kg1970 need help to clarify doubt about: : Why does my vacuum cleaner give a burnt rubber smell?
My vacuum cleaner is about 5 years old, and now it continually emits a burnt rubber smell every time I use it. Let me state that I have very carefully inspected the belt, and it is in perfect shape. I have also cleaned the roller brush and all loose debris/hair from the vacuum. PLEASE DO NOT waste my time with smart a$ $ remarks or I will delete the entire thread…Thanks for your kind help…
Try this:
Answer by clayton
If this were my vacuum cleaner, I would call the local company that sells and services them. It could be that the smell is coming from the electric motor. If there are no signs of the belt slipping, it may take a professional inspection of the components to determine the cause of the odor.
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You seem to have taken care of all of the easy answers.
The problem is usually in the drive belt to the beater bar, but you checked that and the bar should turn easily.
So the smell has to be generated either in the motor or the fan region of the device. It is possible that a small piece of a rubber band is stuck in the fan area and it needs to be removed. Depending on the make and model, the best solution may be to take it to a service center. If you choose to DIY, then get a screwdriver and a camera and start taking it apart. Take pictures on each step so you can put it back together. Realize that you may break something while doing this and then you will need a new unit. Hope this helps.
That black belt is really the only place the smell will come from.
I know you have inspected and cleaned the rubber belt and roller brush, but have you turned the vac on with the roller brush at an angle where you can see if it is turning?
Besides cleaning the hair off the roller, there are two bearings- one at each end of the roller that can gunk up with hair and rust, check to see that the bearings are clean and that the roller turns freely. It the bearings are seized and actually spinning in their seats the plastic housing may be melting which is stinky but a burnt plastic smell, not a burnt rubber smell.
Did you take the rubber belt off to inspect, or rotate it an entire revolution while inspecting it? Often they will look perfect except for a half inch or so where they are worn thin where it got stuck and heated up by the motor spindle. If it wears thin at that one point it may be loose enough that it does not turn the roller brush.
Most other failures are going to be mechanical or electrical, meaning it stops dead or there would be a sparky ozone smell, not rubber. The only other thing I can think of is way up in there, there is a fan blade kind of thing called the vanes. It is remotely possible a chunk of plastic, like a bit of toy got lodged there and the vanes are melting it as they strike it, but you would hear a heck of a racket it that were the case. I don’t think the average person is going to take the vac apart to access those.
I say change the belt and a fresh bag, confirm the roller bar is spinning and I expect you will have solved the problem.
Good luck.
Edit: Also never assume that the belt has been put on correctly, most vacs have the belt in a figure eight, not a single loop. Chances are you need to really stretch the belt and give it a half turn as you slip it over the motor spindle.