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ImperfectBrat
August 20th, 2009, 04:27 PM
And yes, I am excited !!

At just past APL, I finally killed my first vacuum (future hubby's). I had a tiny bit of help with future step daughter being thick/shoulder length plus hair, but I am still proud. Future hubby ? Not so much, as he took off the fried, broken belt and asked how I managed that. I told him coconut oil and baking soda washes.

Anybody else celebrate something like this ?

embee
August 20th, 2009, 04:31 PM
Heh. It happened to me, but I was not happy about it... because I hadn't the money to replace it right away. There is a Milestone aspect to this, though, for sure! ;)

Perhaps you need to sweep with a broom before running the vacuum? I do that anyway, just because.

If there's that much hair falling around, beware clogging up your plumbing - that is *too* disgusting, I mean truly YUK GAG!

lora410
August 20th, 2009, 04:45 PM
I haven't killed our vaccum yet (knock on wood) but future hubby manages to let me know he doesn't appreciate it wrapped around his nether regions..LOL..I of course get a good laugh every time.

Fractalsofhair
August 20th, 2009, 04:49 PM
Haven't killed a vacuum yet, but I have clogged plumbing. The plumber was shocked at the amount of hair in my sink... I don't shed a lot!!! XD

Indigo Girl
August 20th, 2009, 05:42 PM
I've killed two. Welcome to the club. :D

RavennaNight
August 20th, 2009, 05:47 PM
Clogged plumbing! Me too! Vaccuum? Not yet. I go through swiffer pads like no tomorrow, though!

BitterRose
August 20th, 2009, 05:48 PM
I've killed 2 ... now, after I finish a room, I turn it over and take a razor to the hair caught up in the beater bar before tackling the next room. Makes the chore just that much more unpleasant .. but it's better than replaced the machine every year.

windinherhair
August 20th, 2009, 06:35 PM
This was actually a sad experience for me as a child. My dad would get really angry when all my hair got caught in the vacuum. It was so aggravating trying to cut it all out too (which of course he made me do that).

My husband and I recently bought a new vacuum that doesn't have a brush on the bottom but just an open end so no hair can get stuck. It works much better. :) I like our new apartment because we have no carpet, so this kind of vacuum is even more perfect!

keight425
August 20th, 2009, 06:37 PM
My husband killed ours! That thing smells nasty burning up!

Edit: You know his hair killed it... not that he killed it on accident or something haha!

manderly
August 20th, 2009, 06:42 PM
My hairballs now compete with the dog and cat furballs that roam across the house with the slightest breeze.

Coriander
August 20th, 2009, 06:46 PM
My hairballs now compete with the dog and cat furballs that roam across the house with the slightest breeze.

That for sure needs someone to draw a cartoon of it. :laugh:

Norai
August 20th, 2009, 11:23 PM
I almost killed mine this morning actually. But it was because I was vacuuming under the edge of the bed and accidentally sucked up a pair of underwear... didn't notice until I started smelling the burning rubber. It seems to have recovered though. :)

EdG
August 20th, 2009, 11:34 PM
Hair:1 Vacuum:0 :cheese:
I find it's necessary to rake up as much hair as possible before vacuuming. I also periodically disassemble the vacuum cleaner to remove hair wrapped around the beater brush. :D
Ed

Wicked Princess
August 21st, 2009, 05:47 AM
Hahahahah. Oh, I feel your pain/amusement :)

I am a serial killer of vacuums. My official total is...14. Oh yes. That's right. Fourteen. It's been happening since I was eight years old. The worst part about it is...they were usually my mother's, not mine.

Now...most of this stems from the fact that once hair was stuck in there, I could never cut it all out, and we would have to inevitably buy a new one. For years I tried hard to keep my hair braided, to only brush it in the bathroom if I was leaving it down. And these things did add some lifespan to the vacuums. But some how, some way, I would always manage to shed enough somewhere to kill yet another poor, unsuspecting, innocent vacuum.

I finally gave up and thoroughly sweep every last inch of my carpet before vacuuming. The one I have now is quite nice (and expensive, ugh!) and I would cry forever if I ruined it. It's lasted a whole year now, which is longer than many of its predecessors have lasted!

RuthieAnne
August 21st, 2009, 08:02 AM
You can imagine that with 8 women (My Mom + girls) with at least BSL all in one house, we have gone through our share of vacuums. :-p Our hair likes to collect around the spinner with the brushes on it. I remember my dad hacking away at several moths worth of build-up with scissors. >_< *shudder*

God bless,

~Ruth

JamieLeigh
August 21st, 2009, 03:55 PM
Haha, congrats!! :D I can honestly say I've never celebrated that, but it is definitely a long-hair moment. :flower:

rach
August 21st, 2009, 04:04 PM
yep , i killed the last one, then had to reassess the type of vacuum i got where the mechanics can't fry, (only sucks up) though i'm constantly pulling mass amounts of hair out of it still.
vacuums problems , plug holes blockages and web affects on carpets i'm all guilty on in this household .

Deborah
August 21st, 2009, 10:48 PM
For those who would like to NOT kill their vacuum cleaner; buy a seam ripper that is made for serged seams. (This is a sewing tool.) It's like a little surgical scalpel. This you can pretty easily slide under the caught hair and cut it all off in a straight line. Then it will pull off easily in one big bunch.

Hope this helps someone. :)

pradabacon
August 21st, 2009, 11:21 PM
MURDERER!!! http://bestsmileys.com/angry2/11.gif

Haha! I've killed a few myself. Congrats! :D

These days I keep a dustbuster in every area with a tile/hard floor and I drag my sneaker across the carpet in the high-hair area in of my big mirror in the bedroom before I vacuum. I usually get a pretty awesome hairball that way.

I also take the scissors or an exacto knife to the roller every now and then. I keep two full-size vacuums here and I haven't killed one in almost three years.

http://bestsmileys.com/fingers/1.gif

manderly
August 21st, 2009, 11:58 PM
You can also try to get air-driven beater vacuums, as opposed to motorized beaters. Then you can't fry it....just jam it :silly:

RancheroTheBee
August 22nd, 2009, 12:00 AM
I almost killed mine this morning actually. But it was because I was vacuuming under the edge of the bed and accidentally sucked up a pair of underwear... didn't notice until I started smelling the burning rubber. It seems to have recovered though. :)

I laughed pretty hard at this. Probably because you mentioned underwear and there's an eight-year old that controls my mind half the time.

I can't wait to break a vacuum cleaner with my hair. :p Too bad we don't have any carpets in our house.

Renbirde
August 22nd, 2009, 03:08 AM
Hair:1 Vacuum:0 :cheese:
I find it's necessary to rake up as much hair as possible before vacuuming. I also periodically disassemble the vacuum cleaner to remove hair wrapped around the beater brush. :D
Ed
I think I actually ripped the beater bar out of my vacuum, I got so tired of unwrapping it. :D Now it's just a tube with some bristles around the end. Hair still gets stuck to the bristles and around the little wheels, but it's not as bad... And I can blame some of it on my puppy now. Mwahaha!

Fiferstone
August 22nd, 2009, 08:27 AM
We are a family of vacuum killers. I always have to cut mats of hair off the brush, we've 4 cats and 2 longhaired adult humans. It's hopeless.

I think I'm finally going to cave in and spring for a Dyson Animal this Christmas as a "family" present. We need it.

Gulbahar
August 22nd, 2009, 08:59 AM
I didn't even know you could kill a vacuum with long hair. :eek: How does it work?

KarpatiiSiv
August 22nd, 2009, 09:25 AM
I've managed to kill at least four with a combination of my hair and longhaired cats fur. I now try to remember to untangle the mass of hair from the beater on a regular basis and comb my hair in the bathroom where it is easier to brush up the shed hair so I don't leave so much around the house anymore - can't do anything about the cats though.
http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/3/3_13_1.gifhttp://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Cats_and_Dogs/minicat-6.gif

pradabacon
August 22nd, 2009, 10:21 AM
^^^LOL! Cute smiley combo, KarpatiiSiv! :D

P.S. Vacuum killers,
ShopVacs work like a charm and are almost immortal! I http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/uu287/hootalicious/2365_red_heart.gif my ShopVac. They're kind of a pain to get out every time you want to vacuum, but they're cheap and excellent for getting those strays that end up under the appliances, snuggled up against the baseboards, in the freezer and fridge, and on the ceiling...okay, I haven't found one on the ceiling yet, but I wouldn't be surprised. ;)

pradabacon
August 22nd, 2009, 10:27 AM
I didn't even know you could kill a vacuum with long hair. :eek: How does it work?

The hair gets wrapped around the brush rollers on the bottom and matted, which prevents the rollers from turning easily (or stops them altogether). Then the motor has to work too hard to try to make them turn and gets burned out.

Amraann
August 22nd, 2009, 01:48 PM
^^^LOL! Cute smiley combo, KarpatiiSiv! :D

P.S. Vacuum killers,
ShopVacs work like a charm and are almost immortal! I http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/uu287/hootalicious/2365_red_heart.gif my ShopVac. They're kind of a pain to get out every time you want to vacuum, but they're cheap and excellent for getting those strays that end up under the appliances, snuggled up against the baseboards, in the freezer and fridge, and on the ceiling...okay, I haven't found one on the ceiling yet, but I wouldn't be surprised. ;)

I was going to suggest the shop vac as well.
Having killed many vacuums with the help of my daughter and golden retriever I finally bought a shop vac. (its actually a Rigid brand from home depot meant for industrial use)
You can buy a carpet attachment as well.
Although in this house I have tile through out with just a couple of area rugs.
(I have burnt out vacuums on plain tile floors though)

halo_tightens
August 22nd, 2009, 01:51 PM
Yikes, I hope I don't become a vacuum-killer anytime soon! I happen to like my current vacuum, and I can't afford a new one!

pradabacon
August 22nd, 2009, 01:55 PM
^^^Make sure you inspect the brush rollers for hair periodically, then. :D I wish I had realized that was the problem a little sooner!

incogneeto
August 22nd, 2009, 03:11 PM
My mother gets angry when our vacuum does not work. She ends up making me cut the hair that gets wound around the beater bar. It makes me want to gag! I try to keep my hair tied up, but I guess it sheds anyway.