Kärcher says its wet-dry vacuum cleaners are not built to withstand tipping over - Kärcher of Germany suggests replacement rather than repair, despite claims of "sustainable" corporate policies

 by Ganesh Sahathevan 

This worter bought a Kärcher WD 2 Premium Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner (pictured above) trusting the brand name, and German technology. However , there was only  disappointment  for after just a  few infrequent uses, the machine lost suction after tipping over on its side, onto a carpeted floor. 

Parts were replaced, tubes were checked for blockage, but nothing worked. Kärcher was contacted, but disappointingly Kärcher could only suggest that it would be better to buy a new unit , for that would be cheaper than even the cost of inspection by one of their authorised technicians.

Another email was sent, this time to CEO  Hartmut Jenner. The long winded response is reproduced below in full, but the story is in the last paragraph:

So based on these three factors, and that the unit has been tipped over, none of these are a warrantable defect, or simply a manufacturing defect. So this is why it was suggested that you could have it looked at, although the cost would more than likely outweigh the cost of a replacement. So our Customer Care team were just advising you of both scenarios. 

 The advice provided  cannot be said to be consistent with the claims made in Karcher's Sustainability Report. 

END 

I have been forwarded your email corresopndence between yourseld and our Customer Care team, regarding a vacuum cleaner you have had some issues with.

Reading through the emails, i can see your vacuum cleaner has tipped over during use, causing the loss of suction. And that the Customer Care team have advised you this is not warranty and it would need to be assessed by a service agent, which in turn would be more expensive than replacing the unit.

The reason this was mentioned, is that like all consumer porudcts, they come with a warranty that covers a fault caused by a manufacturing defect within that warranty period. However when something like your example, where the unit has tipped over during use, this is not considered a defect, however a fault caused by external factors. The faulkt you are desciribing where there is a loss of suction, and also dust being pushed throughout your room, is caused by the dust and debris being sucked into the vacuum motor. Depending on the type of dust and the quantity within the vacuum tank, this dust is now being sucked through the motor and out through the exhaust which is why you are having dust throughout your room.

In regards to the loss of suction, this is likely caused by 1 of 3 factors. The first is a blockage within the vacuum pipe or floor tool causing a restriction. The second is there is a safety float within the unit that pushes up when the tank is full of liquid. I have attached a picture of the float and chamber that may be restricted, so blow that out with some compressed air and see if that helps.

Now as your unit has been tipped over, this flaot may be stuck either closed or half closed meaning the suction performance is restriced. And the third factor, is that when the unit has been tipped over, debris has entered into the vacuum motor, which is highly likely if you are getting dust everywhere, and the motor performance has been impacted, causing a loss of suction.

So based on these three factors, and that the unit has been tipped over, none of these are a warrantable defect, or simply a manufacturing defect. So this is why it was suggested that you could have it looked at, although the cost would more than likely out weigh the coist of a replacement. So our Customer Care team were just advising you of both scenarios.

So again, i am sorry we cannot look at this as a warranty, however if you check the 3 factors i mentioned above, it may improve the performance of your vacuum cleaner. 

Kind Regards,

 

Adam Jongsma

Technical Support / Warranty

Kärcher Pty Ltd, Australia

385 Ferntree Gully Rd

Mount Waverley

Victoria, Australia 3149

Phone: 1800 675 714

Email: Adam.Jongsma@au.karcher.com  

https://www.kaercher.com/au/

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