cord reel and remove it. The new cord reel will come completely assembled, with all the parts and compontents that your faulty cord reel had. You simply need to line up the screw hole on the new cord reel with the hole in the bottom of the base of the vacuum. When installing the new cord reel be very careful that you don’t pinch any of the wires down by putting the cord reel on top of them. The wires have a specific place they go, and you’ll be able to see the correct path for these wires when paying close attention. Also remember to install the rubber tube back onto the new cord reel as well. Once the new cord reel has been installed, and screwed down, pull the plug out a little ways, and guide the plug through the colored top housing first, then screw the 7 screws that hold the upper housing to the lower housing back into to secure these housings together.

That’s about all there is to that repair! Please feel free to request a repair clarification if you have any questions about the repair that I can help you with, I’m always more then happy to help.
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If this repair guide was helpful to you, please click the thumbs up icon in the bottom right part of this solution to rate it has helpful.

Thank you so much,

Chris Jones

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A family member recently gave me their Kenmore Vacuum Cleaner (model 35821) and I did not notice that the power cord was missing at first. I tried to look closely at the manual online to see if this was something I would be able to purchase or if the vacuum was no longer any good. Do you happen to know if there is a replacement part for the actual power cord for this item?
ANSWER : Any power cord 17 gauge or lower will work

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My 4 yr old Nilfisk vacuum cleaner has been working fine up until now. But suddenly, it has hardly any suction power and also, hot air seems to be coming out thru the vents on top and also thru the space that’s normally used for blowing air OUT….the outlet with the retractable cover located close to the part where the power cable comes out of and retracts into. I’ve checked the filter and the hose and they are not clogged…I have also put in a new bag. Not keen to buy another vacuum cleaner u
ANSWER : Hi there SmartAlec from Nelsonvacuums.com.au here.It sounds like a blockage of some kind. The best way to find it is to set the machine up for normal vacuuming and remove one component at a time until the suction returns. eg turn on and feel suction under floor head – not good? then remove the rod, then the hose.
Once at the machine on its own it gets a little triky as i don’t know which model you have. However if you have a bagged model remove all the filters and the bag and retest. There will be at least 2 filters, one before the motor and one after (maybe under the vacuum or right at the back). If it is a bagless model even though the filter may look clean it is probably blocked with very fine dust. If suction returns when the filter is removed then you need to buy a new filter. I am a nilfisk vacuum cleaner agent so i can supply a filter for you.
If this still doesnt help you are welcome to call me if you live in australia my contact details are on my website www.nelsonvacuums.com.au.
Hope this helps !.
Happy vacuuming 🙂

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Dirt devil vacuum cleaner–trouble vacuuming dirt and pet hair on carpeting –is the problem with the spinning brush which contacts the floor,  not contacting the carpeting??  I thought (when I bought this vacuum) that the aforementioned brush was adjustable to various heights of carpeting.  Sometimes, it seems like nothing is being vacuumed up –unless I have just put a new bag on the vacuum… Do I need or can I replace the spinning brush on the bottom of the vacuum so it kicks up and vacuums
ANSWER : Try replacing the belt. Rubber belts stretch out after about a year.

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I have a Kirby G4 Vacuum Cleaner – MOdel G4 D. I have never had any problems or repairs done to it in the past ten plus years that I’ve had it. This is an upright vacuum. I was vacuuming the carpet floor and was not having any trouble at all. I switched the vacuum off and moved it into a different room. When I tried to turn on the vacuum, it would not turn on. I checked with different outlets, used both front attachment and hose attachment. Checked the front part of the motor/ spiral case. This
ANSWER : Hello,
.My educated guess is that it’s either the switch or the power cord. Here are a couple of guides to help with diagnosis and repair…
.
.http://reviews.ebay.com/COMMON-PROBLEMS-WITH-THE-KIRBY-VACUUM-TROUBLESHOOTING_W0QQugidZ10000000003800312
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.http://reviews.ebay.com/REPLACING-THE-POWER-SWITCH-ON-ANY-KIRBY-G-SERIES-VACUUM_W0QQugidZ10000000003752018
.
.Hope this helps!!
.Marci

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I have a Kenmore canister vacuum – model 25614506. Some time ago, I was not able to turn the vacuum off with the on/off switch, but could still use the vacuum. Turned if off/on by pulling the plug. The other day when I went to plug it in, I heard a pop. Now the sweeper runs but the vacuum cleaner does not **** – no air flow. What could be the problem. The cleaner is only 4 years old.
ANSWER : The motor has an inline fuse

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