Housekeeper here, pro tip: but a mesh laundry bag, put your dirty filters, (hepa and cloth filters) in it and wash them in the washing machine. The mesh protects them. I do this at least 3 to 4 times a week to keep my sharks clean after each use in my clients homes. Then air dry them. Same for the canister, a pressure hose will clean the mesh filter. All my vaccums have suction as of they were new and I use them A LOT!
@@nyscurls08 I run a motel, Idk about this model, but most of them you can unscrew the bottom. I take a knife and cut straight through the hair and carpet strands using the plastic on the brushless portions as a cutting board, then I can pull it out of the brush portion. My mom always used scissors
Bad tip! You're not supposed to wash the hepa filter! Water ruins the tiny little fibers the hepa filter is made out of! So your hepa filter is probably not even working anymore lol dum dum
I'm so sorry for your loss. I completely feel you. We just bought our 1st house in Nov 22, my husband suddenly passed 30 days later 5 days before Christmas to be exact... my whole world has been turned upside down 😢
Total lifesaver for me today!! I couldnt figure out why my vacumn wasnt sucking up, it was just spitting out and making a whirring sound, followed your video and in the bottom hose it was soooo clogged! The whirring sound is gone and it picks up, but I feel like it was still spitting some out behind me when I had the carpet setting on, but when I switched to the floor it was fine. As long as I go over the floor slowly to allow it to pickup on the carpet setting, it will pickup and not blow back. THANKS SO MUCH!!!
Finally someone who got it right! Thank u! I found several videos telling us to wash the hepa filter & you're not supposed to get the hepa filter wet! Water ruins the tiny little fibers it's made out of!
Thanks for video. Truly a deep clean. I have this exact model after all these years. I have a spare filter set I bought and that way I can replace them while the other is being cleaned and then dried. I don’t think mine has ever gotten as dirty as this one. I will say I think it’s easier to go ahead and dunk the debris bin in soapy water and wash it that way (a small angled brush or bottle brush would probably make it easier). I just leave mine to dry overnight after I attempt to dry it off. The two things I dislike about this old model is the lack of lights and that part in the bin where the dust/hair gathers and I almost always have to stick my hand inside to remove the glob. We do have kitties and two long haired people here, but still...the professional Shark/years newer model, they worked that kink out because the bin is easier to empty on it. And my newer one has lights. I really wanna upgrade to the DuoClean as soon as we’re able. I feel behind in the vacuum times. 😆
Just wanted to say I bought one of these vacuums used over 3 years ago and it's the best one I have ever used. It hasn't missed a beat, even with having 2 cats. It gets all the fur out of the carpet and furniture, no problem.
Abrupt ending. Soaking the main canister in hot soapy water would seem to be much more efficient. Blow drying with an air compressor would efficiently remove all water and prevent any future rusting. If you were doing this frequently, get an ultrasonic cleaner, makes work work of embedded dirt.
Thank you for taking the time to post this very informative information. Took our daughter's Shark apart per your instructions, to repair the beater bar. The 2 screws located underneath the 2 small drive wheels would've been an issue with disassembly. Thanks again!!
Love this! now I can deep clean my own every few months to make sure it stays in maximum working order for as long as possible. My house is so dusty this thing gets kinda gross fast. Not nearly even 20 percent as bad as that one but still, my wife's hair is everywhere so there's lots of hair and dust. My wife loves this particular vacuum. She says its the best she's ever used.
Judy here, This was just what I was looking for. Great Video, clear instructions you made it seem so simple. Love my shark, Your the best. This was my first time watching you, I subscribed. Thanks!
Just came across this video. Excellent! Thank you 🤗 Just a note, I used a tide pod and white vinegar in hot water to clean filters, soak hoses and wipe everything down it’s all like new again. Rubbing alcohol worked nicely on clear plastics after I rinsed
@@VacuumWars I have a bit newer shark NV 391 26 and the brush roller and the motor are attached to the clear plastic inner casing. I can’t figure out how to get the brush free from the clear plastic case 🥺
Thank you for the video. We have a 5 and 3 yr old so we use the vacuum A LOT! They're pretty expensive for a descent one so this is good to know to keep it lasting.
After watching your video I was motivated to clean mine. I had so much hair wrapped around the brushes I haven't looked at in a year. I cleaned all the hoses and main dust bin out. It now sucks up dirt like it is brand new again
Your video was very helpful, thank you. I haven't had a deep cleaning to my vacuum since I bought it 2 years ago, so I learned a lot about the parts I need to maintain properly. One thing I felt could be improved is to use biodegrable detergent (because the one you use will be bad for the soil in your yard, and the environment, and it will send a nice message to everyone following your instructions). Thanks again for being so throurough.
I actually found mine next to the dumpster of the community. That's insane. It still works although had some obvious where and tare but was not nearly as dirty as as the one in this video. Thanks for showing me how to clean it. I've wanted one of these for YEARS. They're expensive though. Thanks again for making this video.
Considering some of the comments here: * The dustbin can be washed out. I take a hose sprayer, set on "Full" or "Jet" and have at it. * All three filters are supposed to washed out with (cold) water; I use lukewarm water. ** I'm surprised the HEPA filter doesn't ever get replaced. I find it interesting that water doesn't flow through the HEPA filter. I fill it with lukewarm water and let it sit in the sun for an hour or so. Flip it over to drain it, then take a hose sprayer to rinse out the loosened stuff. * I don't use any soap, per the owner's manual, but I might be tempted to use a light mixture of Dawn dishwasher detergent and warm water on the two pre-filters. * My Shark (ZU560) keeps the roller brush free of hair, so I don't have any real need to remove it. (We have three cats and a dog; let the reader understand!) It would be nice if it could be *easily* removed so I could sanitize it every once in a while. Instead, I lay the entire vacuum unit outside with the bottom facing sunward, turning the brush a quarter turn every 15 minutes. Ultraviolet rays from the sun is a great sanitizer! * I also let the sun dry and "sanitize" the filters and the dustbin. * Regardless of the sun drying everything out, I still wait 24 hours before using again. * I found the owner's manual for my unit online. (Some comments mentioned not having one.)
Thanks for a great video! I couldn't remember if I should wash the felt filter (having misplaced the owner's manual!) so this was most helpful. When you discussed blockages, though, it reminded me of the time my Shark just wouldn't pick up anything and my husband was all set to go buy a new vacuum but I knew there had to be something going on. I took off all the hoses, as you recommend, and found a Bic pen caught in the U bend! It was tricky getting it out, but so worth it since the machine works great again! That was several years and two houses ago, so I'm really pleased with my Shark investment!
I have a long dowel and in order to clean the house which is flexible as it is I put a sponge on the dowel and ram it thorugh the hoses by stretching and then gathering over the dowel and sponge then rinse it out with a strong stream of the hose - works like a charm
I bet the yellow orange gunk, almost a rusty color-- is from someone vacuuming up soiled places with pet urine. For it to turn that whole cartridge that funky color - - - I'm willing to bet whoever owned this vacuum used that cheap scented carpet powder to absorb cat or dog pee and would vacuum it up. And wherever else they'd vacuum that filth in the bristles and on the bottom of the vacuum would spread through the rest of the house. Yuck.
@@Thatgamerfurash wow a kid that not only vacuums, but a kid that owns a vacuum and keeps it clean? shout out to your parents for doing a good job lol How often do kids end up on this side of RU-vid? watching and commenting on videos on how to clean your cleaning supplies so that you can have a clean vacuum to clean with and live in a clean home... lol I'm impressed!
I was pretty frustrated when I couldn't get the cover off, & this video calmed me down.. I love LOVE my Shark! I also got it used. It wasn't near as dirty as the one you're working on. I've made sure I have a couple filters at least, that way I can wash the first one & let it dry completely, & put the 2nd one on so I'm not without my vacuum for the 24-48hr dry time. It works really well. Someone here mentioned getting filters on Amazon & I did that as well. Life savers! I have to cut my 30" hair off of the Brush roll OFTEN lol, but doing proper maintenance has kept my vac like new for around the four years that I've had it. & Lastly, my husband was so impressed with my Shark Nav Lift away that he bought a 2nd one, used as well! Now he can clean up the messes from his builds, projects & other things any time he needs to, which is really helpful! Thanks again!
A 50 cent brush from Ikea does a great job, the bristles are deeper than a toothbrush but yet somewhat flexible, and the brush handle is much stronger than a toothbrush.
Thank you! I just bought mine, have 2 large dogs & it’s been raining…I try to clean their feet before running around inside…but still dirt & OMG my new vacuum was filthy after 1 use…until I found your video. Thank you so much!! ❤
TIP..... after soaking and scrubbing the inside of the hoses and parts with the best cleaner for the job- which is DAWN..... run a little bleach and water solution thru hoses/parts. To disinfect. To Keep yourself and your household healthy. Don’t forget to spray Lysol (if you have it) onto those filters while they’re drying to kill bacteria
I have two Sharks but mine are newer. The taking off of the plating to reveal the brush is different. It is hinged with three quarter turn releases instead of screws. The trick is trying to clean the layers of pet hair, dust etc that build up along the intake cover and the stand up bristles behind the roller. Short of completely disassembling the entire head, it is a chore to clean effectively underneath.
Mine is newer too and I wasn't able to take it off with a screwdriver were you able to get it off? I had to cut and yank all of the nastiness out it was so draining.
@@itsGaiaPeralta I think manufacturers encourage us to take the sweepers in for maintenance. Most models I've seen have screws within the turner brush housing that need to be removed to get the roller out completely, but require a special tool. The way the newer models are, you can only disassemble it so much and clean it so much without some kind of professional tools. Yes it ends up being a major hassle to clean the roller housing effectively. I guess cleaning it regularly from the start would help a lot.
I just, today, found a Shark Navigator Lift-Away in the trash next door to my house. I brought it inside and didn't even attempt to turn it on. The filters were clean but it was clogged at every connection and through the entire handle. The handle tube was packed with so much shit that I had to use my drill with an 18" bit to bore a hole through the hair and debris to loosen it up enough to get it out. I put it back together, plugged it in and turned on the most powerful vacuum I have ever had. Easily the most powerful! Now I had two new things, a badass vacuum and a human head sized pile of hair, dead skin cells, scabs, nose hair, dried boogers, and anything and everything that is gross and undesirable that you can imagine. So I threw out one of those things. I'm sure going to miss that new vacuum.
Yeah, my dad used to repair vacuums that he would find, so we always kept the better ones and he sold the rest. When I bought mine back in 15 I was blown away. I got rid of whatever vacuums we had left.
Thanks so much! I could not figure out how to get the brush roller out to clean behind it. I never would have thought there were screws behind those little wheels!
I have this vacuum as well and cleaned it recently. One thing I did to not get the hoses wet was use my extra long dryer lint brush and run it through the hoses.
Just wanted to add a comment regarding heavy duty or commercial use with these vaccuums....My gf and i used to clean a school that had a dirt road entry and thus, loads of gravel ,small tones, and such would get tracked in..the school consisted of 8 buildings 1000 to 2000 sq ft Each..The enviroment was the Worst we had ever come upon in cleaning since early 2000..The scoolrooms had paper, food, gravel and stones, just Everywhere and was obviously let get outta control by those running the place...Point being that This enviroment would have destroyed most ordinary vacuums but the sharks held up fantastic with none of the 3 vacuums we used ever breaking down...We had one like whats in this review, purple and 2 white, bigger capacity navigators....we would always have the vaccs ready, cleaned and empty b4 ech cleaning venture there, but by days end, when we were done, they had been emptied Multiple times with the filters shaken out as well...we needed a vacuum that could pull fine dust and Not loose suction....not many vaccs could achieve this as even a powerful Royal upright with the commercial metal body, would quickly become bogged down and loose suction with a fresh bag shortly after attempting thnis place.the sharks lost No suction, and were torn down midway thru only to empty containers and refresh ,shake out, the filters, then they were back to work again...the enviroment also required an extremely navigational vacc that could get round and between things,chairs,desks ect..the sharks were superb in that respect...the only tradeoff to that manueverability was the heads were relatively small and when coinfronting massive sq ft areas ,a larger head would cover more area more quickly...The tradeoff there is that you would loose ability to get in and around tight spaces...So, for anyone considering one of these for home use, rest assured that it will easily handle what you ask of it and thats its capable of Alot more should you need to... great machines! we no longer do that nitemare job at that school, but Still have and use those same sharks at home...
My aunt has the non lift away version of this and only cleaned it once for the about 4-5 yrs of having it and I tell you the filter was WAY worse than that sooooo I took it upon myself and she brought it over and it it was SO bad and currently the filter is drying so I think it’s gonna work so much better!
Oh Happy Day! when I found your video for my specific need! Thanks much for your help with this Shark vacuum cleaning process. I was ready to give up attempting to clean it myself. 🤗
Great video! Thanks for all of the tips. I'm actually about to deep clean mine now. I was wondering, maybe you said it in the video and I didn't hear it, why can't you just wash out the canister? With water? Should it not get wet? I was trying to read through all of the comments to see if anyone else asked but there are so many! Lol!
I just wash mine out with the garden hose. Clean the center cone part with a detail brush. I've only done it on a hot summer day, so drying it hasn't been a problem. I guess I would use the hair blow dryer if necessary.
Thank you for this info. I was given one of these and though it was nowhere near as putrid as yours it still needed cleaning but nobody gave as much detail as you. Appreciate it.
you can use a dryer vent brush to clean out the middle of those hoses. Best vacuum I ever had was the Fantom. Lasted a little over 25 years. I have the Shark Liftaway now, def. not as good as the Fantom, but works! Wish The Fantom Was still around!
Just bought my first Shark Navigator. Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this very detailed video!!! You are amazing and quite talented!!! Really disappointed we didn’t get to the the completed project 😩
I found one and cleaned it and it was beyond disgusting. I had to pull out a dozen handfuls of someone elses hair. It was all jammed up in the roller. Had to cut it out with a razor blade.
The filter sets I find on amazon are fairly cheap. I have a shark uv440. I got a 3 Pack Foam, 3 Felt Filter & a 1 Hepa Filter on amazon for $12.99 im a prime member so tax is included
Thank you so much for this video. I hope it helps me to save my vacuum cleaner! I appreciate all of the effort in the details that you put into this video.
Curious... When did they change from the "donut" filters on the NV series? The old ones had more surface area for filtering and honestly weren't all that hard to clean. (Now I'm wondering if it's still easy enough to get them?) Other than that, it's better to clean the filter after every three uses instead of three months or so. Keeps a significant portion any really fine material from getting to the motor and that's what can eventually kill the vac in the long term. Looks like whoever had that one last never really stayed on top of that part of maintenance. Also to clean out the hoses from anything that sticks after using some soap, a soapy rag with string tied to it. Thread string through and bunch up the rag so it's a bit hard to pull through but not completely stuck. Pull that through the hose back and forth a few times to floss anything that may stick if rinsing doesn't do it.
I Like The Fact The You Explained Every Thing And Took Your Time I Have A Shark Nv46 Navigator Lift Away Have Had For Long Time It Was Brand New At The Time It Still Works Just Like It Did When It Was Brand New Just Recently It Need A New Bottom Hose And Dust Dirt Bin Cup Thing And It Has Not Need A Belt Since I Have Ownd It
Oh what a bummer I was looking forward to hearing how it sounds now that you removed all the dirt and clogs from everything cleanable. Actually I know because I found one on the side of the road left abandoned because it could no longer suction up anything. Every thing was dirty and clogged just like yours. It runs fine now. Thanks for showing us what a little time and effort can do to save all these sharks from the dump!
Just a tip: i usually squeeze down vacuum hoses and use a long baby bottle brush, to scrub the inside with hot soapy water. And i really think it would be okay to do the same to the main compartment, fill up a tub with hot soapy water and scrub it with a baby bottle brush and then just use a hair dryer to dry the metal part out. Im gonna do it to this model too. Sorry for all the comments. Lol! 😉✌
You have provided the best, clearest instructional videos on Shark related matters that I have seen, thank you. May I offer two points of feedback which may help you to further improve and future proof your sterling instructions: * please show everything you do I.E. taking off the wheels, seeing your technique would be most beneficial . * also explain the exact nature of any products you use for viewers unfamiliar with the product and/or in countries where they may not be available for sale, I.E. Dawn de-greaser. or where products may have several/other names I.E. rubbing alcohol Please keep up the good work, your skill and experience is really valuable and Shark could take a lesson from you in providing much needed after sales care and maintenance support .
Good job,but you have so many options to get that thing cleaned. Go to Wal-Mart and get a gallon of Super clean and dilute. Use a cup washer that you use for dishes, on the bin and hoses etc.
neighbor borrowed my vac and brought it back full of white dust, either cement or plaster. Thank goodness for this to make sure I haven't ruined it as I have stuck it in the water! I still don't have it clean
Don't know if anyone else has mentioned this, but I use a leaf blower outside (you could also use a hair dryer on cool, but a lot less powerful, or a can of compressed air which gets expensive) to blow out the initial dust and then again after each time I clean something inside. Just be sure to point it away from you. Works a treat.
If you are a diver and have scuba tanks there is an attachment for just dust blowing that absolutely does a great job. Short bursts will clean a lot of junk out. I also use it to blow dust out of my computer but with a bit of distance cause you don't want to blow anything off of the motherboard.
I have an air compressor, with a 50-foot hose, that is always turned on at my house. I use it for my nail guns and tires and to blow the dust off of things. I blow out the filters every time I empty the cup. It takes less than a minute.
would have been nice to see the vacuum all cleaned and put back together! nice video though. I will definitely be doing a deep clean of my vacuum soon.
Thank you. My first shark was the one in this video and what I have now is purple. Both state in instructions to rinse filters with cold water. The first one I put the filters except the hepa in the washing machine a few times before reading not to do that. I used either hot or warm water. After that would hand rinse but with hot water while putting a cleaner in the filters beforehand at times before rinsing clear. The purple I only rinsed but with hot water. Since instructs cold water I will use at least luke cold.
Thank You so much for your VDO. how to. My problem was the hidden screws under the little wheels. I can see why people just rather throw the nonworking appliances in to trash. Take time and patient to fix. What are we going to do without people that like to fix things.
I guess I may have a newer version of this vacuum. I’m not quite sure what screw driver is needed considering a standard Phillips doesn’t work with the screws in my model. Sadly I don’t have the manual for this but would greatly appreciate any input you may have. The screws have a metal piece in the middle which stops me from being able to possibly open this baby up.
Hi, right now my husband & I are running all over town looking for T torx wrenches because that's what they used to put this vac together !! Haha No Phillips head for me
