5 Easy Ways to Boost Performance and Increase Suction of Your Upright Vacuum Cleaner

Like all appliances, upright vacuum cleaners lose a bit of their oomph over time. While a routine check at the vacuum repair shop is relatively cheap, we can save money by doing a little maintenance upkeep of our own. To boost performance and increase suction in your upright vacuum, all you need is a couple of screw drivers (both phillips and flat), a shop vac, and replacements parts as needed.

Test and replace the belt as needed. The belt is what turns the roller bar and propels dust and lint into the vacuum cleaner. A belt that's stretched out or loose means that the roller bar isn't working at full strength. This super easy fix can be remedied by removing the base plate from underneath your upright cleaner using the Phillips screw driver. Pop off the roller bar, then remove the belt and replace with a new one.

Need more details? Read What kind of belt does my vacuum cleaner take for information about replacement belts and how to install them.

Clean off the roller bar. As long as the base plate is off, check the condition of the roller bar. These bars brush and beat the carpet as it's being vacuumed. To clean the roller bar, snip away at the entwined bits of string and hair using a manicure scissors, then give it a good washing before reinstalling.

Learn some more helpful hints with How to improve the performance of a beater bar.

Clean out or replace the filters. My Hoover upright is a bag-less wind tunnel model that comes with two sets of filters. The cylinder shaped primary filter fits in the wind chamber and filters out dust and silt. These are cleaned by removing them from the chamber, knocking off loose dust, and then using a brush to wipe away remaining bits of dust. Cylinderical filters can be reused at least two more times before they must be replaced.

The smaller filters which are found on most types of uprights are made of either black foam or paper. These filters are usually hidden behind a small rectangular door on the body of the machine. To clean, pop open the door, remove the filter, and (if foam style) rinse before replacing. Paper filters should be replaced with a new filter.

Vacuum out the interior. The inside of my vacuum cleaner gets clogged up with dust, hair, and lint which can also impede suction. I take a shop vac to the interior of the machine to suction up loose dust and debris in the canister area, in the area around the roller bars, near the intake tubes, and other places where dust can build up.

Clean out the hoses and the brushes. Clogged hoses and brushes prevent suction from grabbing hold of dust and debris. Use either a six-foot dowel to clean out the vacuum hose or try some of these ideas. After cleaning, check the hoses for holes. If you can't afford a new hose right now (they cost upwards of $100), mending with duct tape will do the trick.

As far as the brushes, these can be cleaned and scrubbed in warm soapy water, then rinsed and air dried. Brushes that are squashed or missing bristles should be replaced with new ones.