What to do when your vacuum brush stops spinning
Household vacuums come in all shapes and varieties, but many of them are similar on the inside. There is often a brush running across the length of the vacuum's nozzle, and it spins as the vacuum runs to help **** up debris. But sometimes the brush will stop running, and you'll notice a severe decline in your vacuum's performance.
Usually when the brush stops spinning, it's because something inside the vacuum is binding it up. Dirt can get lodged inside, and hair can get wrapped around a shaft. If there is too much pressure, the drive belt can even snap.
You can usually see and clean the brush just by turning the vacuum upside down, but to get to the other internal parts you have to take the vacuum apart. On canister vacuums, this is usually pretty easy because it's just the nozzle that needs to come apart. Full-size vacuums can be taken apart as well, but the process can sometimes be more involved.
If you can get the nozzle or the vacuum's base apart and get to the parts inside, you should see the brush (which is part of a long shaft), a drive belt, and some sort of mechanism that drives the brush, which is commonly a paddle or a motor.
Hair can get caught up in any of these components and cause them to not be able to spin, as can dirt and other debris. If you clean all of the components out and put the vacuum back together, it should work just fine. The brush, over time, may become frayed or damaged, and the drive belt sometimes will snap, but otherwise a good cleaning will usually make your vacuum run as good as new.
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