We’ve all been there, vacuuming through the home whether it’s hard floors or carpet and all of a sudden, you hear a concerning noise. Or perhaps you’ve noticed that your vacuum’s suction is considerably less than before? The cause for both of these problems may be that you have a clogged vacuum somewhere along the path from entry into the vacuum and entry into the debris canister.
We’ve put together this simple guide on how to unclog your vacuum cleaner.
- Before you start anything, make sure that your power is switched off and unplugged from the power socket. Safety is the most important thing and if you feel uncomfortable or not sure, stop immediately.
- If you are using an upright vacuum, gently lower the vacuum onto its side, so that you have easy access to the underside beater bar (roll of bristles that agitate flooring) is visible. For all other types of vacuums, raise the floor brush so that you can see its underside. Depending on your vacuum model, remove the brush roll and clear of debris such as hair, thread, or anything that can get tangled up in the beater bar.
- Remove the hose from the holder on the main part of the vacuum and check if you can see any blockage in the pipe. With a long slim instrument such as a broomstick, attempt to dislodge the clog by pushing the instrument through the hose. Remove the long instrument and give the hose a little shake. Hopefully, after being dislodged, the clog will make itself free of the hose and fall.
- If the clog blockage is not in the hose, unclip or unscrew the whole hose from the vacuum. Using either your fingers or a small instrument such as a pen or knitting needle, poke around the entrance of the vacuum to find and dislodge the blockage. You may want to use a pair of tweezers to pull the clog from the machine.
- Re-assemble the vacuum hose and beater bar, as well as an empty refuse canister. Plug your vacuum into a power source and test that your vacuum is working as it should and there are no more blockages.
While these steps will help you when you hit a spot of trouble with your vacuum, it’s useful and recommended that you regularly carry out maintenance on your vacuum by removing any blockages and cleaning filters, hoses and other detachable features. Keep your vacuum working for longer by spotting any issue before it gets worse, whether you have a Dyson, Hoover, Shark, Bissell, Miele and more. Make sure that you empty the vacuum debris canister after each use, ready for next time and avoid picking up wet or large debris such as paperclips, pins, toys, coins, etc.
