Are vacuums worth fixing?

Are vacuums worth fixing, or are these one of these planned obsolescences things? We have Bissell CleanView II Bagless that we've had for about 2.5 years. It spent a good amount of time in storage while I was deployed. And well, it doesn't suck. Literally. It's very anemic and doesn't do a good job cleaning. I've taken all the filters out and washed the ones that can be washed. And I've got a cart full of replacement parts on Bissell's website ($60 with shipping). But would that money be better spent towards buying a new vacuum?

In reply to Drewsifer:

Vacuums are fairly simple. Unless something is clogged, really all that can diminish performance is a beat up impellor or a belt that has come off.

A friend of mine had a $1200 Kirby with more attachments than you would believe. It stopped sucking like it should. She was going to THROW IT OUT! I said "Give it to me, I'll fix it and put it on craigslist and we will split the profit.

Long story short, it was simply clogged. I honestly fixed it in 15 minutes with no tools @ all. The bad news is that I've fallen in love with this Panzer Tank of a vacuum. I'm keeping it.

Have you checked the belt? I had a cheap one that ate belts like a fat kid in a donut shop.

I have one that did the same thing. Wife tends to burn out vaccuums tho...... so we went for broke and got a Dyson. If she breaks that, she can pick the lint out of the carpet with her hands. That dyson cost more than my last two winter beaters..... combined.

I've done all the simple stuff. The belt doesn't appear to be in terrible shape, and none of the hoses are clogged. The brush assembly is a little beat up, but once again it isn't in terrible shape.

Those Dysons look cool, but I just cannot bring myself to spend that much money on a vacuum.

I just went through the same thing. Mine is bagless, so I cleaned all the filters and screens but still had reduced suction. Then I noticed that the hose that comes up from the head was removable, so I pulled it. There was a bend that was choked down to about 1/4 the original diameter. (Damn dog hair) Better suction, but still not like new. So I took apart the brush head and found another 4 pounds of hair (damn cats) crammed into it. You could not see this until you pulled it apart, but the primary path for vacuum was blocked almost completely.

My 2-cents, get a screwdriver and spend 5 minutes and you will probably be happy.

Drewsifer wrote: I've done all the simple stuff. The belt doesn't appear to be in terrible shape, and none of the hoses are clogged. The brush assembly is a little beat up, but once again it isn't in terrible shape. Those Dysons look cool, but I just cannot bring myself to spend that much money on a vacuum.

Wife is A- super allergic to critters, and B- not smart enough not to have them. I figured a dyson was cheap insurance.

Once you fix it, borrow a friends' Dyson. Vacuum your floor with your old vac and then immediately vacuum it again with the Dyson. You'll be addicted to that thing in moments flat. The stuff that bugger will pull up, it's like it's coming through the carpet from another dimension, and on hardwoods the pet hair will come flying toward the vacuum from a foot away. The wand is not my favorite design, but it reaches everything fine. Plus, there is a cool static discharge spot on the side that is fun to watch.

+1 to pinchy. Newer vacuum cleaners always have one or two molded 90 degree bends hidden away under some plate or panel. Get out the screwdriver. You'll save a lot of money.

I agree with both - yank it apart and find the clog. Failing that, get the Dyson. I have had one a few years now and it's just like ECM said - I actually did that same test. Vacuumed the E36 M3 our of a small area of carpet, then ran the Dyson over it and got a lot more crap out. It was astonishing how much dirt was in the carpet. The Dyson still needs the occasional good cleaning but it works great even when that canister is crammed with dirt and other stuff.

Mrs. BDT hated every vacuum we owned, and we tried a bunch. She loves the Oreck. I'm sure the Dyson is great too. My advice is to bite the bullet, get a good one and be done with it.

In reply to Drewsifer:

We've got the same model, and had a similar problem after about 3 months... it turned out there was an infant sock and a drywall screw jammed in the corrugated flexible tube that connects the handle to the base of the vacuum. Nobody ever admitted to vacuuming either item up, of course.

I think the original intention of the designers was for the tube to be transparent so you could see any obstruction, but it ended being such a cloudy plastic that you can't see anything until you pull the end loose.

EastCoastMojo wrote: Once you fix it, borrow a friends' Dyson. Vacuum your floor with your old vac and then immediately vacuum it again with the Dyson. You'll be addicted to that thing in moments flat. The stuff that bugger will pull up, it's like it's coming through the carpet from another dimension, and on hardwoods the pet hair will come flying toward the vacuum from a foot away. The wand is not my favorite design, but it reaches everything fine. Plus, there is a cool static discharge spot on the side that is fun to watch.

I'm gonna quote that, just cause it's an awesome review of a vacuum.

Joey

My dyson made me feel like a pig when I saw how much stuff it pulled out of what I thought was a clean carpet.

Gross. And awesome.

dimeadozen wrote: In reply to Drewsifer: We've got the same model, and had a similar problem after about 3 months... it turned out there was an infant sock and a drywall screw jammed in the corrugated flexible tube that connects the handle to the base of the vacuum. Nobody ever admitted to vacuuming either item up, of course. I think the original intention of the designers was for the tube to be transparent so you could see any obstruction, but it ended being such a cloudy plastic that you can't see anything until you pull the end loose.

Well I've since pulled both hoses off, and couldn't find any obstructions. I'm still waiting for the filters to dry before I try again. If that doesn't fix it, perhaps I can fangle the wife into a Dyson. Whats the vacuum that claims to be Dyson only cheaper? Eureka? Also in case anyones wondering, I care so much because I'm the one who does the vacuuming. My wife is a bit of a slob.

http://www.fatwallet.com/blog/hoover-whisper-dyson-clone/ This is the Hoover that used the patents from the first Dyson when they expired, at least for the canister suction/filter section. I'd look for deals on real Dysons personally; I found an Animal model on sale when I bought mine and saved something like $100. It's still worth it at full price though. Here's the best current Dyson sale thread at fatwallet: http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/1053342/

Datsun1500 wrote: Look for a Dyson on CL. Especially in a few weeks. I looked on the Baltimore one and there is a DC25 ($550+) for $375 new in the box. You would be surprised how many people get them as gifts and want the $$ instead

If someone bought me a Dyson as a gift, I'd clean things just to see how dirty they were.

overstock.com

I got my Dyson for $180 from Target on super clearence. The deals are out there.

There are good tutorials on the internet to "Fix" it when you lose suction. By "fix" I mean clean.

Drewsifer wrote: Are vacuums worth fixing,

No, they really suck.

Someone had to say it.

DaveEstey wrote: overstock.com

I've been looking there, found some refurbs for $288. Hmmmmmmmm.

TJ you're right, I'm surprised it took this long.

I've rebuilt ours a couple of times. 1/2 hour with a phillips head screwdriver, a pair of scissors (to get all of the damn hair that is everywhere) and a shop vac and it is good as new. The only part it has ever needed is a belt.

But Dave, you don't HAVE that much hair!

Oh, wait...maybe that's where it all went!

Another vote for a Dyson. My g/f has had a cat since we've been dating. She has an area rug in her front room. I thought it was grey for years. Frustrated with her mid-grade Eureka, she bought a Dyson 'Animal' model when they were brand new (she likes purple things...). I then found out that area rug was actually green. Four (or 5?) years later, it still cleans carpets remarkably well.

That said, Consumer Reports did a comparison a few years ago and ranked another name brand bagless model (Hoover, IIRC) above the Dyson on suction.

To the OP... Wanna buy a Kirby? It will out-suck anything out there. Although, it damn well better considering it weighs almost as much as my Miata.