What was Your Worst Vacuum Experience?

[vacuumman206]

I have three good ones. I have only had a handful of vacs die while in use. The first was a Dirt Devil newer style vision of some type a neighbor gave me. I knew the motor was on its way out, but I used it once and the next time I turned it on and within 10 seconds got a couple big arcs from the motor and it went up in smoke. Another is this little Eureka mighty might I have. Aparently the bag wasn't trapping dust too well, and the motor sucked up a lot of fine dust, which in turn caked up on the carbons and caused it to loose almost all power within a couple minutes. It took me a minute or two to realize there was something wrong with the machine. Cleaned the motor out, put a better filter and bag in it and works fine now. Last one was with a shop vac brand shop vac. I was working with a friend and he was vacuuming up some dust and that drop ceiling material that falls apart all the time. Well we both had our backs to the shop vac. Well, everything it picked up went right out the exhaust and nearly sprayed the whole building with fine dust because the filter fell off. Needless to say my friend is just too cheap to buy a $15 filter. Also some how snapped a blade off a Eureka fan once just cleaning out a furnace air filter.

 

[compamac]

Wow

Those Eurekas like the mighty mite are decent but not a good seller in my town. We had 2 of them sit at Walmart here and they didn't leave for months and months. Then I went to buy one and of course then they are gone! But just recently I was using a Ultra Super Shark on the shoulder vac. After about 3 minutes into vacuuming the strap broke off and it fell to the floor.

 

[ultraperformer]

Bissell "Zing" ! I don't know what I was thinking buying it, but it was £19.99 in Tesco and I thought well it's very small I could just use it for the cars. It was so noisey my ears hurt, the filteration was terriable there was a coating of dust on the exhaust grill despite the air passing through three filters. Tried using it in the house but the plastic tubes would bend so much on carpet I expected them to snap, it was thrown away soon after.

 

[sebo_fan]

The Vax Widetrack V0-45

I bought this one many years ago for £39-99 online for a friend who had just got a dog. The machine worked well for the first couple of months then she brought it back to me saying that she had followed the user manual and "cleaned" the filters. So I looked at the Vax and discovered that whilst she had cleaned the outer mesh filter, the paper cone filter was completely caked in dog and dust. This is when I got covered in dust from head to toe cleaning all the dust off.

After cleaning it off with another vacuum cleaner and then washing the filter and waiting to dry, I put a new fresh filter in and the Vax still wasn't working. This was because the main central telescopic suction tube that also acts as the main spine of the upright was completely clogged up with dog hair, biscuits, cat hair and cat litter all jammed up. Took about five attempts to knock it all out and thus also got covered in pongy pet hair. I Have to say then, it was probably one of the worst experiences of my life!! Thereafter the upright worked but then a year later, bits of plastic started to fall off it.

I think the U.S have had this upright as a Shark/Euro-Pro. Aside from the filter design, it is one of the worst uprights I've ever used as it is very heavy, has cheap plastics and quite noisy.

 

[compamac]

Bissell Zing

<span style="font-size: large;">I had a bagged Bissell Zing for a while but I returned it due to the fact that I just didnt like it much. The reason being is that the tubes are way to cheap like you mentioned. Also, the bags were terribly made and even with the other filter within a few hours the filter was already getting pretty dirty. I did not find it very noisy though. However, I returned it the same day.</span>

 

[kirbylux77]

Ryan

Yes, you are correct about that bagless upright being sold under the Shark/Euro Pro names. They also sold it under the name "Fantom Power Pet" at Zellers stores here in Canada. Oh, what a disgrace to the Fantom name this vacuum was!!

Rob

 

[sebo_fan]

Its still available to buy today under a Morphy Richards label, sadly...

 

[vacuumfreak95]

I've had a few....

Bissell PowerForce bagless and Kenmore bagless canister. Filters clog and suction is gone in minutes of cleaning...I also had a Dyson DC14 for six years that was great for tool use and cleaning hard floors, but it was awful for carpet!

 

[compamac]

Bissell and Kenmore

<span style="font-size: large; font-family: 'arial black', 'avant garde';">Well a Bissell Powerforce is not going to be the best cleaner. And the Kenmore Bagless wasnt too bad of a vac. I have one and used to use it a lot until I got a Kenmore Lime Green canister to replace it.</span>

 

[gsheen]

Some years ago I was doing some prototype testing on a new Motor to be fitted to a Shopvac style vacuum cleaner. We had about 10 prototypes running in various stages of assembly. We were having some trouble with Motor failure when one of the half bodied units exploded sending bits of motor everywhere. The cooling fan shot off and hit me in the head making some nasty cuts.

It was later found that the batch of sample motors sent out by the manufacturer had a faulty brush mount causing the ruptures. Just one of the many reasons that prototypes are tested so vigorously.

 

[seboguy]

I have two.

My first "worst experience" was with a Regina Housekeeper Whispurr. This vacuum was a tank, and not in a good way. It was heavy and clunky, and NEVER cleaned well. The only positive thing about this machine was that it had quite a bit of hose suction. But this vacuum taught me that just because a machine sucks at the hose, it can BLOW with cleaning at the brushroll. It would frequently grind dirt in, and make the carpet appear dingy and worn.

My other one was caused by my own stupidity (and is quite hilarious taken in context). I was vacuuming out my wood pellet stove with a 6 gal shop vac. About 5 minutes in, I heard a thud inside the cleaner. I didn't turn around, and kept on going. Turns out the filter came off, and I had a tornado of black soot blowing around the living room. Yup... I vacuumed the ENTIRE stove before I smelled the soot. It made one hell of a mess

 

[compamac]

WOW

Did it get all over the walls and furniture?

 

[seboguy]

it went ALL over... windows, furniture, you name it... I even could taste it upstairs

 

[vacuumman206]

sebo guy

had that happen, but never heard the thud! I hate any shop vac that doesn't have the filter screwed on.

 

[tolivac]

That happened to my Dad-he was cleaning the fireplace years ago with his shop type vacuum and its filter blew-soot all over everywhere-My Stepmom was furious-she was yelling at Dad for a long time.then he checked the filters before using the vacuum!-most of the ash he cleaned out with the shovel and ash bucket.Later he called a sweep to do it.I got so nervous when he climbed on the roof at his age to sweep out the chimney.Glad he called a sweep.

 

[hi-loswitch98]

Using a Dyson

To be precise a 1997 DC01 Absolute.

It was $hit. To be fair it was beaten up & not looked after properly, filters never been cleaned ONCE!!! It belonged to my then sister-in-law, let me have a go & it stank, plus the fact that it refused to pick up anything & smelt like crap.

Also another bad Dyson experience was using my sisters second-hand 2003 DC03, same condition as above & had CURRY sucked up in it. Needless to say after that experience I took my trusty Henry to their houses.

 

[gmerkt]

In my experience, curry is one of the most difficult smells to get out of a vacuum cleaner completely and utterly. When a machine comes my way now with that smell, I pass on it. The one I struggled with I cleaned while disassembled more than once. Certain parts had to be cleaned with a spray odor neutralizer (lovely lavender scent). Eventually, it got it to run without emitting a smell but it was way too much work. Once purged, I moved it on down the road.

I don't really have any dramatic vacuum failure stories to my own credit. One that I recall attributed to someone else is interesting. Some time ago, a Hoover Celebrity was given to me. It was a nice navy blue model with the chrome trim. When I lifted the top, the first thing I noticed was that the plastic motor cover was melted. Not good. Further disassembly showed that the lower motor bearing was completely blown out; no bearings left. The bearing races were kind of rattling around off of each other. I later found out that the previous owner had been deaf. They accidently left the machine on indefinitely until it destroyed itself. They only discovered the problem when the circuit breaker tripped.

 

[ultimatevacman]

"They accidently left the machine on indefinitely until it destroyed itself." What? Can a Hoover Convertible destroy itself just from being left on too long?

Thanks,

- Joe

 

[tolivac]

Remember, any motor can't run idefinitely.Something will go sooner or later-did serve as an endurance test for the Celebrity vacuums motor!Although in a building I used to work in an older Crocker Wheeler motor was walled in and forgotten for about 40yrs--ran all of that time without attention! was on a HVAC blower.Same with the blower!The units were replaced with new ones when the wall that was no longer required taken down.The fan was a Buffalo Forge.These were put in 1939 when the building was built-Wash DC gov't building.It is interesting what you find or is walled in at those places!A building engineer told me about the motor and fan.

 

[compamac]

Whoa

They accidentally left it on to long? That is something I have never heard lol. I have heard of motors going naturally bad but not that

 

[anthony]

a dyson

i tried to vac the stairs with my daughters latest fashion accesory yes you guessed it a Dyson i got so sick of it i threw it down the stairs and made sure it hit every one on the way i then gave her a kirby i had in the attic