Why are cord clips on modern vacuums so flimsy?

[niclonnic]

Before I begin, I have a big life update to share: I have moved to a newer, bigger house in the same city, but in a different neighborhood! The new house is 3,200 square feet (old one was 1,800) and features a gourmet kitchen, a mother-in-law suite (where my sister lives), wood laminate floors downstairs and carpet upstairs. I've been living here for 4 months now.

I also want to give my thoughts and prayers to everyone dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. I know it's pretty scary, but as for me and my family, we're all doing OK; we're following the stay-at-home order in Washington state, but my dad's SO still has to go to work, since she is a nurse. But we're all confident that we can make it through this unprecedented event in the world.

Anyway, on to the main subject. I'd like to touch upon a thing I find incredibly useful on current upright vacuum cleaners: the cord clip. On vacuums where the cord comes out near the bottom, I put the cord in the clip to keep it out of my way while vacuuming, so I won't have to hold it up high. I do this every time I vacuum.

HOWEVER. These cord clips are just NOT built to last. These thin plastic clips are under a lot of stress every time you attach and remove the cord for using the vacuum or wrapping up the cord, respectively. In addition, on some vacuums, like my Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Lift-Off (normally $300, but free from the Amazon Vine review program), I remove the cord from the clip in order to use the hose and the lift-off feature.

I've had this happen once before on my Hoover WindTunnel 2 Rewind Pet vacuum, which I no longer own; it was cleaned up and donated to Goodwill last year. The top half of its cord clip broke after 6 months of use. I then used super glue to glue the clip back on, and it held up well for a while. But then, the following year, the bottom half of the cord clip broke as well. I tried the super glue for that, but then it broke right off. I emailed Hoover, and they sent me a new upper handle, FREE of charge, as a one-time courtesy. The cord clip on that new handle lasted for a full year before breaking.

Now, with my Bissell, its cord clip started to break after a year of use. I could tell because the cord was coming out of the clip while vacuuming. Earlier this week, I was just grabbing the cord, which was in the clip, and the cord jerked on the clip, causing it to break off completely! It's the third time a cord clip has broken on me. I might have to contact Bissell about getting a replacement handle for this vacuum.

For the record, I am NOT overreacting over some plastic breaking unexpectedly, I'm just pointing out a design flaw that vacuum manufacturers overlook. And yes, I am fully aware about the subpar build quality of modern products. Has anybody else had cord clips break on them?

Here are some pics of the broken clip.

 

[madman]

Well you kinda answered your own question. Lower build quality. Things designed to use the minimum amount of material will skimp on 'insignificant' things like a cord hook. There's also a possibility that it's lower quality plastic. And the engineering of something like that. You might think 'what engineering' right? I mean it's just a little plastic hook. But in order for it to function, it must inherently be slightly flexible to allow the cord to press into and out of it. Plastic automatically has that slight flexibility. But I notice that handle is a very shiny plastic. Well, to make plastic shiny and keep its shine, it must be a harder, more brittle plastic to begin with. Then the engineer has to keep that in mind when designing the hook, because the plastic has a limited amount of flex. So they would want to design the cord hook in such a way to need to flex the minimum amount to admit the cord, but still enough to keep the cord captive. That's a very fine line to walk, especially for something so tiny.

In all honesty, I think nobody really thinks that deeply into something so 'insignificant' anymore.

 

[huskyvacs]

What MadMan said. They cheapen the build quality and the formula of the plastic and it makes it weaker. It then ends up having about as much flex as a plastic knife.

I have a Hoover Windtunnel and the clip that holds the plastic attachment tube busted in half. All around where it broke the plastic turned white from stress bends.

 

[myles_v]

Hoover and Bissell don't sell products that are designed to last, the cord clip breaking is just one of many parts of that. Ideally, a well-designed vacuum wouldn't need a cord clip. But Hoover and Bissell save a few cents per machine by having the cord come out of the housing right next to the motor rather than routing it through the body and handle of the machine. If they made the cord clip beefier then they wouldn't save any money and they could just run the cord to a spot that's more convenient for the operator for the same cost to them. I can't say that I've noticed this as a recent trend though, I've actually never had a cord clip break on any of the hundreds of vacuum cleaners that I've owned, and most of the more recent additions to my collection have either been canisters or cordless so they haven't had cord clips.

"I am fully aware about the subpar build quality of modern products." is an overly simplified way of looking at it. There are some very well made modern products, but you're not going to get those well made products through the Amazon Vine program. The vacuums that you've had this problem with have outlived their intended useful life anyways, so I'd consider it great that the cord clip is the only issue you've had with them.

Also, I'm glad Hoover replaced the upper handle for you, but it's icky that they called it a "one time courtesy" to fix a broken part on a 1.5 year old vacuum cleaner. That goes to show that standing behind their product is just seen as them doing you a favor.

 

[suckolux]

I have a silly question, do you leave the cord hooked, or unhook every time? I have problems with arthritis in my hands and no grip in my fingers so I leave mine hooked always and have never had one break. and with my situation I tend to be the type that breaks things, just wondering if you're expecting that to work holding your cord and taking it loose more times than maybe it was designed for.

 

[vacuumdevil]

#CentralVacuumpropaganda

I think it's a matter of price point.

If you take a look at higher in brands their Court clips are very sturdy and rarely break. The one exception of the lower cord hook and the Kirby generation series.


My other question to you is why do you not have a central vacuum in your house yet?

 

[niclonnic]

@suckolux I unhook the cord every time I finish vacuuming. That's what contributed to more wear and tear on these cord clips. My WindTunnel had a retractable cord, and my Bissell has its cord situated low on the vacuum.

@vacuumdevil I've never had the desire to get a central vacuum installed in any of my homes. Just the installation process alone sounds like too much modification be done to a house. I'm simply sticking with my uprights.

 

[lesinutah]

Vacuum

If you want a vacuum suited to where you live get a Bissell Crosswave.
They made good cord hooks until start of the 90s. Kirby went to g series the hooks got worse. It's when plastic came a dominant feature on cord hooks.
Les

 

[myles_v]

Central vacuums are actually really simple to install in most homes, I've installed three of them. Not everyone likes them, but they really are superior to portable vacuums in tons of ways.

 

[suckolux]

I thought maybe, probably why mine haven't broken.

 

[madman]

Yeah cycling something more will definitely make it break quicker.

 

[vacuumdevil]

@niclonnic You're missing out my friend. I retrofit my house before I even moved in one of the best decisions I ever made.


@myles_v

 

[tseg]

Poor design is really the flaw. Who would ever want a cord out the bottom besides a lazy vacuum designer? Cords should always come out the top, then you don't have to create work-around parts and associated quality control of said part if the vacuum is designed properly.

 

[eurekafansquid]

Well

Isn't it all obvious? Its cheapity-cheap-cheap.

I'd reccomend vacs from 1989 - 2010

 

[suckolux]

I really don't think that these simple clips are intended to be repeatedly hooked and unhooked. It was always my impression that you looped the cord through there on initial setup and left it.

 

[jo]

Same problem

I consistently have the same problem on the plastic vacs. The cords are not but up high so they add those stupid cord clamps and they doesn’t hold the cord well enough, any of these cheap vacs I’ve used with them the cord is always coming out especially if I happen to step on or catch the cord on something.

They don’t put the cords up high because the handles of these cheaper uprights come off for shipping to the consumer. This way all you do when you buy it is add the handle and a screw or two to hold it in place. Less parts to make with another shorty cord and connectors if they were to have it come out near the handle where it should be.

I prefer to choose more higher end models that don’t have this cord problem when selecting a vacuum cleaner for purchase. Plus, I’m not primarily an upright user, prefer canisters and the new stick’ vac types where the motor is right by the handle. I like to clean everything when I vacuum and I can get in tighter spaces, under the furniture, and vacuum my upholstered furniture much more easily with these types rather than an upright with its clumsy stretch hoses, cheap quality tools and short wand. I constantly am wanting to covert to attachments a LOT when I vacuum to get along and the top edge of my baseboards, and in those tight spaces between furniture and so much more and an upright is just too bulky for this type of frequent thorough cleaning as I’m always finding dust or a cob web or bugs that have accumulated somewhere in a tight spot. I like to vacuum my blinds too, the dusters don’t cut it and just propel the dust into the air. I’ve found that most upright users end up having a second vacuum, either a hand vac or a small canister spot accomplish these tasks, or they just don’t do this type of cleaning or put up with the clumsy attachment system provided on the upright machines.

I have no patience for tools that don’t work right or aren’t designed well,

 

[madman]

The cord hook has a purpose no matter where the cord is attached to the machine... why does it seem like nobody knows this? You unwind as much of the cord as you need - not all of it - and then you put it in the hook to keep the rest of the cord under tension so it doesn't unwind from the holders.

 

[human]

It's all part of built-in obsolescence. Modern plasticrap vacs are intentionally designed to self-destruct over time. The average consumer has forgotten that vacuum cleaners—and most other appliances, for that matter—were once designed to last for decades, but not anymore. To make matters worse, the industry doesn't want people to remember that fact because it is not compatible with their present, more wasteful business model.