5 Easy Tips to Stop Your Vacuum Getting Clogged Constantly

Stuck with a Vacuum that won’t stop getting clogged?

When it comes to cleaning your home, a vacuum is a great tool that can help get up dirt, dust and other debris from your floor with more efficiency than something like a broom.

That being said, as with any sort of machine or tool, a vacuum can get clogged and can malfunction. There are some methods that you can use to help prevent clogs and to deal with them as well.

Why is Your Vacuum Getting Clogged?

There are a number of reasons that your machine might be getting clogged. The first, is that you may have vacuumed up something that you should not have. Often, you do see large things before you vacuum them up but sometimes, they just get sucked up and you have no idea what happened. With larger items, these can get lodged, they can tear hoses and can also cause belts to go out as well.

Another cause of a clog might be that you have vacuumed up liquid. This can cause the dust and dirt that you have in your vacuum to harden and then create clogs that cannot be dislodged. This is a terrible thing that can then damage the vacuum and make it difficult to use and can even damage it to the point that you cannot use it anymore.

Still another reason your vacuum is clogged can be that you have too much in the bag or that the hoses have too much hair or other debris in the hoses or in the actual drum of the vacuum. It can be very difficult to figure out what might be clogging your vacuum but taking the time to really look at it can help you to figure it out and take care of it.

Your vacuum may also be clogging because the filter is dirty or because the rollers are dirty. When the filter is dirty it can cause dirt and dust to come back into the hoses and into the vacuum itself which then causes a clog that make it hard to vacuum and hard to use.

How to Stop your Vacuum Clogging

• Clean the Bag
• Clean out the hoses
• Avoid vacuuming large items
• Use a net over your hose

The first step to stopping your vacuum from clogging is to take the time to make sure that you are cleaning your vacuum often. This means emptying the drum after each use, checking hoses to make sure that they are not clogged, and to make sure that you are cleaning out the drum and the filter every time you use it. The longer you go without cleaning your vacuum, the more likely you are to deal with clogs and issues. Taking the time to clean out your drum or your filter is going to keep the vacuum clear and is going to help you to prevent clogs overall.

You also need to take the time to clean the hoses out. Hoses are often corrugated or are ribbed to help move the dirt and debris down the hose and into the drum or the filter so that it can be dumped. This texture on the inside of the hoses also makes it easy for things like hair and dirt to lodge in the hoses. Though you should be cleaning out your drum every day, you do not necessarily have to clean your hoses every day. You should be taking the time to clean the hoses every few weeks to make sure that they are clear and that they are free of debris.

Vacuuming up larger items like small toys, large pieces of paper, or even fabric can make it very easy to clog the vacuum. When you start to vacuum up the floor you should go ahead and remove things that are going to be too large for your vacuum and you should make sure that you are going to avoid vacuuming over anything that might cause a vacuum to clog.

If you are using your hose and are afraid that you might clog your vacuum, using a net over the hose can help keep larger items from passing through can help keep the vacuum from clogging. This is a great way to vacuum up dirt and debris but without allowing larger items to go into the hose. The biggest help to making sure that your vacuum is clean and that you are removing as much dust from your vacuum with each use.

What is the Best Vacuum Type for You?

When it comes to buying a vacuum that is going to work for you is to make sure that you are looking at all your options. With larger vacuums you do need to consider that there are bagless vacuums, drum vacuums and even vacuums that do still have bags. With vacuums that have bags, you want to make sure you clean your bag out when it gets to ¾ full or change the bag entirely. With those that are using a bagless vacuum, you want to make sure you empty the drum when it is half full.

There are also smaller vacuums and those that are hand held. Hand held vacuums are great for cleaning sofas, cleaning cars and more. These are small and compact and do need to get cleaned out more often. With smaller vacuums you do need to clean them out often as well to keep the vacuum from clogging up.

How to Clear up a Clog

If you are vacuuming, and you find a clog, you should stop vacuuming entirely and clear the clog. When a vacuum is clogged and you keep vacuuming you will then end up with a larger clog that is even harder to get rid of. Start by turning off or unplugging the vacuum. Then, empty the drum or the bag so that there is less dirt to deal with as you clean.

You can then work on finding out where the clog is. You can remove the brushes and rollers for floor models and remove any hair, strings or other debris that is on the rollers. Clean rollers are going to allow the vacuum to actually suck up the dirt and debris. After cleaning the rollers, you need to check the intake, this is where the dirt actually goes from the floor into the drum or the bag. This is where most clogs occur.

Clean the intake and the filter and then make sure that if there are hoses, that you straighten out the hose and try to dislodge the clog. This is going to help you make sure that you are checking all possible locations for the clogs so that you can remove it. If you are having trouble with the clog and you cannot get it out, you can always take your vacuum to a repair store that can then take the vacuum apart to find the clog.

Clogs can make it impossible to use your vacuum, taking the time to remove them and to avoid them can help make your vacuum last longer and work better while you have it as well.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading this article – I hope it helped!

If you’re looking for more ways to help your vacuum perform at it’s best, consider checking out our related articles below.

Have a great day,

Craig