Help the Hoover!

[Katia_k]

So, as we all do our mad holiday cleaning, I got curious. How do all of you keep your vacuums alive? I've seen a few sagas of poor machines being brought low by our tresses, and was curious what people's solutions were.

So far, roommate and I peel hair out of the furniture attachment, and it goes..badly. I suspect she may murder me soon. We're both growing our hair out, but she is not nearly as much of a shedder as I am. Current plan is to try out a box cutter. But if this fails, our vacuum will still be sad, *and* she'll have a box cutter. (I feel perfectly safe in reality but still).

So, any good tips, or even just funny stories? Because this has to be more fun than actually vacuuming, right?

[Rowdy]

I've never had a vacuum die on me and I shed ALOT. I wait until the little roller thing is pretty much cocooned in hair and then I cut a line all the way across with scissors. The hair is then easy to grab and pull off.

[Zesty]

I periodically pick hair out from around the vacuum cylinder with a seam ripper. And if I'm straight up cleaning hairballs, I pick up what I can by hand and then use the hose.

[Jo Ann]

Use scissors and/or a box cutter to get the sheds off the roller/beater brush.

Keep a supply of vacuum cleaner bags on hand. Also, when replacing your vacuum bag, clear out the bag connector and check the suction of your hose. See next and last paragraphs, respectively.

Keep an unbent wire coat hanger in a safe place, preferably with your vacuum and cleaner bags--very helpful for pulling clogs out of your hose.

Disconnect the power cord from the outlet if you DO take apart your vacuum to clear out clogged hoses, clean the roller/beater brush, etc, and PLEASE tie your hair back or put it up!! When testing said vacuum after you've cleaned it, keep your hair WELL out of the way!! Vacuums take NO time at all to connect with your tresses and pull you down to it's level! Patience pays to get yourself untangled, but be prepared for snaps, crackles, tugging and other unpleasantries as you *ahem!* disconnect yourself from said vacuum...

[neko_kawaii]

Seam ripper to cut the collected hair off the beater. So much easier than trying to get scissors in there and does less damage to the plastic.

[Jo Ann]

I forgot to add one thing--keep at least one vacuum belt on hand. You WILL need to disassemble the vacuum to replace the belt, and it's easier than it looks. Definitely remember to unplug the little sucker before you take it apart--they're usually easy to put back together, but the new belt can make replacing the beater brush a little hard/tricky. How will you know if the belt needs to be replaced? If the beater brush gets "stuck," or you smell rubber burning are good signs. The belt should only go down about 1/4" or so--if you can depress the top belt to the bottom belt, your belt is stretched and should be replaced.

[EdG]

I used to remove hairs from the beater brush after every vacuuming. Eventually, hairs would get caught in the bearings and could not be removed. Then, the beater brush needed replacement.

After going through three brushes in 16 years, my final solution was to get rid of the beater brush and to cover the belt opening with a small piece of foam insulation. The vacuum cleaner works adequately well without the beater brush.
Ed

[Shorty89]

I used to remove hairs from the beater brush after every vacuuming. Eventually, hairs would get caught in the bearings and could not be removed. Then, the beater brush needed replacement.

After going through three brushes in 16 years, my final solution was to get rid of the beater brush and to cover the belt opening with a small piece of foam insulation. The vacuum cleaner works adequately well without the beater brush.
Ed

Interesting idea! I also try to run a cat brush over the carpet to pick up hairs before vacuuming.

[Alex Lou]

Ever since my hair immediately destroyed a brand new vacuum when I was 19, I only buy ones without the beater attachment. But I only have wool area rugs that clean nicely with just the brush.

[Nique1202]

Ever since my hair immediately destroyed a brand new vacuum when I was 19, I only buy ones without the beater attachment. But I only have wool area rugs that clean nicely with just the brush.

This. I got a nice canister vacuum with good suction, a washable filter, and no beater bar. It can be a little too strong on the kind of vinyl sheet flooring you find in some bathrooms (my vacuum is more powerful than the glue) but it's great for everything else, in my experience. It's also so much smaller and lighter, technology's come a long way since the old days.