Throw away vacuums

[vacmadman]

A few weeks ago my friend and neighbor Dave asked me if I could fix his vacuum. Over the years I have seen him throw away a number of vacuums. So I was more then happy to help out. His vacuum is a Bissell power pet vac. It didn't take long to find the problem. His daughter tried to vacuum up shredded Easter grass. You can see the biggest problem with theses vacuums is the small 2inch hose that can get clogged easier. Having said that trying to pick up this amount of trash is asking for trouble. I took it apart washed out the canister and foam filter, and put it back together. It was this kind of thing that I saw all the time back in the day. It was a big money maker in our vacuum shop. Dave was very happy to get his vacuum back looking and running like new again. His son told me he was ready to throw this one away as well. I told him don't throw away anymore vac's just bring them to me.

 

[human]

Yeah, somewhere along the line, manufacturers have managed to convince consumers that vacuum cleaners no longer fall into the category of durable goods, but are instead disposable. This may be good for the manufacturers' bottom line, but it's bad for consumers and even worse for the environment. When I lived in an apartment complex a few years back, I routinely saw vacuums out by the dumpsters, mostly just needing a bag, a belt, and a good cleaning. I fixed up several and either sold them, donated them, or gave them away. The last one I rescued from there was a Kirby Gsix, which sort of changed everything.

 

[cheesewonton]

I can't remember which vac shop has this on their website but they claimed that most of the vacuums customers bring in not running and / or for trade in just need a new belt to run good. I have met people shopping for vacuums in our local Wally World and occasionally I'll ask them why they are looking for a new vacuum. The usual response is "oh, it stopped running" or "it just doesn't clean any more". So I ask if they checked to see if the belt broke or is worn out or it maybe it is clogged. The usual reply to either question is "oh I don't have time and I need a vacuum now". You say a belt is maybe $5 and a vacuum here is $75 but they just shrug their shoulders, chuck a new bagless something or the other in their cart and head for the check out line.

 

[redneckchinadian]

To be frank people have zero common sense and I personally feel society has become increasingly stupid with the passage of time. Gone are the days where people were able to critically think and problem solve. I have plenty of friends that are like customers at Walmart where they’d rather choose convenience over putting in effort to solve simple problems. As a mechanic I capitalize on this big time and not even intentionally to fleece people. Customers are simply too ignorant and lazy to do what is needed until things fall apart and cost 10x the amount to repair. I can’t tell you how many times I emphasize to customers to check their engine oil and have it changed out at recommended intervals. Nope they’d have none of that and would rather a motor low in oil and just buy a new car or pay for an engine replacement. I can’t get my head wrapped around their thinking.

 

[cheesewonton]

Kenmore recently introduced a new power nozzle with an anti-tangle brush roll with their latest version of the 600 Series canister, the BC4030. The nozzle looked neat and I have an earlier flavor of the 600 Series, the purple 81614 so I stalked eBay until one turned up and bought it. Then I tried to find parts for it but no luck. I ended up calling Kenmore's vacuum hotline ( there is such a thing ! ) and spoke to a very nice lady about finding things like brush rolls, belts and the hose that runs up the inside of the neck that you know is going to split open eventually. No service parts of any kind available. According to this nice lady Kenmore has come to the conclusion that people don't know how to fix anything and when they try they end up making things worse. So instead you buy a whole new power nozzle for $86. Ok, so yeah that is cheaper than the price Miele charges for an SEB236 brush roll ( $95 and nobody sells it at a discount ) but how wasteful ! Throw away an otherwise serviceable power nozzle because the brush roll wore out. I tried e-mailing Suzhou Cleva Electric Appliance Co Ltd in China, the company that makes it, seeing if I could buy parts directly from them but never heard back. Calling Cleva North America got me nowhere.

So there you are, Kenmore thinks customers are too ham handed to fix their own stuff. Ain't life grand : /