Thread Number: 39826
/ Tag: Recent Vacuum Cleaners from past 20 years
Why are cord clips on modern vacuums so flimsy? |
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Post# 422772   4/4/2020 at 17:21 (1,479 days old) by niclonnic (Bonney Lake, WA)   |   | |
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Before I begin, I have a big life update to share: I have moved to a newer, bigger house in the same city, but in a different neighborhood! The new house is 3,200 square feet (old one was 1,800) and features a gourmet kitchen, a mother-in-law suite (where my sister lives), wood laminate floors downstairs and carpet upstairs. I've been living here for 4 months now.
I also want to give my thoughts and prayers to everyone dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. I know it's pretty scary, but as for me and my family, we're all doing OK; we're following the stay-at-home order in Washington state, but my dad's SO still has to go to work, since she is a nurse. But we're all confident that we can make it through this unprecedented event in the world. Anyway, on to the main subject. I'd like to touch upon a thing I find incredibly useful on current upright vacuum cleaners: the cord clip. On vacuums where the cord comes out near the bottom, I put the cord in the clip to keep it out of my way while vacuuming, so I won't have to hold it up high. I do this every time I vacuum. HOWEVER. These cord clips are just NOT built to last. These thin plastic clips are under a lot of stress every time you attach and remove the cord for using the vacuum or wrapping up the cord, respectively. In addition, on some vacuums, like my Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Lift-Off (normally $300, but free from the Amazon Vine review program), I remove the cord from the clip in order to use the hose and the lift-off feature. I've had this happen once before on my Hoover WindTunnel 2 Rewind Pet vacuum, which I no longer own; it was cleaned up and donated to Goodwill last year. The top half of its cord clip broke after 6 months of use. I then used super glue to glue the clip back on, and it held up well for a while. But then, the following year, the bottom half of the cord clip broke as well. I tried the super glue for that, but then it broke right off. I emailed Hoover, and they sent me a new upper handle, FREE of charge, as a one-time courtesy. The cord clip on that new handle lasted for a full year before breaking. Now, with my Bissell, its cord clip started to break after a year of use. I could tell because the cord was coming out of the clip while vacuuming. Earlier this week, I was just grabbing the cord, which was in the clip, and the cord jerked on the clip, causing it to break off completely! It's the third time a cord clip has broken on me. I might have to contact Bissell about getting a replacement handle for this vacuum. For the record, I am NOT overreacting over some plastic breaking unexpectedly, I'm just pointing out a design flaw that vacuum manufacturers overlook. And yes, I am fully aware about the subpar build quality of modern products. Has anybody else had cord clips break on them? Here are some pics of the broken clip. |
Post# 422780 , Reply# 1   4/4/2020 at 19:06 (1,479 days old) by MadMan (Chicago, IL, USA)   |   | |
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Well you kinda answered your own question. Lower build quality. Things designed to use the minimum amount of material will skimp on 'insignificant' things like a cord hook. There's also a possibility that it's lower quality plastic. And the engineering of something like that. You might think 'what engineering' right? I mean it's just a little plastic hook. But in order for it to function, it must inherently be slightly flexible to allow the cord to press into and out of it. Plastic automatically has that slight flexibility. But I notice that handle is a very shiny plastic. Well, to make plastic shiny and keep its shine, it must be a harder, more brittle plastic to begin with. Then the engineer has to keep that in mind when designing the hook, because the plastic has a limited amount of flex. So they would want to design the cord hook in such a way to need to flex the minimum amount to admit the cord, but still enough to keep the cord captive. That's a very fine line to walk, especially for something so tiny.
In all honesty, I think nobody really thinks that deeply into something so 'insignificant' anymore. |
Post# 422785 , Reply# 2   4/4/2020 at 21:14 (1,479 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana)   |   | |
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What MadMan said. They cheapen the build quality and the formula of the plastic and it makes it weaker. It then ends up having about as much flex as a plastic knife.
I have a Hoover Windtunnel and the clip that holds the plastic attachment tube busted in half. All around where it broke the plastic turned white from stress bends. |
Post# 422798 , Reply# 3   4/5/2020 at 01:26 (1,479 days old) by myles_v (Fredericksburg, VA)   |   | |
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Hoover and Bissell don't sell products that are designed to last, the cord clip breaking is just one of many parts of that. Ideally, a well-designed vacuum wouldn't need a cord clip. But Hoover and Bissell save a few cents per machine by having the cord come out of the housing right next to the motor rather than routing it through the body and handle of the machine. If they made the cord clip beefier then they wouldn't save any money and they could just run the cord to a spot that's more convenient for the operator for the same cost to them. I can't say that I've noticed this as a recent trend though, I've actually never had a cord clip break on any of the hundreds of vacuum cleaners that I've owned, and most of the more recent additions to my collection have either been canisters or cordless so they haven't had cord clips.
"I am fully aware about the subpar build quality of modern products." is an overly simplified way of looking at it. There are some very well made modern products, but you're not going to get those well made products through the Amazon Vine program. The vacuums that you've had this problem with have outlived their intended useful life anyways, so I'd consider it great that the cord clip is the only issue you've had with them. Also, I'm glad Hoover replaced the upper handle for you, but it's icky that they called it a "one time courtesy" to fix a broken part on a 1.5 year old vacuum cleaner. That goes to show that standing behind their product is just seen as them doing you a favor. |
Post# 422813 , Reply# 4   4/5/2020 at 10:49 (1,478 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)   |   | |
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I have a silly question, do you leave the cord hooked, or unhook every time? I have problems with arthritis in my hands and no grip in my fingers so I leave mine hooked always and have never had one break. and with my situation I tend to be the type that breaks things, just wondering if you're expecting that to work holding your cord and taking it loose more times than maybe it was designed for.
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Post# 422818 , Reply# 5   4/5/2020 at 13:35 (1,478 days old) by vacuumdevil (Vacuum Hell )   |   | |
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Post# 422823 , Reply# 6   4/5/2020 at 14:39 (1,478 days old) by niclonnic (Bonney Lake, WA)   |   | |
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@suckolux I unhook the cord every time I finish vacuuming. That's what contributed to more wear and tear on these cord clips. My WindTunnel had a retractable cord, and my Bissell has its cord situated low on the vacuum.
@vacuumdevil I've never had the desire to get a central vacuum installed in any of my homes. Just the installation process alone sounds like too much modification be done to a house. I'm simply sticking with my uprights. |
Post# 422829 , Reply# 7   4/5/2020 at 15:25 (1,478 days old) by Lesinutah (Utah)   |   | |
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Post# 422836 , Reply# 8   4/5/2020 at 17:06 (1,478 days old) by myles_v (Fredericksburg, VA)   |   | |
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Post# 422842 , Reply# 9   4/5/2020 at 21:27 (1,478 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)   |   | |
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Post# 422852 , Reply# 10   4/5/2020 at 23:03 (1,478 days old) by MadMan (Chicago, IL, USA)   |   | |
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Post# 422857 , Reply# 11   4/5/2020 at 23:43 (1,478 days old) by vacuumdevil (Vacuum Hell )   |   | |
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Post# 422864 , Reply# 12   4/6/2020 at 06:58 (1,477 days old) by Tseg (World Traveller)   |   | |
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Poor design is really the flaw. Who would ever want a cord out the bottom besides a lazy vacuum designer? Cords should always come out the top, then you don't have to create work-around parts and associated quality control of said part if the vacuum is designed properly. |
Post# 422867 , Reply# 13   4/6/2020 at 08:24 (1,477 days old) by EurekaFanSquid (Sacramento, California)   |   | |
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Post# 422886 , Reply# 14   4/6/2020 at 14:52 (1,477 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)   |   | |
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Post# 422910 , Reply# 16   4/6/2020 at 21:42 (1,477 days old) by MadMan (Chicago, IL, USA)   |   | |
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The cord hook has a purpose no matter where the cord is attached to the machine... why does it seem like nobody knows this? You unwind as much of the cord as you need - not all of it - and then you put it in the hook to keep the rest of the cord under tension so it doesn't unwind from the holders.
O_o |
Post# 422921 , Reply# 17   4/7/2020 at 10:18 (1,476 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)   |   | |
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It's all part of built-in obsolescence. Modern plasticrap vacs are intentionally designed to self-destruct over time. The average consumer has forgotten that vacuum cleaners—and most other appliances, for that matter—were once designed to last for decades, but not anymore. To make matters worse, the industry doesn't want people to remember that fact because it is not compatible with their present, more wasteful business model.
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