I have a Hoover Steamatic Plus which runs but has no suction. It seems
as if it is permanently stuck in upholstery tools mode because there
*is* suction through the upholstery wand. One of the "features" of the
Steamatic Plus is that it automatically senses when to go into
upholstery mode. Fine and dandy -- but once it is stuck there I see no
way to manually disengage it.

I might add that it remains in this mode even when the handle is in
positions which should tell it that it is in floor mode. (Just btw, I
have never used it for upholstery.) The Hoover website was of just
about no use. I think I saw something somewhere that said that lack of
suction may indicate that it doesn't have a good seal. I have examined
and re-examined the seal and cannot see anything amiss there. Can
someone solve this? Thanks!

Just some possibilities...is the recovery tank lid proplerly and
securely on?  Is the recovery tank full with automatic shut off
engaged?  If so, remove and empty the recovery tank.  Is there an
obstruction in the hose on the upholstery nozzle?  Is the recovery
tank front panel even on there?  If you ever tried putting it into
upholstery mode, you had to take it off.

This also depends upon your model.  Do you know model number you have?

- Steve

I don't have any knowledge of this particular model, but it seems as
though there might be a stuck valve or blockage that is directing the
vacuum to the "upholstery" outlet. With some conventional Hoover
vacuum cleaners, the "valve" seems to be the actual latch door for the
tools port. I'll try to draw what I'm speaking of below:


"Conventional" Hoover Vacuum cleaner design:

                   ----->| Upholstery Tools Door
                  /
Vacuum Fan------->
                  \----->**** Beater Brush and typical vacuum outlet

In this setup, as long as the door isn't open all suction is directed
to the Beater Brush assembly, giving your floors the max vacuum
available. If you open the Tools Door, you'll get partial vacuum at
both outlets. Now assuming that there's a directing valve at the fork
in this system (as you imply by the auto-sensing nature of this
system), it may be stuck in a position that only allows airflow from
the "Tools" port to the debris container. If there is no valve, a
blockage in the vacuum between the fork and the beater brush would
lead to similar symptoms.

This is speculation based on my previous knowledge of vacuum cleaners
and general physics. I haven't done any research into this particular
model, but hopefully my suggestions are of some use to you. Feel free
to ask further, though I can't guarantee that I'll check back anytime
soon.

Good Luck!

jickster-ga