If you are like me, the UM is the last thing I turn to just before I am about give up and end up in the foetal position on the floor.

If you have read any of my previous blogs you will know that my background is Service Advising in the auto industry. Over the course of seven years, I can recall sitting in the passenger seat of many customer’s cars going through their UM, explaining how to carry out basic maintenance checks and optimum aircon operation. In one case, this dear old lady didn’t know that she could adjust the brightness of her dashboard lights for night driving, she spent years struggling to see how fast she was going.

When you spend your hard earned cash to buy a brand new, sparkling vacuum cleaner, please consider the following simple steps;

1. Un-pack cleaner from box, along with all the accessories

2. Find the User’s Manual

3. From the Table of Contents pick out any operational topics that you are not sure about and read

4. Familiarize yourself with how to change vacuum bags and vacuum filters

5. Staple the purchase receipt to the inside of the last page

6. File manual away

In my brief time with VacuumSpot I have spoken to numerous customers who didn’t even realize that their cleaners contained filters!

As you may be aware, one prominent manufacturer openly says that their cleaners have “…no loss of suction – for a lifetime”, but if you read the fine print it says “Historically, manufacturers based “no loss of suction” claims on IEC60312-1 Clause 5.9. This suction power test can be completed before a vacuum’s bin is full. We test (cleaner model) to IEC60312-1 Clause 5.9 and then repeat the test 100’s of times consecutively using an equivalent of 10 years’ worth of test dust, to ensure (cleaner model) maintains constant suction”. I am not a very intelligent person but I just cannot understand how this works without it effecting the cleaner’s performance compared to one out of the box, unless it requires regular servicing.

I am side-tracked, focus Scott!

If you have ever used our site you will have come to realize that the vacuum cleaner’s model number is king. In case you were not aware this will be on a little sticker about the size of a match box, at the rear or underneath the main body of your vacuum cleaner. This model number is not the serial number and it is not the wattage of your vacuum. So, if you have a question about the operation of your cleaner refer to the UM, if you cannot “make head nor tail” then call the manufacturer’s customer service help line (number will be in the UM). If you need bags, filter or accessories for your cleaner then call VaccumSpot, and remember to have your model number ready.

Until next time remember, “life doesn’t suck, just your vacuum cleaner!”