This great machine seems to be about the most popular stick vac on the market at the moment, so I thought I might take a moment to let you know how to look after it.

Basically, for the new user the Electrolux Ergo Rapido is a pretty simple concept.  It’s a stick vacuum cleaner with a removable dust buster in the middle. A spot of genius I must say!  It seems to me that because the machine is only really intended for a quick spot clean, and the average user only pulls it out for a few minutes every now and then, most people think this vacuum shouldn’t need any maintenance. In fact, this is far from true.  This machine only has a tiny little motor, so a small amount of usage or a small blockage in the filters really is enough to put it under strain. Therefore my good vacuuming  folk, to be a good Ergo Rapido owner you need to perform a small amount of basic maintenance fairly often.  From what I have seen of this machine there are 3 things that can go wrong, but the user can perform some simple maintenance to reduce problems in all three areas.  

1. Clean the Vacuum Filter

Firstly, the filters in the centre of the dust buster part need to be removed and cleaned every second or third empty. Nothing major here ... just grab a dusting brush and give the both the inner and outer filters a quick brush. Even better, if you feel motivated to earn Ergo Rapido brownie points, then use another vacuum to clean these filters thoroughly.  Personally, I would replace them every six months or so too. All filters age by becoming thinner or more prone to blocking over time.  These filters are super cheap so just toss them at the first sign of real wear and pop in spunky new ones.

2. Clean the Brush Roller

Secondly, the brush roller at the bottom needs to be kept free of junk being wound around itself.  The brush is quite skinny so hair, cotton etc gets wrapped around that brush really easily. This stops the brush from picking up properly and increases the strain on the little brush motor. Grab scissors or a stanley knife and cut any junk off that brush roller. Again, these little roller brushes are really cheap, so if it starts to look a bit dishevelled throw it away and replace it with a new one.

3. Maintain the Battery's Memory


Lastly, you need to take care of the battery in your Ergo Rapido.  You can't replace the battery in the dustbuster at present ... well not with a factory original anyway, but that is a whole other blog entry... So, if you have battery problems you have to replace the whole dust buster complete. These are not cheap, so the battery you have now is definitely worth looking after.  And besides, it is not that difficult ... You just need to guard against battery memory. Now, before you comment and say it’s a state of the art NIMH battery and they aren’t supposed to get memory -  to which of course I will have to deliver an entire speech about the Titanic (see where this is going?) - before we get lost on that tangent, I will say that battery fade is a reality that you need to guard against.  All you have to do is periodically let the machine run until it is dead flat and then charge it all the way up; once a month is probably all you need to do.  The little man in the machine just needs to know that even though you normally only ask him to work for two or three minutes at a time you reserve the right to make him work for a full ten minutes if you want. This way you stop him from getting lazy and setting his own terms.

So in summary, I reckon the average user could look after their Ergo Rapido in less than five minutes per month if you follow these simple steps. Honestly, I think this is one of the best spot cleaners out there so good on you for making the purchase, and good on you in advance for looking after it.

Now just to make the whole process super easy I have made a quick video to show you how to put this advice to action. The link at the bottom of this post should take you to youtube where you can watch me in all my HD glory.  

Before I sign off I will say that if you have any queries or comments please use the reply function to contact me. I do love a bit of feedback. In the event that you don't like typing I could suggest flowers, I like them and if my wife thinks I bought them for her, then awesome!

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