If your Vax carpet cleaner’s brushes aren’t turning as they should, you may be thinking about buying a new machine. But is it really the end of the road for your faithful companion?
Nope, there are a number of reasons why your brushes aren’t turning as they should, and most causes can be rectified very easily.
Find out why your Vax carpet cleaner’s brushes aren’t turning below!
Below you’ll find a list of likely causes and solutions to help get your Vax carpet cleaner’s brushes turning again.
Note: Some causes below will only apply to specific Vax models.
Cause 1: A Large Item Is Caught in the Brushes
One of the most likely reasons why your Vax carpet cleaner’s brushes aren’t turning is because something is caught up in the head.
This really isn’t uncommon, and we’ve all probably hoovered up a sock or something we shouldn’t have when we’ve been cleaning!
Solution: Remove the item very carefully
If something is caught up in the brushes, it really does need to be removed. If you don’t take out whatever is preventing the brushes from doing their job you may damage the Vax cleaner. This, of course, will end up being a costly job to fix!
Before you attempt to remove any obvious blockages you want to cut the power to your Vax carpet cleaner, and turn the machine off. Once you’ve done this you can go and clear out the debris in the brushes.
Cause 2: Trapped Hair
Another potential cause is trapped hair in the brushes. As your Vax carpet cleaner cleans around your home it gathers up a lot of different dirt, hair is a fairly common type of grime that’s removed from carpets.
Hair, as you might have guessed, has this wonderful ability to coil and weave itself around brush heads. The hairy pattern is quite a work of art and can impact how a brush head works, or in some cases, prevents the brush from working at all.
Solution: Clean the hair away
If you can see a lot of trapped hair in your Vax carpet cleaner’s brushes, you need to remove it because the hair will only mat together and get worse over time.
To sort out this problem you need to switch off your Vax cleaner and lay it down on the floor. If you’re able to disconnect the brushes from the machine itself, you should do so, but you need to check your user manual before attempting to remove this section.
If the brushes cannot be removed you can still try the method below.
To remove the hair, you will need to get a stitch picker. This type of tool is used to cut through threads, so it’s the ideal instrument for this type of work.
All you need to do is carefully pick at the trapped hair with the stitch picker, and pull the picked hair off the brush at the end. This is the best way to remove the hair because you’re less likely to damage the brush’s bristles in the process.
Some people may advise you to use a scissors for this exercise, but this can sometimes be a little more risky. The risk being that you are more likely to start snipping away at the actual bristles rather than the hair. This, in turn, could cause needless damage to your Vax.
Cause 3: The Drive Belt May Be Broken
The vacuum belt is designed to help the brushes in the carpet cleaner spin. If the belt is broken, or damaged, the brushes will not function properly.
In addition to this, you may also find that the bearings have worn down.
Solution: Consult a Vax specialist
If you think that the drive belt or bearings have gone on your Vax you need to check your user manual for further guidance. This section in the manual may advise you further on what signs to look out for when a drive belt is faulty, or what to do if the bearings are worn out.
In addition to this, it is worth contacting Vax to discuss this matter with them. You can contact the team at Vax either via their website, on the telephone, by email, write to them or reach out to them on social media.
It’s worth speaking to a specialist before you try and fix this issue yourself.
Cause 4: Obstruction Sensor Has Been Triggered
This cause may not apply to all Vax carpet cleaners, so if you’re not sure if this applies to you have a look in your user manual for ‘motor protection sensor’.
If your manual discusses this, it will tell you what activates this function, and it’ll outline how to deactivate this function too.
In short, the motor protection sensor will kick in if there is an obstruction in the brush area.
This function is there to stop the brushes from functioning, so the Vax carpet cleaner doesn’t suffer from further damage. A red light usually appears too, and this signal informs the user that there is a problem.
Solution: Deactivate the motor protection sensor.
If the brushes are not turning as they should on your Vax carpet cleaner, and you notice a red light, you need to stop working with the tool immediately and sort the issue out.
To rectify the problem, you will need to disconnect the head of the Vax carpet cleaner from the wand section. You’ll then need to clean out any obvious dirt from the head and reattach the head to the wand again.
When this is done, you’ll need to set the brush bar to ‘on’ and you can carry on cleaning.
Cause: 5: Knocked the Brush Bar into the ‘Off’ Position by Accident
It’s not unheard of for the brush bar’s button to be knocked into the ‘off’ position when you clean. This often leads to users thinking that the brushes are not turning as they should. But really they’re just not ‘on’.
Solution: Turn the brush head on
If you think that the brush head was turned off for some reason, you can pop it back on again. Not sure how to do this? Have a look at your user manual to find out where this button is located on your particular model and flick the switch to ‘on’.
Cause 6: Reset Function Is Malfunctioning
Not all Vax carpet cleaners come with a reset function, so if you’re not sure if your cleaner comes with this feature, you should check your user handbook.
If your Vax carpet cleaner does come with a reset function, it’s worth checking to see if it’s functioning as it should.
The brush bar may not work correctly if the brush head wasn’t reset correctly after you cleaned the head the last time. This may result in the brushes not turning as they should the next time you use the machine.
Solution: Check your user manual
If you think a faulty reset is the reason why your brushes are not turning, you should try to reset the brush bar again.
You need to consult your user handbook to see exactly how you need to do this for your particular model of carpet cleaner.
Cause 7: Handle Is Locked in an Upright Position
When you store your Vax carpet cleaner you should pop it into an upright position.
Popping a Vax carpet cleaner into an upright position typically means that the brush bar gets locked in place – this stops it from coming to harm when it’s not in use, and it also protects your flooring.
If you don’t pull the Vax out of its upright position when you go to use it, the brush bar may not work as it should because it’s locked in place. This, in turn, may prevent the brushes from turning.
Solution: Make sure the Vax isn’t in an upright position
Before you use your Vax carpet cleaner make sure that it’s in the vacuuming position, rather than the upright position.
Tips to Keep Your Carpet Cleaner Brushes Turning
- Try and clear your floors of any big objects that could get caught up in the carpet cleaner’s brushes before using the machine. This will limit the number of ‘bad’ items that can get caught up in the brush head.
- Try to avoid hoovering over tassels or fancy hems that appear on curtains.
Bethan has a passion for exploring, reading, cooking and gardening! When she’s not creating culinary delights for her family, she’s concocting potions to keep her house clean!
