Snap! There goes another one. To avoid this from happening, I will go over a few tips that will help prevent belt breakage from occurring. Whether your vacuum cleaner is an upright or a canister with an electric power head, it most likely has a belt. Belts are simply bands of rubber made a specific size to work with specific machines. There are many different sizes for the thousands of vacuum cleaners that exist in households today.
One of the first things to look for when trying to fix a problem with a belt is to make sure that the belt is meant to work with your vacuum cleaner. Although belts are similar in construction, each vacuum cleaner belt is created in a way to work smoothly with a certain vacuum cleaner. Incorrect usage of a wrongly fitting belt will lead either to a broken belt, or even a broken vacuum.
Some machines say the belt number or style on the actual machine, but if it does not the actual belt itself should have the number printed right on it. Referring to your instruction manual may also help you find the proper belt number for your machine.
When installing a belt you need to make sure you install it properly otherwise a problem can occur. For most machines the belt goes over the motor spindle and then over the brush roll. There should be a lot of tension in the belt when installing it and it maybe difficult getting the brush roll into the proper slots because there is so much tension. This tension is normal and is necessary to make the brush roll spin thousands of times a minute.
A commonly asked question is why do vacuum belts break and what can I do to prevent this breakage? If my vacuum cleaner belt is breaking on a regular basis should I be concerned? Just because a vacuum cleaner belt is correctly installed does not mean that is immune from breaking. A number of things can cause belt breakage an example being worn out from repeated machine usage. Another instance which occurs more frequently is snagging, which is cause by running over the rim of a rug or a blanket. When situations such as this occur the belt gets stuck and overheated resulting in instantaneous breakage. Repetition of belt breakage because of this reason is more likely to occur if your vacuum is not a gear-driven belt system with electronic overload. Therefore, when buying your next vacuum, it is important to ask for a gear-driven belt system with electronic overload as this type of vacuum will severely cut down on the amount of belt breakages you receive.
To prevent belt breakage it is remember to keep a few things in mind while vacuuming. First check to see if you have correctly installed the belt into the machine, and secondly check to see that the type of belt is appropriate to you machine. After an initial check of the whether or not you have the proper belt you can begin vacuuming. While vacuuming it is important to remember not to run over anything that cause snagging. Snagging an item such as a towel, a blanket, the edge of a carpet, or even the vacuum cleaners power cord, will put you at great risk of instantly incinerating your vacuum cleaner belt. Another tip to remember is to regularly change your vacuum cleaner belt every 6 months. Over time a belt becomes more elastic, and loose around the brush roll, consequently the brush roll will no longer turn at the appropriate revolutions per minute. The vacuum cleaner belt being loose causes a to vacuum not to function at an optimal level and can be avoided if the belt is changed every 6 months.
There are all different kinds of belts that exist. Many are flat belts, but there are also round belts and cogged belts. Round belts are used with old style machines that use a fan system. Cogged belts can be found on machines with electronic overloads. When you snag on something, vacuum cleaners that use cogged belts are the best because they are much less likely to break a belt. This is because the machine is aware when something is caught or snagged and will shut down to prevent belt breakage. Then you either turn the machine on and off or press a reset button in order the make the brush roll turn again. This feature is found on many machines such as the Miele, Simplicty, Dyson and Sebo. This feature is great because it prevents belt breakage and frustration. When purchasing a machine this should be definitely be a consideration because it does not even require 6-month belt changes, saving you time and money.
Vacuum cleaners break belts often for many people and now you understand why and how such problems can be avoided. Following these simple steps or buying a new vacuum cleaner with the proper belt system can help prevent vacuum cleaner belt breakage.