You can easily extend the life of your vacuum cleaner by taking proper care of it; here are five ways you can extend the life of your current vacuum cleaner.

#1 Be Careful About What You Suck Up

A vacuum cleaner is designed to pick up dirt, dust, and other small matter; it is not designed to suck up the cheerios you spilled on the floor or pick up random cigarette butts. Before you vacuum, check the floor for objects that are small enough for your vacuum to suck up, but large enough to damage your vacuum. Pick up and remove these objects by hand before vacuuming the room. By sticking to what your vacuum cleaner is supposed to pick up, you can greatly extend its life.

#2 Change The Bags & Filter On A Regular Basis

It is easy to forget to change or empty the bag on your vacuum cleaner; however, a failure to do so can shorten the life of your vacuum cleaner and make it more difficult for you to effectively clean your floors as well. If you have a vacuum cleaner that you have to empty, get into the habit of emptying it every time after you finish vacuuming. Over time, you'll learn how much dirt your vacuum cleaner really picks up and how often you need to actually empty it out.

If your vacuum cleaner requires the bag to be completely changed, see if you can check how full the bag is after each time you vacuum your entire house. Make tally marks and figure out exactly how many times you need to vacuum before your bag starts to look and feel full. Use that information to guide you so that you change your vacuum bags in a timely manner.

Many vacuum cleaners also have filters. Look at your owner's manual and find out if your vacuum has a filter and if you can clean it or if you have to replace it when it gets worn down. If you can clean your filter, set a reminder on your phone and clean it off once a month or so. If you have to change the filter, set a reminder on your phone and change out the filter on a quarterly basis.

Taking care of the bags and filter will help extend the life of your entire vacuum cleaner. 

#3 Clean Your Brushes

Don't forget about the brushes on your vacuum cleaner. They need to be cleaned every once in a while too. If you can remove the brushes, take them off one at a time and use a different brush to vacuum and clean them. You should also be able to take off your brushes and clean them with a little soap and water; just be sure to let them sit out and dry off.

If you have long hair, it can get tangled up in the brushes and cause them to not work properly; you may need to pull or cut your hair off of the brushes. How frequently you need to do this really depends on how long your hair is and how much space you have to vacuum. Cleaning with a dirty brush can cause the rest of your vacuum cleaner to have to work harder than necessary; cleaning your brushes can cut down on this.

#4 Replace Brushes When They Start To Wear Down

Your brushes are not going to last forever; they are eventually going to get worn down from constant use. When you start to notice that the hairs on your brushes are getting frayed, call up the manufacturer of your vacuum cleaner and see if you can order new brushes.

#5 Don't Stretch The Cord

Finally, do not stretch the cord further than it is supposed to go. This can cause the cord to become frayed and damaged, which will dramatically shorten the life of your vacuum cleaner. Switch to a new outlet every time you move to a new room or plug your vacuum cleaner into an extension cord if you really don't like switching outlets.

If you implement the five steps above, you should be able to extend the life of your vacuum cleaners and get a few extra years' worth of use out of it before you have to upgrade to a new vacuum. Talk to a repair shop, like A OK Appliance Service, for more help.