Long Hair Vacuum Nightmare? Approach It Calmly For Best Results

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People with long hair have it hard when it comes to keeping the house clean. Long hair can get everywhere and shows up easily, getting clogged in drains and vacuum cleaners alike. The unfortunate result of trying to clean with a vacuum can mean the smell of burning hair and a rapidly failing vacuum cleaner that may seem impossible to fix. Don't worry; with a few calm and collected techniques for vacuum cleaner inspection and maintenance, you can get your cleaner up and running and avoid those quick hair burns in the future.

Why Does Hair Burn So Easily In Cleaners?

Human hair may seem to break off or snap easily, but the fibers are still quite strong, boasting an ultimate tensile strength or breaking point greater than aluminum alloy or copper. The strands can snap easily when pulled apart as certain angles, but a vacuum cleaner's suction is not such a damaging force.

When the vacuum cleaner reaches hair, the hair can wind around the rotating brush with no force to attack at the strands with a tearing force. The spinning is far too slow to actually destroy hair, so you'll just end up with a constantly winding bunch of hair around a brush.

Unfortunately, the brush and roller system is fast enough to cause a lot of friction. Hair can begin to heat up and burn as it rubs against the vacuum cleaner's internal components, the floor or even other strands of hair at high speeds.

Removing Hair The Easy Way

Most vacuum cleaners with rollers are build with a removable rolled dock. By removing a few housing screws, the roller can be carefully removed in order to take away string, strands of hair and other winding hazards.

For larger strands such as carpet or yarn, it is possible to find the end piece of the strand and unravel it. The strand may send a lot of dust into the air, but it is manageable as long as you pull slowly. Hair, sadly, is not as agreeable.

For hair, it's best to start with scissors. Cut the outer binding of hair first, as too much hair at once may not cut easily. Work your way down to the core of the roller, taking special care not to cut the cleaning bristles or yourself.

After cutting away enough hair, pull the hair away and dispose of inside a bag. The hair shouldn't be long enough to wind again, but you don't want to put more hair on the floor to be sucked up again.

If you're running into a bigger clogging issue, contact a vacuum repair professional, such as Vacuum of Jacksonville.


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