Anyone who has carpet in their house has a need for a vacuum cleaner. Whether you bought yours brand-new or used, a small apartment model or a larger commercial sized one, you have to take care of your vacuum in order to keep it running its best. It is actually quite easy to keep it a vacuum in good working order. If you don't follow these guidelines, you could find yourself needing vacuum parts for a costly repair.

Nothing will stop a vacuum cleaner faster than a clogged up brush. Lint, pet hair, yard, thread and other items can get wrapped up in the brush of a vacuum cleaner, rendering it useless until you do something about the backup. The first thing you need to do is turn off the vacuum itself and turn it over. Find the item or items that are causing it to stop. If you can't pull them out by hand, go to your sewing kit and find your seam ripper. The seam ripper is a small tool that almost looks like a fork and is used to tear apart seams to be re-sewn. In this case, they can tear away at the items causing the backup and making it easy for the brush to continue cleaning. If you don't have a sewing kit or yours doesn't have a seam ripper, invest in one. They are only a couple of dollars and come in very handy.

Keep your machine from needing repair by getting it serviced. Most warranties include a service plan where you can get the belts and/or lights changed once or even twice a year if needed. Since belts are the biggest Hoover vacuum parts sold as a replacement, you should consider investing in the warranty. It can save you a lot of money in the long run. This is especially true if you use your vacuum a lot-being able to take it in for a free oiling or other vacuum parts as needed for free is a wise investment.

Only use your vacuum on floors that are dry. You might be surprised how many people try to vacuum a damp or wet carpet, only to be surprised that it started sparking and/or stopped working all together. They are lucky that they are only surprised, and not shocked-literally! Damp or wet carpet can cause electric shock. At the very least, it will cost expensive repair time and vacuum parts.

Change your belts every 3-6 months, depending on how often you use your vacuum. For those who use their vacuum only a few times a month, you can usually get away with one or two vacuum belt changes a year. For those with more carpet or who just vacuum more frequently, you should consider changing them closer to every three months. Not doing so means that you will get less suction out of your vacuum. Less performance and suction means you will be running the vacuum over the same area or carpet repeatedly and wasting lots of your valuable time. This is caused by stretched-out belts that can easily be replaced, especially if you have a warranty on your machine.