Hoover U5432-900 WindTunnel Plus Bagged Upright Vacuum\015 My vacuum started to smell hot, then the belt broke. The belt didn’t even look worn out at all. It sort of looks like it got stuck and melted in one spot. My belt was a 38523-033, but I couldn’t find that one. The store had Style 160 for Hoover Windtunnels, so I bought that one. It is a little bit shorter, but I was able to put it on. But, when I used the vacuum, it still smells hot. It is picking up fine. I didn’t continue using it because I didn’t want another belt to break. Do you know what may be causing this smell, like hot rubber?\015

How to Identify and Fix Common Vacuum Problems ?

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The Hoover® WindTunnel Whole House Rewind is ideal for Whole Home Cleaning from floor to ceiling and delivers powerful performance on every surface. WindTunnel technology and Multi-Cyclonic filtration lifts and removes surface debris and deep down embedded dirt with no loss of suction.
Vacuums cleaners can smell from for various reasons; pet dander, moisture was sucked up… The most common cause is old dirt sitting stagnant in the collection chamber, bags, or filters. Vacuum bags should be changed every four to six weeks or once full.
Twist the lid until the arrows line up and open up the container to get to the hepa filter. Take the filter out and brush the dirt out, once a month wash the filter in warm water. Please make sure it is thoroughly dry before popping it back in – this may take around 24 hours.
Replace the filter

The vacuum filter will stop all the fine particulates and dust from getting into the inner workings of your vacuum, but can also store a lot of the odour causing material. We advise replacing your vacuum filter every 6 months to maintain performance and to prevent those smells.

Hoover also recommend that they are replaced once per year for best results, replacement filters and bags can be purchased from the spares section of the website.
If it is washable, run the filter under lukewarm water and allow to air dry for at least 24 hours before returning it to your machine. Additional filters in your machine may not be washable, so ensure you check the instruction manual.
HEPA filters are not designed to be washed and reused. Doing so will cause damage to the fibers which makes the filter ineffective and it will become void of its job. Once a filter has reached the maximum capacity of harmful particles, it will need to be replaced with a fresh, new one.
A washable HEPA filter should be cleaned by rinsing it under cold water. You should be careful not to touch the filter material, only allowing it to come in contact with water. Allow the filter to completely dry before reinstalling it.
HEPA, or high efficiency particulate air filters filter out particles as small as 0.3 microns and keep them from being released back into air by your vacuum cleaner`s exhaust. It`s good practice to change your vacuum cleaner`s HEPA filter every 6 months.
The air intake pipeline of the brush accessories may be clogged, or the roller accessory may be blocked due to dirt build-up. If you keep using your vacuum while these parts are not fully functioning, there may be an unpleasant burning smell coming from your appliance. Clean these parts and remove any dirt build-up.
If your vacuum has a dust bin, remove it and wash it thoroughly with hot water, soap, and a bit of white vinegar or baking soda, Oh So Spotless suggests. Wash or replace the filter. If your vacuum has a washable filter, wipe around it and rinse the filter with cold water until the water is clear.
A burned belt and vacuum brushes

Sometimes the belt may be the root cause as it is made with rubber and because it circulates the brushes, it picks up dirt, hair and food, which clogs the entire belt mechanism. It is easy to detect a burning plastic kind of smell.

Hoover WindTunnel 2 Whole House Rewind Corded Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaner with Hepa Media Filtration,UH71250, Blue, 16.1 lbs.
How do I know if my HEPA filter is dirty? Open up the air purifier and remove the pre-filter. Your HEPA filter will have heavy clumps of dirt and dust and it`ll look black if it`s dirty. That`s an indication that your filter needs cleaning or replacement.
This is completely normal. When using activated carbon filters, this is common and can often be expected due to the initial absorption of compounds in the filter. This is normal and not harmful in any way. The odor should subside within 1-3 weeks depending on the flow setting your units are running at.
A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven.
They are majorly used to remove dirt and dust from upholstery, carpets, velveteen furniture and floors made of hardwood and many varieties of floors, including laminated floors. They are also used to clean cars and stairs.
For the electrical appliance that cleans surfaces through suction, North Americans tend to use vacuum cleaner, or just vacuum, and Britons tend to use hoover. Both words also function as verbs, inflected vacuumed, vacuuming, hoovered, and hoovering. By metaphorical extension, hoover also means to consume completely.

Relevant Questions and Answers :

the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue

My numatic Hoover is brilliant but it smells what part needs changing? It’s not a burning smell, but a musky almost cabbage smell?
ANSWER : It could be the sponge filters or the dust partition that need replacing. But it might also be coming from the motor, best bet is to get it checked out.

I live in Kent UK i moved in this house a year ago now we feel quite strong dusty smell specially in two rooms upstairs we clean house on regular biases but smell is still there and we think its not a damp smell does any one have idea what that smell could be ?
ANSWER : Check your ductwork. It could be that they need to be cleaned. Also look for lady bugs because they clearly smell like dust. J.

Vacuum gives off a strange smell (stink) and sounds strange
ANSWER : Have you replaced the post motor filter? It could be time to do that..
.Perhaps your cyclones are clogged as well. You can find steps to disassemble and clean your cyclone, pretty easy actually. Only 6 parts inside there and they only go together one way so you can’t screw it up. Search google for dc14 cyclone disassembly and you’ll probably find the video. I just did my DC17 and it took about an hour total to take apart, clean and then reassemble. You can also take the opportunity to wash all the parts and disinfect with a mild water bleach solution. That’ll help with the smell. .
.I am betting though that your post motor and premotor filters are the blame for the smell..
.I bought my DC 17 from some lady who used it to clean her cat’s litter boxes. Cyclones were totally clogged after only 6 months. What do you expect from poop and wet kitty litter. She said it was junk and bought a $1500 Kirby in it’s place. She’s gonna have some new and interesting smells with that machine sucking up wet kitty litter.

Burned smell hi, I have used my hoover 4 times and is starting to smell as something burned, I checked the troobleshouting part of the owner manual and it says that check the belt, I already did that and everything is ok I used the hoover again and still smelling bad and start to work very slow I better shut off it.. what could I do??
ANSWER : If the motor slowed down this would indicate a bad motor. not cost effective on this model to replace unless under warranty. it is not uncommon these days to see a motor go bad every now and then.
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.What are the first 4 digits of your serial number? this would be the month and year of mfr. even without a receipt, a warranty service shop should be able to assist you.

Burning smell When i start up my vaccuum it gives off a burning smell, it still picks up & operates
like it should just leaves the house smelling like ive had a fire. Any advice on how to fix will be greatly appreciated.
ANSWER : Replace the belt. It is probably stretched and is slipping. This will produce the smell your describing. These belts should be changed at least once a year.

Burning smell There is a burning smell when I run my Kirby Ultimate G.  The smell seems to be coming from the belt.  I looked at the brushes and they are spinning so the belt is working.  the Post on the vacuum is getting very hot not sure if that is normal.  What is causing this?
ANSWER : Unlock the sweeper brushes and take them out. on each end is a cup bearing and should be free of debris.
then check around and under the belt and likely there is debris wrapped around it.
the post is getting hot as your pulling too much of a load.
though if it continues the motor may have a bad set of motor brushes (inside the motor) or bad wiring (kinda unlikely).

Burning Smell Hi, I have a Rainbow E series that when I run the vacuum there is a burning smell. I have cleaned the entire unit and filter but still have the smell? I am afraid that the motor will burn out?
ANSWER : Check the carbon motor brushes, there might be arcing on the armature. New brushes may help if the armature is ok.

There has been a burning smell for some time, but we continued to use it as everything was in working order. Sometimes the smell was not even noticeable. Today, however, the smell was intense and the motor kicked off. As it did, it was draining electricity like crazy. The lights dimmed drastically.
ANSWER : It sounds to me like the brushes in the motor are worn out or the motor has gotten water in it (if you have been using it for wet pick-up). The way you described the situation, I am really surprized if it did not trip the circuit breaker for the circuit that you were running it on.
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.Anyway, it would probably be cheaper (and a LOT lees frustrating) to buy a new vacuum than it would be to try to repair that one. Even IF you could find the parts necessary, they would probably cost nearly as much as a new vacuum.
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.In the meantime, I would not plug it into the wall anymore unless you would REALLY like to see how long it takes the fire department to get there to resuscitate an electric shock victim and put the fire out. 🙂