An expensive quic vac round!

adiwood

This morning I woke up, thinking I was going to have a no spend day. I would clean the house, tidy it up and make it look nice for when my partner came home.

However like a scene out of Final Destination, I vaced the bedroom, pushing my partners hair straightners and drier neatly into the corner not realising they were still plugged in. Somehow I must have switched the hair drier on, which I didnt hear because of the vac. I then moved into the hallway, to carry on vacing, when my vac cut out even though it was plugged in some other part of the flat. I heard the noise of the hair drier in the bedroom so went to investigate, to find it facing the carpet, burning and melting the carpet, its own lead and her GHD lead. Before I could switch it off it obviously overheated and switched itself off.

Spent all evening trying to find out how to get the GHD cable, (because its all built in) replaced which is now going to cost me £20, and although the hair dryer still works, it needs a new cable now which I can easily replace, but partner is worried about using it.

So all in all, today is probably going to cost me over £50.

Least its not a nice carpet so not to worried as going to decorate in there soon and get a new one.

Sorry, just wanted to rant, as feeeling rather fed up! :mad: :mad: :mad:

timnicebutdim_2

Reminds me of the time i put the electric kettle on the gas stove.... Just glad i realised in time and put the fire out. :eek:

mary43

You're not the only one fed up with vaccum cleaners :mad:
My grandson is arriving here on Wednesday, one year old, so, having three cats we thought a real good hoovering was on the cards..........well the blessed think kept cutting out...........had to leave it for a bit then start again...........(and that was just upstairs !:mad: ) Start again downstairs and lo and behold it did it all over again ! Then the bag needed changing........put in last bag we'd got and it had holes it !!!!!!!!!:mad: Shop where we get the bags from in town has closed down.............ggrrrrrrr...........so OH taped over the holes and solved that problem......well for now. But the ***** thing still keeps stopping !!! Giving up now and may start again tomorrow morning but am prepared to have to be on hands and knees with dustpan and brush !!
Does anyoneknow of a decent vaccum cleaner that will work ??? I've tried Dyson............too heavy for me to manage, all other makes never seem to last............and why is it that misbehave just when they're needed most ??

Thankyou.................rant over

nearlyrich

Glad it wasn't worse, we had a fire brigade check a few weeks ago and they said that hair straighteners should ALWAYS be unplugged when not in use.

meester

mary43 wrote: »

Does anyoneknow of a decent vaccum cleaner that will work ??? I've tried Dyson............too heavy for me to manage, all other makes never seem to last............and why is it that misbehave just when they're needed most ??

Thankyou.................rant over

Miele is the best brand (Which best buys for every model in the entire range) for reliability and suction. Best test them out before buying if you've had problems

adiwood

nearlyrich wrote: »

Glad it wasn't worse, we had a fire brigade check a few weeks ago and they said that hair straighteners should ALWAYS be unplugged when not in use.

For the record, they have a switch on the actual straightners to, however after some debate we are going to pay half each!

Im just glad it wasnt any worse. Come to think about the only reason I heard it going was because the vac for some reason cut out so its obviously good to have a vac that cuts out some of the time! :rotfl:

mary43

Not heard of Miele before..............are they upright or cylinder ? OH is saying about getting a Henry...........we've three cats and I'm sure thats half the problem.
Maybe ours automatically cuts out when it overheats or something. I had a Dyson once and that cut out - rang them up and they said it was an automatic cut out on it.
Not getting another Dyson though.........bad back put paid to that, they're just so heavy.

TimBuckTeeth

Items like irons, hairdryers, hair straighteners, toasters etc. should always be switched off or unplugged at the mains socket.
Hair straighteners are especially dangerous as it is not usually obvious that they are on (apart from a small light) so they can easily be left on by mistake. Also they are small and often placed on flammable surfaces like beds or carpets.

You can get a countdown timer switch which will switch off after a preset time (15, 30 minutes etc.).
Here is an example of a countdown timer :
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQitemZ280232476907QQihZ018QQ
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQitemZ190228250443QQihZ009QQ
The type that the cable is connected permanently to instead of a plug is better as the hair straightener can't be plugged in without it.

Some hair straighteners have an auto-cutoff timer built in.

Peartree

A freak accident is bad enough but a freak accident that knocks a woman's GHDs out of action........ GHDs do have a safety cut out and I think poor old Adiwood did actually say it was the hair dryer who was the culprit on this one!

Mary43, I like Vax - they suck up everything from pet hairs to bits of concrete and everything in between and you don't need to be a weightlifter like you do with a Dyson. Can't understand the Dyson hype myself - a bit of fringe on a rug and they're out of action. My last Vax lasted 15 years despite falling down stone cellar steps half a dozen times - and it is easy to get replacement bits and pieces for them. However, I have been told, by a former Vax fan whom I trust (!) that a HENRY is even better so maybe OH has the right idea.

curlyfairy

I would definately recommend a Henry,£99 in comet when we got ours about 4 months ago.I had one for work and was regulary abused with rubble,dust and general stuff you shouldnt put up a hoover and its still going after 10 years.
I know a few people who had Miele and they would not recommend them atall,expensive rubbish was one quote.Dyson are the same,again lots of complaints.
We use the Henry twice a day as our big hairy mutt molts all the time,definately recommend it.

Ben.

TimBuckTeeth

Although the hairdryer caused the damage it is usually obvious (due to the sound) to most people that it has been switched on. It is unfortunate that the sound was drowned out by the vacuum and is a bit of a freak accident.

I do feel that straighteners are a fire hazard and apparently so do the fire brigade

nearlyrich wrote: »

Glad it wasn't worse, we had a fire brigade check a few weeks ago and they said that hair straighteners should ALWAYS be unplugged when not in use.

The built in switch on straighteners shouldn't be relied on as they can fail as they are not that good quality. A built in timer cut-off (although an useful addition) is electronically controlled so not completely turned off. A thermal cut-out is not that useful in preventing fires as the normal working temperature is around 200C. Also the cable often wears where it enters the straightener as it is constantly flexed when in use and can spark or overheat if damaged internally. So they should be unplugged at the mains socket. Or a countdown timer used, good for forgetful people, teenage daughters etc.