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There must be brands of vacuum cleaners out there that allow the rotating brush to be disengaged so it doesn't become all jammed up with long hair.
I've ruined two good vacuums that way, finally resorted to a small cannister and wand, but that takes forever. I've heard there were vacuums that could disengage the roller brush but I can't find them so labeled in stores and even the guys in vacuum cleaner shops scratch their heads.
There must be some way you guys, or even lurking ladies, deal with the problem of vacuuming up the long hair around the house without smoking the vacuum cleaner...
Thanks for any suggestions.
About once a month, I just remove the beater brush and strip all the accumlated hair off of it. Sometimes, I don't even have to remove it, just cut the hair with a small pair of scissors and remove. Takes 5 minutes.
It shouldn't ruin the vacuum - at worst it will stop the beater brush from rotating, causing the drive belt to burn up. Remove the beater brush, clean it, re-install with a new drive belt. No problem.
-Zorba
I used to have an Oreck that would get wound up and start to smoke sometimes but now I have a Kirby that can get pretty wound up but doesn't seem to burn hair like the Oreck did. I can usually tell when it's time to get the pocket knife out and cut the hair clogs out because it will stop turning sometimes. Mostly I just check now and then by tilting it back and looking. My cleaner comes apart pretty easily so I can clean it out quickly and get on with things.
I think that there is a real difference between cheap units and more expensive ones in the way that they handle hair but long hair will always get wound up in them...at least you know that it's picking stuff up!
One of the vacs I smoked was a Kirby. The hair got soo tangled up at both ends of the beater brush knives, razors, couldn't cut it.
My hair's down to my butt, so maybe its because it's so long.
Still looking for a powerful vac with a wide mouth and no rotating brush, or one that disengages.
Try cleaning it out on a regular basis before it gets to hard to manage. I used to get hell for this from my Mom 30 years ago and thats what she did. Then when my brother grew his hair out we all had out shots at it. It was funny, my Mom's hair was always lower back length but it was her sons hair that clogged the vac.
So when I got out on my own it was second nature to me.
Rob
Well, this is my first post, though I've been lurking here for a few months now. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share some (hopefully) useful information.
I've got a vacuum that has a powered roller bar but it can operated
with either just suction or with the roller/beater going. It says it
is a 'Kenmore Whispertone'. Also prominently displayed are '12.0 amps' and 'carousel cleaning'. It is, according to the ID plate, a model number
"116. 2521290". Good luck in finding one!
BTW, is it traditional to post a picture of oneself as an introduction here? Will do so if anyone is interested. I don't
talk much, but I'll be around....
Your first post was very helpful. Thanks for taking the time, sounds like just what I'm looking for.