Shark advice please?

[justjunque]

Hey, all.
I know, some here are definitely not fans of the Shark brand. But, I'm trying to help out another family member with a vacuum that's "not working right".
She can't find, or no longer has the owner's manual. And, never having even laid hands on a Shark before, I don't know the first thing about them.
I can tell you that it's a Navigator Lift-Away Deluxe. I'll attach the model number/info tag.
I've only taken one quick look at it. But, I can tell you that the brushroll is barely visible under all the long hair wrapped around it. The canister is opaque. I don't know what's caked all over the inside of it. It almost looks like it was wet at one point. It's my understanding that whatever filters it has have never been taken out and washed or replaced.
I'm not sure if I'll even be able to access the brushroll and belt, based on the one video that watched about a similar model. The base cover was held on with tamper-proof screws, because Shark doesn't want the consumer to be able to do their own maintenance. I'm not sure if this one has those screws.
Besides telling me to take it outside and drop it in my trash bin, can anyone offer any advice on how to start?
My goal would be to return to her, a vacuum that looks and functions like new.
At this point, I don't even know if there's anything functionally wrong with it, or if it just can't pick anything up because it's so filthy that there's essentially no way for it to move air.
Thank you.

 

[blackheart]

Hmm

I'm unsure if these models used the security torx screws, I don't think they did but I may be mistaken, if you do need bits for that you can get them at like harbor freight or order a set online. Beyond that there's gonna be screws hidden under the two front wheels pry the wheels out carefully to get at the screws below.

 

[justjunque]

Thank you.
I hope to get to it today, and I'll see if I need the special bits. We have a Harbor Freight in the next town, if necessary.
I did see that mentioned in the video I watched, about the screws hidden behind the small wheels.
Really, I probably would have needed to pop them out anyway, because they're so packed with dog hair and dirt that they no longer turn.

 

[justjunque]

Yay! (Sarcasm)
Turns out, it uses the security screws.
I'm not feeling up to going to Harbor Freight today, so it's going to have to wait.
I've had some regret over not picking up a brand new looking Shark that someone in the neighborhood had out on the curb a couple of years ago. After getting my first experience with the brand, I no longer regret leaving it there.
They're probably a decent working vacuum when all is well with them. But, I don't like how the company purposely makes them difficult if not impossible for the average consumer to work on.

 

[centralvacs1928]

Just junque it!

Sorry..had to...

 

[justjunque]

LOL. Clever.
I've only begun to scratch the surface with regard to the clean-up.
Both filters were solidly caked with what must be some sort of carpet scent powder. It made its way past both clogged filters, and was all hardened in the housing above the motor. I'm sure it also got into the motor. The "cone", or whatever it's called, inside the canister, was equally caked solid. Actually, the entire inside of the canister was. I don't know if that stuff just hardens like that, or if it's indicative that it had been wet in there at some point.
I washed the foam and felt filters, but I'm not sure if I should rinse the HEPA after filter, or just order a replacement. The genuine Shark replacement is way more expensive than the aftermarket versions. I don't know if they're a better filter, or if you're just paying for the name.
I'll do my best to get this thing cleaned up for her this time. But, I won't be in a hurry to volunteer to do it again. If she isn't willing to put the effort into maintaining it, that's on her.
This family member and the one whose Bissell I unblocked and cleaned, just use their vacuum, and empty the canister. That's it. The one who has the Bissell does occasionally clean the hair off the brushroll. I don't know about the one who has this Shark. It looks pretty bad.
As for filter maintenance? Never. I told them, neither of them should own bagless vacuums.
Actually, I tongue-in-cheek suggested that they should both hire someone to come in and vacuum for them.

 

[lesinutah]

The

People would eff up any vacuum.
I've cleaned up alot of sharks. The t 10 and t 25 torx security bits are the sizes used on sharks.

 

[blackheart]

YUCK!

That sounds revolting! is it worthwhile to work on it? With it being that dirty i'd be concerned about the motor bearings and whether the brush end caps are in ok shape.

 

[justjunque]

It's pretty nasty. But, I'm going to give it my best shot, because I said I would. Once I get the tools to get to the brushroll, I'll see what kind of shape it's in.
Can you even buy a replacement brushroll for a Shark? If they don't want you opening up the nozzle, I wouldn't be surprised if they don't even offer replacement parts.
The motor sounds okay. I don't know how long it will last, or if she's done damage to it. But, my goal is just to get it working better.

 

[justjunque]

Well, I made a little more progress today. I got the majority of the hair, human and dog, out of the brushroll. Remarkably, it seems like it still spins freely. I have a plan in place to acquire the tool for the security Torx screws tomorrow. So, if that gets me inside the nozzle, I'll be better able to evaluate the brushroll.
Once I get that area cleaned up, I just want to do a little shining up of the outside, and call it done. Hopefully, it works like it's supposed to.
I'm going to recommend to the owner that she buy a spare set or two of filters. So, when she starts keeping up with washing them, she can put a clean, dry set right in.

 

[justjunque]

Well, that didn't work.
I bought an inexpensive set of security Torx drivers, but they might be defective. I don't think they have the hole in the center of the bit. Or, it's not deep enough or something.
Can anyone recommend a quality set of drivers? I'd prefer a stand-alone hand tool, as opposed to a bit that has to go into a drill or something. And, while cheap ones didn't work out, I also can't afford a lot. Especially, since I don't even know when I'll use them again.
Technically, I could just return the vacuum to its owner the way it is. But, I want to do a better job on the nozzle. That's just me.

 

[kirbylux77]

Barry, do you have Princess Auto in your country? If so, go down there and get yourself a set of long security screwdriver bits. And yes, they do have the hole in the security Torx bit. You will have to use a handle with them, but these aren't the short ones that you would have to use a extension with. I have a set of those, but found these long ones by accident when I stopped in to buy something else at Princess Auto.

Also take a look around on AliExpress, there are LOTS to choose from on there if your local stores don't have anything. I posted a link to some results I found there.



https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-torx-security-bit-screwdriver.html?spm=a2g0o.home.search.0

 

[justjunque]

Thanks!
I've never seen Princess Auto around here.
I've looked at some online, but it's impossible to tell the junk from the good stuff that way.
Even on Amazon, I read reviews before buying anything. It's confusing when you have some positive reviews, raving about a product, and then negative reviews saying that the same product is a piece of junk.
I'll check out the link you provided. Thank you.

 

[justjunque]

Finally finished the clean-up

I stopped by our local Ace Hardware, and they had one set of Craftsman security/tamper proof Torx drivers. It's an assortment in a configuration kind of like a Swiss Army knife.
They cost a bit more than I expected, but they got the job done. All of the screws were T-20.
Once I was able to open up the nozzle, I did find a clog in the lower hose. I don't know if it was completely blocked, but it was definitely impeded. Between that, and how completely caked up the filters and cone were, there had to be almost no air flow.
Hopefully, it works a lot better for her now. If not, I'm out.

 

[n0oxy]

sharks, and bagless vacuums in general

What has been described in this thread are the reasons to avoid Sharks, and bagless vacuums in general. Bagless vacuums require much more work to maintain them, and that is rarely done by most consumers. And here is a video that describes very well the problems with trying to repair Shark vacuums, and yes, you are correct, Shark does everything they can to prevent anyone from attempting to repair them, unfortunately their strategy does work, consumers will buy a new one several times until they realize what is going on.
Mike