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AVOID BURNING A GRILL LIKE HOLE IN YOUR CARPET WITH A VACUUM CLEANER DESIGN that fails to be safe!

First, take a good look at the vacuum cleaner you are currently using and take special note. The reason most vacuum cleaners have been reported to burn grill-like holes into carpet when using the on board tools is NOT THE CUSTOMER'S FAULT! It is with the manufacturer for not designing it with an automatic shut off of the brush wheel while in the upright position. You have been inadvertently set up to damage your own carpet with a faulty vacuum design/BUILT to rock forward, allowing the agitator brush (that can not be shut off) to come in contact with the carpet when using the above floor tools. It is when you take advantage of the expandable hose wand for a downward reach ....and here are the how's and the probable whys:

1) The manufacturer took a short cut and built the vacuum cleaner model without an automatic shut off for the brush roller when in the upright position for tool mode and above floor cleaning. Why? I can only guess it saves them money and makes the vacuum cleaner lighter to handle....or it allows room for the automatic cord rewind...or frivolous features like that.

2) The manufacturers designed the vacuum cleaner power foot brush area/agitator to tilt upward when in the upright position. This creates about a 25%-30% wedge of airspace between the brush roller/agitator and the floor surface (with the intended idea the brush will not be engaged while upright). When the machine power foot is lowered and angled for push mode use, the power brush is now appropriately positioned to reach the carpet and engaged with the pile or floor surface.

Sounds reasonable right? Unfortunately, IT IS NOT. If you use the expandable hose wand to actually EXPAND...for hard to reach areas (which it what it was intended/designed to do-EXPAND to reach tight areas) the vacuum's power foot area is more vulnerable to tilt forward and downward, engaging the roller brush to your carpet while you are unaware of it...BECAUSE YOU ARE LOOKING AWAY CLEANING THAT TIGHT SPOT by either reaching up or in most cases, down!

And in many cases, your natural tendency is to hold the vacuum cleaner in place to steady it -while you are reaching so that it doesn't flip backwards or forward...like in the case when you are on the STAIRS. This is why you hear about vacuum cleaners creating grill like burns in the carpet when owners use the on board tools. You might be unintentionally holding your vacuum cleaner handle at the wrong angle (GOD FORBID) and the brush agitator suddenly becomes engaged, burning *** in your carpet due to the base being stationary as you use the hand tools on those last two steps on your stair case. Here is another situation, you place the vacuum cleaner right next to that overstuffed chair or couch(too heavy to lift), and you expand the hose around it. Little do you know, it has engaged in agitation due to the tilt in the power foot and has no place to go but burn *** to China!

Another scenario is you accidently don't unhook the expandable hose completely from the holster (it never says you have to in the instruction manual)-or if by accident it snags back around the holster you released it from. In this case, your vacuum cleaner will be more likely tip on the agitator's corner, possibly where the belt drive cover (plastic hump) is located on the bottom of the power foot. For some reason, this was the area in my scenario safety tests, where the most damage was located while using the BISSELL POWERCLEAN REWIND.

As a way to prove my point, compare any vacuum cleaner that has an automatic brush roller shut off feature to one that does not. Notice how the ones that automatically shut off have a power foot flush to the floor and has better seated surface, (for example the older Hoover Windtunnel Dirt Finder). While seated flush to the floor on all sides of the rolling surface -this makes a vacuum cleaner less likely to tilt forward downward when reaching with the expandable hose ....and even when the vacuum cleaner is gently pulled on it's wheels forward. The worst scenario is that the vacuum can flip over. No problem, because the brush is not moving anyway and it would be upside down facing up.

NOW NOTICE how the vacuum cleaner manufactures who DON'T BOTHER TO PUT AN AUTO SHUT OFF CLUTCH on their vacuum cleaner models, design the power foot to be angled upward--creating a unbalanced base if you unintentionally pull the machine forward and downward, while using the expandable flexible hose wand for those hard to reach places ...notice how they conveniently warn you in their instruction manual "not to let the machine tilt forward (or lean on it) when in the upright position, to avoid carpet damage".

The Bissell Powerclean Rewind was built to tilt forward and downward when there is any tug or pull on the expandable hose that REQUIRES A TUG TO BE FUNCTIONAL and expand in the first place. It's called "gravity".

This poorly designed vacuum cleaner was built for the need for the owner to steady it! On page 7 of the users manual, it conveniently says in a bold box: "NOTICE: The floor brush will continue to rotate while you use your vacuum for above floor cleaning. To prevent carpet damage, do not lean on the vacuum or let the powerfoot tilt forward."

This is lame and a SHAME! To even have to print this!

Here is a typical scenario, ...if you have a large heavy over stuffed couch (that you can't move, or chose not to move) and you want to vacuum the picture frame that is on the wall behind it, ...you may have to pull that vacuum cleaner close to the furniture, and expand the flexible hose wand to reach the spot you want. Guess what happens when you are not looking? The machine may tilt forward or to one side, or it may swivel on one corner of the power foot, all the while you are concentrating on dusting the top of that dusty picture frame or behind that couch. You are conscious of this so you steady the machine with your hand. Meanwhile, the roller brush engages, you attempt to steady the machine unaware that you disturbed that 25% or 30% angle space that protects your carpet from those friction shredding teeth of your roller brush agitator.

To your surprise, when you move your vacuum cleaner base away, you are horrified by the melted fibers in a grill like-pattern. I bought a Bissell Powerclean Rewind 62x5 series that ruined my very expensive carpet. I even demonstrated this issue by using a scrap piece of remnant carpet (that is the exactly the same to my carpet that was damaged). I sent Bissell a video of this in a private YOUTUBE link on how it can happen in under 5 minutes. I also gave an explanation to the store where I bought it on how this happens and why they should pull it from their shelves. I was instructed to return the Bissell vacuum to the resolution center to be "investigated".

Meanwhile, I am warning everyone to NEVER BUY a vacuum cleaner that does not have an automatic roller brush shut off feature while in the upright position for tool use. I know even Hoover and Panasonic has made vacuum cleaners without this feature. Ironically and sadly, the newer Hoover Windtunnel Rewind bag less (unlike my old faithful Hoover Dirt Finder-that uses bags) is built without an automatic brush shut off feature when upright. After my Bissell incident, I am back to my old faithful Hoover Dirt Finder.

Here is a helpful tip to quickly identifying a vacuum cleaner on store display that does have this safety feature. First look for a view finder/window on the power foot that would allow you to see the roller brush/agitator moving....or see if there is slide that allows you to shut the roller brush off for hand tool mode. In some models it may not be automatic when in the upright position. I would recommend the automatic version before buying a new vacuum cleaner and I would ask the store clerk to show you the manual. Many vacuum cleaners do not mention on the box whether or not there is an automatic shut off brush feature when in tool mode. This is when it is time to use your smart phone and Google the manual ...or ask the store clerk to do it for you.

Reason of review: Damaged or defective.

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