There are many places that
you can use to find parts for a vacuum cleaner that is broken, providing you have
someone around that is handy enough with tools to take a swing at fixing it. The
part that breaks the most on most less expensive vacuum cleaners is the drive
belt. It's the rubberized belt that is around 6 inches long, that when
stretched out turns the brushes on the bottom of the vacuum.
When you take the vacuum
over objects that don't belong in the vacuum cleaner, such as pieces of rope or
a cat's tail and the unit comes to a screeching halt, the burning smell that
will soon fill up the air is your drive belt slowly melting away.
Luckily, the drive belt
is available at several locations, so many in fact that your local drug store
may even carry them! They are cheap to buy and a snap to replace with a
screwdriver and a bit of common sense. For other types of problems that you may
encounter, there are a lot of resources at your disposal just in case you
decide to tackle the problem on your own.
You should never forget
that when you buy parts for your vacuum cleaner, most of the parts you'll need are
going to be specifically made for your particular brand name and model. With
the exception of basic items such as drive belts and most bags, most parts aren't
interchangeable between brands and between different models of the same brand.
The first thing to try
when you need a part for your vacuum cleaner is the local Yellow Pages book. Inside
of the Yellow Pages, you'll find many listings for appliance parts and
suppliers.
You'll have to call each
one of the individually to find out if they carry parts for your model and
brand. In the rare event that they don't carry what you need, they can normally
order it for you quickly and easily. If that fails, you can always call the
company direct that manufactured your model of vacuum cleaner and order the
part that way.
Most of the time, you
won't have any problem getting your hands on a part for your vacuum cleaner,
unless it is a more intricate part that isn't readily available. Parts such as
the intake or exhaust port are very tricky to replace, and you will probably
want to have a professional fix these types of problems.
Drive belts, vacuum
bags, and little problems such as these are a snap to replace. With the older style
of vacuum cleaners, you don't have to be an expert to fix a majority of the problems.
The newer models however, require quite a bit of skill and technique.
One of the most common
problems that will happen is clogging. If your vacuum stops picking up dirt and
dust, chances are it has become clogged, which is normally not a parts problem.
All you need to do to fix it is take the front assembly off, then manually
clean out the agitators and the housing where the dirt makes its way upwards through
the vacuum cleaner. This is very easy to do, and won't take you but a couple of
minutes.
Anytime you encounter a
parts problem with your vacuum cleaner, you should always take things one step
at a time and don't rush. You can almost always get a hold of a part. If the
part is more expensive than you anticipated, you can always scrap the vacuum
cleaner and buy yourself a better one - which will save you a lot of time and
headache in the long run.