My Vacuum Cleaner Won't Work!
Firstly, is the electrical power on to ALL circuits in your house?
Taking extreme care, flex the electric cable by 3 pin plug, holding it about a foot down the cord in case sparks blow out of it by the plug.
In the case of cord rewind reels, pull the cord carefully all the way out and carefully flex along its length.
Is the power on to the power-point? Will something else such as a hair dryer, work in that power-point?
Is the vacuum hot? Check for blockage in the nozzle, pipe, hose, especially the bent tube, which is usually the most constricted point. Drop a metal socket, from a socket set, a marble or $2 coin through the hose to ensure it's not obstructed.
Check the filters are not blocked. Clean or in the case of the domestic vacuum cleaners non-hazardous HEPA filters, replace it.
However, if you can see the dirty side, check if it's clogged, by banging gently dirty side down on a sheet of paper, or in a clear plastic bag. You will be amazed at what comes out of it!
On the Nilfisk Extreme, Kings and Compact, the HEPA rated main filters are underneath the machine, between the rear wheels and Nilfisk recommend they should be replaced each year. The Nilfisk GM200 and GM300 and GM400 filters should be replaced every couple of years.
However, this is simply a guide and they may need to be done more frequently in dusty situations, that is, in country locations, or where building work is taking place.
Where there are old carpets with build up of old dust in them, or in a situation where an old machine has previously been use in the home, and now a new, more powerful machine with very efficient filtration system has been bought and used on the carpets, pulling years of dust up from the underlay.
This can reduce the suction of the vacuum considerably, as the filters have done the job they were meant for, and stopped the fine dust, being picked up and passed through the vacuum cleaner.
Is the paper dustbag “sheeting” with fine dust? This means, it effectively creates a concentrated patch on the paper bag which blocks the air, causing lack of suction and the machine to heat up and operate thermal switch, turning the unit off. This can be alleviated by reducing the suction level, after knocking the dust away from where it adheres to the vacuum bag.
You also may try putting screwed up tissues or kitchen roll in the dustbag, which in cyclonic machines may mix with the fine dust and reduce the sheeting effect.
Leave the vacuum cleaner to cool down for up to 2 hrs, on the small cheap units, 10 mins on the Nilfisk GM200 GM300 GM400 and the Nilfisk GM500 King and the Nilfisk Compact with front cover open. Then try again, whilst reading the instruction book.
If after trying all this, there is still no-go, please Contact Us
What are your delivery charges? + The postage within Australia, is a MAXIMUM $30 and FREE after an expenditure of $425 and is worked out as you go through checkout, or you use the shipping calculator in your cart.
Can I place an order over the phone? + We're still a service company and our customer service is handled via this website. If your confident about what you want, simply use our website to place your order, otherwise please Contact Us
What are my payment options? + We take methods illustrated on the bottom right hand of the website as well as bank transfer.
Is everything in stock? + There are well over 2,800 items on our website now. All the online parts are there as a result of some query or request for them. Hence some parts are simply there to relate to other parts, to help explain why buying a filter pack, may be better than buying a single filter etc.
There is nothing on our website that says anything is in stock. (Unfortunately, Google search, tells people the item is in stock, because there’s a price on it, and I don’t know how to stop that.)
It is beyond us, as a husband and wife team to go to the extent of a “live” inventory, at the moment, even though both our website, and software has the capabilities.
To do that, It would need our huge inventory to be up to date, and items entered as soon as they are:
- Ordered from our suppliers,
- Dispatched by our suppliers.
- Received by us, from our suppliers.
- Sold to the end user.
- Used on our service van, which may or may not have been invoiced, depending on the stage of the repair, and the diligence of the technician!
That will never be able to happen with our small team of what is now, three!! We couldn’t shut down for a few weeks, to count it all and re-enter it all from the beginning, and it can only be as good as our major suppliers are.
We apologise for the inconvenience to you, because we understand the frustration you feel, as we feel it one hundred-fold more
How can I best track my parts order? + Parts are generally sent by Australia Post so can I suggest using the AusPost App https://auspost.com.au/about-us/about-our-site/australia-post-app
These are very useful for giving safe notifications for tracking deliveries, you'll find you get notifications for packages you didn't realise were coming with a postal service! You can also redirect items to other addresses, or an AusPost locker, so you can pick up your goodies out of business hours!
How can I best track my machine order? + Machines are generally sent by Direct Freight from the National Distribition Centre in NSW. Unfortunately, there is no streamlined tracking service for these.
Do I need to create an account to order something? + No, creating an account is optional.
How do I return items? + If you want to return single items or your whole order, please send an email to andy@vacuumdoctor.com.au Please note that all items must be in original packaging.
How much time do I have to return something?
If you want to return one or several items of your order you can do so within 14 days. For returns the date of shipping counts as the return date and not the date we receive your return parcel.
Do I have to pay for returns?
As we are a small mum and dad business, you will need to bear the direct costs of returning the goods. Very very few items are returned to us, most people are delighted to receive their goods, just check our reviews!