Home Appliance Tips: Cleaners and powertools part 2

Upright cleaners

The upright style of vacuum cleaner is perhaps the best for large areas of carpet. It is especially good at removing dirt embedded within the pile and pet hairs from the surface, even on sculptured carpets. A drawback with the basic upright cleaner is its difficulty with cleaning stairs. The problem has been overcome with the modern combination of upright and cylinder cleaner. This type may be the best option if you have large areas of fitted carpet and staircases. The motor within the upright cleaner creates the airflow (suction) and drives a rotating brush roll, often called an agitator barrel.

The airflow may be produced in one of two different ways. In the first system a single fan is mounted directly on the armature end, usually by an elongated metal pulley used to drive the brush roll via a rubber belt. The fan is mounted in a housing and when rotated at high speed by the motor, creates a fast-moving airflow.

The inlet, which is positioned in such a way as to form an area of suction around the rotating brush roll, is often called the mask plate. As the fan rotates, the dirt that is picked up or loosened by the brush roll is sucked into the fan chamber and blown into a disposable paper filter bag. Although effective and used for many years, this action has a major disadvantage. All the dirt and debris picked up by the airflow comes into contact with the moving fan, resulting in chipping or wearing of the fan blades. If a large item is picked up, a blade could be completely broken off the fan. Uneven wear or slight chipping causes severe vibration and noise, resulting in poor performance or, even worse, motor bearing or motor case failure. Donot continue to use a noisy machine because this maymake the fault worse.

The second suction system avoids this kind of problem. One end of the motor’s armature is extended and used to drive a brush roll via a rubber belt as before. The main body of the motor is housed in a sealed casing and the opposite end to the pulley has a series of specially shapedfans attached. When turned by the motor, they create anextremely fast movement of air.

The inlet connection of the unit is connected via a flexible tube or ducting to a sealed container or body of the vacuum cleaner. This creates a vacuum within the chamber when the motor runs. A duct runs from the container to the brush roll housing (mask plate). Air is drawn in as before, carrying any dirt and debris with it. At the entry point to the container, a disposable paper bagfilter is positioned to remove the dust and debris from theairflow, simultaneously preventing it from coming into contact with the fan. Nevertheless, this system also has adrawback.

The air that flows through the sealed motor casing also cools the motor, but if the disposable bag or internal dust filters are not renewed regularly, the airflow through thesystem slows down or stops altogether. This not only results in poor pick-up, but in overheating of the motor. Itis essential that disposable bags are renewed regularly. Filters should also be changed regularly to prevent further problems developing.

Repairs to faulty motors are dependent upon the manufacturer. Some supply only complete units, whereas theirs supply individual items as replacement spares. As a rough guide, individual parts and smaller units are usually available for cleaners that fit into the first category. Manufacturers of cleaners in the second category usually supply complete motor and fan assemblies, sometimes with motor brushes as a separate item.

The brush roll

The other main component of the upright cleaner is the brush roll. It is turned by a drive from the end of the motor, creating a sweeping and beating action. This lifts the carpet pile to clean thoroughly. If a beating action is incorporated, there will be a bar on the barrel in place of one brush row. It vibrates grit from the pile base to the surface where it can be sucked up by the airflow and removed. This may sound a rough operation, but all it involves is the mask plate lifting the carpet slightly away from the floor and the beater bar tapping the carpet to free the grit embedded within the pile.

Removing grit particles is extremely beneficial. If they are left, movement on the surface, such as someone walking on it, causes the grit to wear through the base of the pile. Doorways and passageways are particularly likely areas for this problem. A loss of pile is often blamed on a poor carpet when, in fact, poor cleaning by an inefficient or unsuitable vacuum cleaner is the main cause.

The brush roll belt may be round or flat depending on the style of cleaner. Many sizes of belts are available, but it is essential that only the one for your particular model is used. Using the wrong size belt causes damage to the motor and brush roll bearings. Various qualities are also available, but cheap copies may prove not to be cost effective because they have a tendency to break frequently or, due to overheating, shed black residue on to your carpets.

More Help'n Tips: airflow, belt, brush, brush roll, brush roll via, carpet, Cleaner, dirt, dirt and debris, disposable, end, Fan, grit, mask plate, motor, pile, roll, rotating brush roll, upright, upright cleaner, used, used to drive, vacuum, vacuum cleaner, within.

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