Solved : Vax Rapide Carpet Cleaner - Not dispensing water

david39
david39 Posts: 1,968 Forumite
I have a Vax Rapide Carpet Shampooer - after 12 months and only 4 decent uses, it stopped issuing water onto the carpets even though a thorough examination showed no obvious fault. Vax Helpline totally useless.

I looked on several "Self-Help" boards and found that lots of other frustrated people have the same problem, but nobody has posted an answer. I finally solved the problem, so am passing it on in case any readers of this board are suffering from it too:

There are 2 possible causes:

Under the brush (you need to remove it by removing the panel that runs down the side of the main base plate) there is a plastic strip with pinholes in it that spray the water onto the carpet. These can get blocked, so clear them by pushing a pin or a needle through them.

If this does not solve it, the answer is most likely that the pipes and valves inside the machine are blocked by congealed shampoo. To cure this, put a kettleful of hot water into the water tank and run the machine for a few minutes, pressing the trigger on and off to give bursts of pressure to help shift the blockage. When cleared, clean out the pinholes (as above) to complete the job.

If neither of the above work, then you are on your own, I'm afraid.

To avoid the problem again, after each use, flush out the pipes with warm clear water to get rid of any remaining shampoo residue. It's a pity that they don't suggest that in the Vax instructions and not just put "Don't leave shampoo in the tank when the machine is not in use."
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Comments

  • kwikbreaks
    kwikbreaks Posts: 9,187 Forumite
    We've got a Vax shampoo machine - not sure if it is this one (it is a big monstrous thing that looks a lot like the picture I just found on the web) - anyway I guess the problem could be common to several models so thanks for the tip.
  • Thankyou thankyou thankyou

    I have been struggling with this problem for ages, and now it is working :j At last I can clean my carpet (it was those little holes that were blocked all the time)

    :D
  • Lleucu
    Lleucu Posts: 334
    I've been Money Tipped!
    Forumite
    me to diolch I will try it
  • thank you sooooo much for this, did an internet search for help but once again MSE to the rescue. unblocked the holes and had no idea how bad it had been till I saw the water run through, dont think its been working properly for months !!
    anyway CLEAN carpet, just when we were thinking it had got too grubby for the cleaner and needed replaced.#
    THANK YOU !!!!:j:j
  • hi, just solved a small problem with my vax rapide. water stopped coming out.took pump off of the bottom of the machine, removed blue end. inside is a spring attached to a small piece of black plastic ( i think this is to stop water syphoning out when machine is not on or no water is required), the spring was compressed and caught on plastic piece. undone spring and reassembled. put back together, works fine!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hope this helps. robert
  • just took pump to bits, moved blue end bit took spring out as you said and it's working, first time its pumped water for a couple of years, had to scrub carpet by hand before then only use vax to soak up water.very happy lady, as will get house work done in half the time now, thankyou.
  • I have tried all these suggested solutions, its still not dispensing any water onto my carpets :(
  • Thank you David so much.... just wish I had thought of looking for a solution before I spent hours trying to work it out.
    At least with your help I got it working again and saved myself money in the process.
    thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you
  • Bought a used, but blocked, VAX Rapide via eBay, for just £15, based on your post about how to unblock. Following your advice, I easily unblocked all the spray-holes. It works brilliantly now. Very many thanks, Regards, Alun:rotfl:
  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,008
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    I bought a refurb that wouldn't dispense the water/shampoo when the trigger was pulled. But with the handle removed and the inner plunger depressed it was OK. Clearly the trigger wasn't properly contacting the inner plunger. Vax supplied a new handle, but it made no difference.
    I eventually cured it simply by gluing a small washer on the top of the plunger to improve the contact. it now works fine.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
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