Edit ArticleHow to Change a Bag on a Vacuum Cleaner If your vacuum cleaner isn't picking up dirt very well, you might be able to improve its performance simply by changing the bag. The process must be done carefully to reduce the chance of making a mess and to ensure that the vacuum cleaner continues to operate efficiently. If you want to learn how to change a bag on a vacuum cleaner, follow these tips. Unplug the vacuum cleaner. Examine the bag while it's attached to the vacuum cleaner. If the bag is more than half full or is bulging at its base, it's probably time to replace it. Newer units may have an indicator light that illuminates when the bag is full. A full bag tends to recirculate old dirt inside the system, making it harder to pick up debris inside your carpet. The position of the bag depends largely on the type of vacuum cleaner. Upright vacuum cleaners: Most uprights carry the bag inside a zipped pouch that is attached to the appliance's handle. Unzip the pouch to access the bag.

Canister vacuum cleaners and shop vacs: The bag in each of these models is usually inside the plastic body of the appliance, which is separated from the hose and powerhead attachment. Release latch along the front or back edge of the vacuum cleaner to open the unit and access. With some shop vacs, you might have to remove the hose from the base before opening the appliance. Remove the full bag. Once you have the unit opened, you can replace the bag. Most models will have a spring holding the top of the bag in place inside the unit. Guide the spring upward until the top of the bag is free. Hold the top of the bag and gently pull it off the vacuum line. Be careful to hold the bag along its cardboard top, where the hole for the vacuum line goes in. Otherwise, its contents can easily spill. Gently pull the bag out of its plastic housing. Release the latch that holds the bag in place and lift the bag straight out. Put the old bag in the garbage. Put in a new vacuum cleaner bag.

Slide the new bag into the plastic housing. Make sure the bag is sitting in the proper position, with the top in line with the vacuum line. Adjust the bottom of the bag in the housing so dirt can collect properly. Lock the bag in place by depressing the latch. On units with a spring bag holder, place the top of the bag around the vacuum line and guide the spring downward. Make sure the spring is at least 1/2 inch (1.27 cm) from the top of the bag, holding it firmly in place. On many canister vacuum cleaners and shop vacs, simply close the unit when you've replaced the bag. The hose will have a male end that goes into the bag securely. Most new vacuum cleaners have filters that help trap fine particles. Consider replacing your vacuum cleaner filter periodically. Under normal conditions, you should change a bag about once a month. If you have children and pets, like dogs and cats, you might have to change your vacuum cleaner bag more frequently. Consider buying a bin vacuum.

With these types, the dirt collects in a plastic receptacle instead of a bag. Bin vacuum cleaners tend to cost more, but you won't have to buy new bags every few months. agricultural vacuum cleanersEmptying them also is much easier.eureka vacuum cleaners website Make sure you match your vacuum cleaner bags to your model. vax vacuum cleaners any goodBags are given a letter designation based on the size and type (upright, canister, hand-held, etc.) of appliance. MTDAprilaireKenmoreWhirlpoolUniversalMaytagGE General ElectricYard ManUniversal Grill PartsHoover 9522 Nall, Overland Park, KS 66207Phone: 913-322-4308 South Overland Park - STORE CLOSED 4476 South Noland Road, Independence, MO 64055 Phone: 816-478-1889

6208 NW Barry Road, Kansas City, MO 64154 Phone: 816-436-9191 MarBeck Appliance Parts and Service is proud to be the world's largest small appliance parts store and an authorized service center for several small appliance manufacturers.  We have been Kansas City's best source for appliance parts and repair for over 50 years.  We offer, through our retail stores, small appliance parts, major appliance parts, small appliance repairs, and bargains on new and factory serviced appliances. Parts:  We carry air cleaner filters, blender parts, coffeemaker filters and parts, espresso machine parts, food grinder parts, food processor parts and accessories, furnace filters, gas grill parts and accessories, humidifier filters and parts, microwave trays, mixer parts and accessories We also carry major appliance parts for stoves, range tops, dishwashers, ovens, refrigerators, clothes washers, and clothes dryers.  Our retail stores welcome special orders. Repairs:  We repair a wide array of small appliances including blenders, carpet steamers, lamps, mixers, Power Wheels vehicles, electric shavers and razors, and vacuums. 

We also sharpen knives, gardening tools, electric hedge trimmer blades, and gas powered hedge trimmer blades. Appliances:  We carry vacuums, electric shavers and razors, blenders, air cleaners, humidifiers, coffeemakers, irons, toasters, carpet cleaners, food processors, and many other small appliances.  Visit any of our showrooms to see our full selection of discounted new and factory serviced appliances. Proudly serving the entire Kansas City Metro and surrounding areas since 1948.It's Sunday and the big basketball game is this afternoon, but you can forget about getting tickets. So it's gather the crowd and drive to the sports bar. Minutes into the ride, the windshield is so foggy, you've got to hit the Defrost button. The panel is set to outside air for heater operation, and there are no smokers in the car. You put your hand over the defroster outlets and there's hardly any airflow. When you turn the blower switch to high, the noise level goes up but the airflow is still weak.

Maybe you need to change the cabin air filter. If it's plugged, the passenger compartment might as well be a sealed cabin—and with a carload of friends the glass will fog in minutes. Filter life depends on the air quality in your area, but a year, or 12,000 to 15,000 miles, typically is the recommended replacement interval.In the late 1980s and early 1990s, only some European luxury cars had them. It's more common on newer cars. In many premium cars, there may be two filters, even three. Sometimes they're parallel (side by side), sometimes they're in series (one after the other, with some space in between). Sometimes they're nowhere near each other.Locating The FiltersA cabin air filter may be in the outside air intake, visible with the hood up and perhaps a cover lifted. Or it will be under the dash in one or both of two general locations:• Above the blower in the back section of the outside air intake, a location well protected from moisture.• Between the blower and the rest of the HVAC case.

If the owner's manual doesn't tell you the location, and you can't see it with the hood open, check behind the glovebox—perhaps you'll see an obviously removable (with a spring-tab or similar retainer) rectangular plastic cover. Next, look under the dash (on both the driver's and passenger's sides) for a removable plastic cover in the HVAC case. If you can remove its cover, look inside the HVAC case.Buy the filters, something you have to do anyway. You've got two choices:• Buy the factory filters at the dealership at full price. This way, you'll know for sure what they look like and get some idea about how they have to be installed. You'll also find out how many your vehicle has. The parts department should have a diagram to show you where the filters are located in the car.• Buy aftermarket filters that come with step-by-step instructions from an auto parts store. The odds of the original equipment parts coming with instructions are extremely slim. Do all aftermarket filters have them?

No, but if you're shopping at a parts store, you should be able to check in the boxes on the shelves. Also, these parts probably will cost less.Replacing The Filters In The Air IntakeThe filter in the outside air intake (even if there are other filters) takes care of most of the dust and pollen, so it's likely to plug first.The typical procedure begins with removing the air intake screen, which is held by "Christmas tree" plastic fasteners. If the "tree" has a center pin, pry it up with a thin-blade screwdriver and then wiggle the tree out of the hole. If the tree is a single-piece design, you'll have to pry it out. Most of the time, it will break and you'll have to replace it (blister packs of replacements are sold in most auto parts stores).If there's a rain/snow deflector over the filter, remove it, then extract the element. The filter element may be held by a plastic tab, or it may slip into a retainer housing that you will reuse with the new element. Some dust may have gotten around or through the filter.

Use a vacuum cleaner to clean the outside air intake duct. Be careful when you reinstall the air intake screen, as well as any cover over the filter element. If the gasket surface around the screen does not seal, or if the cover (actually a shield, in most cases) is not reinstalled, rainwater can flow into the filter, saturating it.In The Case, Above The BlowerIf the filter is in the case above the blower, most likely it is behind the glovebox. Removing the glovebox may be easy, but you may not have to remove it at all.Many filters (such as on most Hondas and Toyotas) are just above the blower behind the glovebox, and you'll have to drop it for access. In the best of cases, you can flex the sides of the box so the pins clear the dash, then pivot the box down for clearance. In others, the entire glovebox assembly has to come out, which means removing a number of retaining screws, not all of which are visible. The midcase filters may not always be easy, but remember, the setup was designed to allow filter replacement, so don't assume the worst.

There are pull tabs taped in place in GM sedans that have two or three filters in the same HVAC case located above the gas pedal. Pull a tape to release the tab, then pull the tab to withdraw the filter. Ditto for the others.All filters need perimeter sealing, so air flows only through the filter element. With side-by-side filters, the sealing may be a simple foam rubber strip. Or there may be interlocking guides. On many cars the filter will come straight down and hit the floor without clearing the HVAC case. Most of these filters are flexible, and you have to bend them to get them out and the new ones in. Even if the filter location is accessible, the toughest job may be getting the right replacement filter. One of the most common complaints among professionals is that the aftermarket catalogs haven't kept up with the year-to-year changes, particularly with filters that fit under the dash where the space provided may have changed.If a vehicle has more than one filter, you may not find both in the same box, especially if they are in different locations.

And they may have totally different part numbers. This is particularly true if one filter is in the air intake and others are in the HVAC case. The one in the air intake is more likely to be a simple particulate filter, one that just traps small particles. The one under the dash is more likely to have a charcoal layer for odor control.No matter what the original equipment element is, the aftermarket one is more likely to be a particulate filter, rather than the more sophisticated type with a charcoal layer. Should you get the charcoal filter, which may cost a lot more? If you're in a densely populated area with slow-moving traffic, or your carpool partner fancies Mexican food, the extra cost is worth it.If you're not facing an odor problem, you may save money with a low-cost, particulate-only replacement for an original-equipment filter with a charcoal layer. An aftermarket particulate element does filter finely enough to remove pollen as well as dust particles, so if pollen and dust are your major concerns, save your money.

The cabin filter is a type of air filter that in some respects—such as pleating to provide a lot of surface area in a small package—may resemble an engine air filter. However, it usually is made of different materials, the main one being a charcoal layer in many elements. Like some engine air filters, the dust and pollen filtering element is electrostatically charged, which means it's made with fiber particles that have been given either a positive or negative static electrical charge. Airborne particles are negatively or positively charged, so they are attracted to the opposite-charge fibers.In addition, the filter performs "mechanical filtration." This means that fiber material with pores of a specific size will trap particles larger than the size of the pores. The charcoal filtration layer removes odors.The charcoal is "activated," which means it is treated with chemicals and heat to give it specific odor-control properties. Each manufacturer has its own recipe, based on tests with individuals who have "sensitive noses," including people who work as perfume testers.