Vacuum Maintenance

[Scott 2]

I have a 10 year old vacuum. It was $120 new. Tonight I:

- Took off the sole plate and removed the brush. I picked all the hair out of everything that spins. I'm bad at mechanical stuff so this took awhile (1-2h).
- Ordered replacement HEPA and pre-engine filters. I also shook out the existing ($20)
- Ordered a replacement sole plate, some of the plastic guards are busted ($15)
- Looked at ordering a replacement belt, but decided not to because of price ($5 + $15 shipping). The belt has been discontinued. Mine is still working, but I've read they stretch over time and stop working as well.

My question - do people actually do this? It's the first time I have in 10 years. I tried mostly to learn. The entire time I was fighting my urge to throw it away and buy a new one.

I guess the filters should be replaced every 2 years. I assume the spinning parts should be cleaned out annually. Belt replacement, I have no idea.


I also have a several year old Dyson. The manual for that says there are 2 washable filters that should be cleaned very 2 months! I've never even looked for them. I might in the next week.

[ertyu]

my father replaces filters regularly. He did change the belt of the vacuum cleaner they had before their current one. Am unsure at what point they abandoned it (a socialist model from the 70s? 80s? >>> google прахосмукачка ракета for images) and replaced it with their current panasonic.

[Sclass]

Yeah I did this. To a $400 Dyson my neighbor sold to me for $20.

I didn’t buy that many replacement parts. I just glued it back together. It’s in the fixit log. I had to do it a couple of times because I underestimated the stress the frame is under while steering. Well, Dyson did too that’s why it cracked.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9739&start=60

I recall there were three filters. I washed them out along with my neighbor’s dust.

Had it been a $120 vacuum no way would I have fixed it. I was shocked to see my same Dyson available as a refurb on eBay for $150. I’d have rather bought that one.

Do people do this? I guess there’s my neighbor who bought a new Dyson ball vac and me the refurb guy in this story. It depends on how you want to spend your time.

[7Wannabe5]

If you don’t have wall to wall carpet then you don’t need a vacuum cleaner. I hate carpet and vacuums, so easy solution. I have even used a manual carpet sweeper in apartments where I had to live with the carpeting. The only kind of vacuum cleaner I like to own is a wet dry shop vac.

Don’t even get me started on toasters...

[Scott 2]

@ertyu - I looked up the old vacuum, it reminds me of the cannister vacuum my parents had growing up. I don't miss it.


@sclass - so do you rinse the dyson filters every two months? Rebuild of the part is more than I could do, but the rest of it makes sense. It seems like they are designed to be repaired.

I agree the $/hr return on my $120 vacuum isn't worth it. I saw it more as my chance to learn for free, so when the dyson breaks, I am a little more comfortable. Covid cutting off my access to hired help has made me rethink solving everything with money. I suppose I'll also keep it out of the landfill for a little longer.


@7Wannabe5 - in the back of my mind, I was considering no carpet might be the ERE solution. It's so dirty, wears fast, stains, requires a vacuum, etc. Pet messes are much easier to clean on hard floors. I do vacuum our hardwood though. Hammer, nail... It's on my list to care for the wood better.

[Alphaville]

i have a hard floors and love the vacuum cleaner. in fact, we vacuum daily. why? this is a dusty desert and dust flies everywhere.

a carpet catches dust and gives you a place to pick it up from. a hard floor just keeps it flying around in a dust bunny race circuit. you sweep it, it just goes up in a cloud. you can mop, but it’s more work. and since we cook, bake, etc, we clean our floors daily. crumbs on the floor are demoralizing and invite insects.

so vacuum ftw.

having said that, a $30 eureka stick was enough for us for several years, and the filter was cleaned often. a hard floor doesn’t require a lot of power. we borrowed a big dyson from a friend and it was heavy and offered no advantage. it was just louder.

when the eureka old filter wore out, new filters were 50% of the price and from iffy brands, plus we lack the skills to make new filters ourselves. so we got a $60 compact bissell with a little more power (don’t need tons, just helps with furniture) and a bigger filter that gets clogged less often. it’s cheap plastic, but solves a need. still keeping the old one as backup/experimentation/something, for now. might donate it.

if you have carpet, i’ve seen this model/brand is reviewed as highly repairable: https://www.amazon.com/Sanitaire-Tradit ... 084T6M9DX/

if my apartment was bigger and i had the room to store it, and carpet floors, that would have worked best for me probably.

[Sclass]

My Dyson has two filters. When I rebuilt it I tapped the motor filter on the driveway to beat some dust out of it. This is a poor mechanics trick to clean out an air filter when you’re broke. It works if it wasn’t very dirty. I washed the hepa sock filter at the same time. I’ve never touched them again. From there on I just dumped the dust bin.

I have a Bissel that has a sponge type hepa filter that I soak in water and squeeze out. This is a cheaper vac ($120 new) and it has proven to be long lasting. I think I’ve had it ten years. Same type of centrifugal dust collector bin.

The funny part of the Dyson is my second repair to the frame was so good using JB Weld and steel plates, I never needed the new $30 frame I bought at amazon. It is still on the shelf with the Silicon Nitride bearings I mentioned in the fixit log.

I figure saving $120 with some DIY work is okay. I get a lift out of fixing things and it makes me feel like I’m doing something good. It adds up to a lot of pizza.

Edit - when I think of your OP it reminds me that many of the old sewing machines I collect have service stickers from some “Sewing and Vacuum” shop. Vacuum cleaners must have cost more adjusted for inflations long ago and there has been an industry to keep them going - like replacing belts, filters, brushes etc.. I recall getting a lot of appliance parts from the Sears Service counter in my old town. They had all this stuff for Kenmore appliances. Perhaps things are disposable now. Also the Dyson filter is made to be user serviced. The video where I learned how to fix its wheel was made by a crusty old repairman. It has become the realm of grouchy old guys like sewing machine repair.

[Scott 2]

@Alphaville - the Sanitaire looks like an interesting option, long term. I'm generally not a fan of vacuum bags, but the re-usable variety could be better.

@Sclass - my wife reminded me about a sewing and vacuum shop near us. If we end up needing a replacement belt, I'll give them a try before paying $15 shipping on a $5 item. I'm going to mess with the dyson filters soon. I only have so much patience for these things.

[fiby41]

I pray not to get infected with the impulse purchases virus from surrounding people via osmosis.
After the "nine days of novelty" were over, it has been sitting on the shelf for about three years.

[ertyu]

It occurs to me that the various bags filters etc. would be a v good idea to diy. Sadly haven't the first clue how to go about it.

[Alphaville]

It occurs to me that the various bags filters etc. would be a v good idea to diy. Sadly haven't the first clue how to go about it.

at least in my old $30 eureka it was just a fabric pad shielding the motor plus a fabric cone around a plastic frame inside the bagless container. easy to do, provided one has the right type of fabric with the right kind of filtration. in a pinch, i would attempt.

back in the 20th century i had a great little dirt devil compact canister vacuum that did a great job except it required paper bags of a certain size. at first it was easy and cheap then the bags became scarcer and pricier. due to intricacies of construction i’d avoid this type of bag which seems more prone to failure in diy than stiched or hotglued fabric.

@Alphaville - the Sanitaire looks like an interesting option, long term. I'm generally not a fan of vacuum bags, but the re-usable variety could be better.

yeah. the sanitaire is not necessarily the one to get but it was interesting to me that rather than convenience and shiny bells they tout their repairability and low cost per use. i think in general commercial units would be more suited for human repair due to logicstics of institutional cleaning- hotels, office buildings, etc. there are other brands with the same type of product—i’d ask around the office and what not.

btw in my cabin i used to have a shop vac which did a fantastic job with mud, clumps of clay, fire ashes, etc. yes it needed bags and filters (i chose hepa filters in case of biohazard, bags for ease of transport to trash dump) but it was indestructible till someone borrowed for a construction project—in frustration i just let them keep it