My Vacuum is Making a High Pitched Noise!

My vacuum is making a high pitched noise.

It is just whining about all the work is has to do cleaning up after you.

I'm serious. It makes a high pitched whine while I'm vacuuming.

It may make that noise all the time by design.

It's not a Riccar. It was not always making this noise.

There may be a wad of pet hair wrapped around the brushes, and it is making that noise because it wants to spin faster but can't.

Sounds like you've got that all wrapped up.

It may not be a jammed brush. There might be plastic wrappers or something else in there making the noise as the air rushes by.

I do not hear a rushing, whooshing sound.

If there is not much air sound at all, the whining might be the straining of the motor despite the lack of air flow. Change out the filters and see if it improves.

And if that doesn't work?

The sound might be the noise generated as the vacuum works on the carpet. See if it is the normal range or changes as you move to different types of flooring.

It's consistent for the carpet.

Try changing the brush level or head setting. It might be so high above the carpet fibers you don't get a good clean and get a high pitched air flow whine instead.

Then I need to change it to a lower setting on the height adjustment.

That's the easiest thing to check, but a dirty vacuum is the more likely culprit.

So clean the vacuum and check the settings to make sure it can clean the floors.

Check the vacuum bag, too. If there's a big dust bunny in there blocking air flow, you'll hear a high pitched whine from it.

I'd hate to think that the whine is the death knell of a zombie dust bunny, rising from the grave to choke the vacuum meant to kill it.

Pretty meta, isn't it?