While clogs in a regular vacuum cleaner are annoying enough to deal with, they get 10 times worse when you’re dealing with a central vacuum hose. These hoses tend to be much longer, which leaves a lot more room for you to have to check to find the clog within the hose. Fortunately, we’re going to share with you some of our best tips for unclogging central vacuum hoses to help save you time and frustration whenever a clog occurs while you’re vacuuming.
Inspect Your Attachments
The best first step to take when you notice that you’ve lost suction power is to inspect your attachment to see if the clog is existent there. In many cases, a clump of hair or something similar can get stuck in the attachment and drastically reduce its suction ability. It’s best to give the hose a try without any attachment on it to see if there is adequate suction. If there is, then the problem is with your attachment. If there’s limited suction with the attachment off, then the problem is in your hose.
Switch Wall Outlets
When you notice poor suction at the hose without an attachment on, it’s either a clog in the hose or there’s a problem with the wall outlet that you’re using. It’s typically best to disconnect the hose from the wall outlet and put it into another outlet. See if there’s more suction at the other outlet. If so, you have a problem with the outlet itself. If you’re still having difficulty with the suction, then you likely have a clog within your hose.
Attempt to Unclog It
If you have more vacuum hoses, then a good idea is to hook both hoses together and see if you can suck out the clog in the opposite direction that it got pulled in. While doing so, you could have someone walk down the entire length of the hose, starting with the end where the suction is happening. Have them lift up the hose and extend it out so that there are no crinkles in the hose. This will help to allow adequate suction to enter through the hose.
If applying suction in the reverse direction doesn’t work, you’ll want to use a drain snake. These are made of flexible metal piping that is inserted into the vacuum hose. Make sure that you gently feed the snake through until you feel it come into contact with the clog. Applying slight pressure in a clockwise direction will help to attach the drain snake to the clog. You want to give one swift pool to help remove the clog with force. In most cases, you’ll be able to break up the clog enough to where the suctioning will allow it to be pulled back out.
Preventative Tips
According to Jon – Don Janitorial and Building Services, “Vacuum hoses make it easier to vacuum hard-to-reach places for a better, more even clean.” With regular vacuuming, you can avoid overworking your vacuum with the buildup of carpet debris. Additionally, you want to use your hand or a broom to pick up large debris before you intend to vacuum. It’s never a good idea to allow large debris to be sucked up into the vacuum as it can cause a clog.
When your central vacuum hose gets clogged, it shouldn’t take you all day to undo it. By following the information that we presented to you above, you should be able to remove that clog fairly quickly and get back to finishing your job.
