Warning: Almost ALL vacuum cleaners have two very important filters that must be occasionally cleaned and/or replaced to prevent pre-mature motor failure. Many consumers use their vacuum week after week simply just dumping the dirt cup because they bought a vacuum that has "lifetime" or "washable" filters. If you want your vacuum cleaner to last years instead of months you MUST perform these easy-to-do steps that are very simple if performed frequently enough. 

 To work properly your vacuum cleaner must pull a large volume of air into the vacuum, filter and trap the dirt from the airflow and then exhaust the air back into your home. Even the finest or most expensive bag or cyclonic, whirlwind, or windtunnel type vacuum cleaner can't filter all the grit and fine dust from the large volume of fast moving air. 

1. The pre-motor filter prevents sand and grit from being sucked into the motor. If you don't clean and/or replace this filter frequently it's like you are throwing grains of fine gritty sand into your motor continiously whenever it is running. The gritty soils quickly build up in your vacuum motor grinding away at the moving parts in your vacuum motor. On most vacuum cleaners (especially ones with "lifetime" filters) the pre-motor filter needs to be cleaned and/or washed after each use. If the pre-motor filter is washable you should own at least two so you have one to use while the other is drying. A washable filter can take days to dry . If you put it back in the vacuum while it still has moisture in it you will be sucking that moisture into your vacuum motor which can cause the motor parts to rust. 

 2. After the airflow passes through the motor it exits the vacuum through the HEPA Exhaust filter which has very, very tiny pores to filter out microscopic contaminants. If you don't replace the Exhaust filter often enough you will be spewing the allergens, mold and mildew spores, etc. back into your home and the air your family breathes. Most of these microscopic particles are too small to be seen with the naked eye and are continually floating through the air in your home waiting to be inhaled into you or your family's lungs contributing to allergic reactions and asthma. 

 3. As these two filters trap soils and allergens they become clogged which restricts the airflow passing through the motor. The airflow is what keeps the motor cooland prevents premature motor failure. Most of the vacuum cleaners brought into my store for repairs have suffered pre-mature motor damage because the owner neglected to clean and/or replace the filters They didn't realize they had a problem until it was too late. Don't let it happen to you and ruin the motor in your vacuum cleaner. I hope this helps you to maintain your vacuum cleaner making it last for many years.