Spent 3 hours trying to fix a stubborn extraction machine - the clog was in a spot I never thought to check

I have one of those older model steam vacs with the separate collection tank. Last Tuesday I was doing a back to back facial schedule and the machine just stopped pulling anything up. Checked the hose, the filter, the nozzle, even took apart the collection tank. Nothing. Finally called a repair guy I know and he told me to look at the little rubber gasket where the hose connects to the machine. Sure enough there was a chunk of dried product stuck in there. Took him 2 minutes to clean it. Has anyone else found hidden clog spots on their equipment that took way too long to figure out?

3 comments

3 Comments

hannah3201mo ago

The rubber seal on my old steamer got me too. It was a tiny crack letting air in but I didn't see it until I held it up to the light. A thin film of dried serum had worked its way into the crevice and was blocking the suction. I just pop that gasket off and soak it in warm water with a drop of dish soap after every deep clean now.

nguyen.angela17d ago

Oh man, that's such a good point about holding things up to the light. It's funny how we just assume something's fine because it looks okay from one angle, but there's always some tiny flaw hiding where you'd never think to look. I feel like that applies to so many things in life, not just kitchen stuff.

leehall1mo ago

That rubber seal thing is tricky because people don't realize how much heat cycles affect the plastic over time. I had a similar issue with a pressure cooker gasket where it got warped just enough to lose seal, but it looked totally fine until I laid it flat on a counter and saw it rocking back and forth. What @hannah320 said about holding it up to the light is smart since tiny cracks are almost invisible otherwise. The warm water soak trick works better than scrubbing too hard since scrubbing can rough up the rubber surface and make things worse.