Hoover SmartWash Brushes Not Spinning? – Easy Solutions

Confused why are your Hoover SmartWash brushes not spinning? Stay with us, to learn a handful of the best solutions as well as the causes for this problem.

Simple things could be obstructing the movement of your Hoover brushes and we will resolve the problem for you!

When Hoover SmartWash’s brushes are not spinning, ensure that your SmartWash device has been activated correctly.

Check if you’ve accidentally activated the “Dry Only” mode and ensure that the pet cleaner is securely connected to the power outlet.

Let’s learn more about the problem of your Hoover SmartWash!

Why Hoover Carpet Cleaner Brushes Not Spinning?

1. Too much debris/pet hair in the brush compartment
2. Power supply issue with the Hoover SmartWash
3. Empty the water or solution tank on your Hoover
4. A software/functionality issue with the cleaner
5. The “Carpet” mode has not been activated
6. The belt of your brush is worn-out/damaged
7. Your Hoover SmartWash has a hardware issue

Alert: Keep in mind that your Hoover SmartWash is specifically designed to be used on carpets and other hairy surfaces. 

Using it on cement or hard surfaces could damage the device!

How to Check the Hoover Brush Movement?

Turn the carpet cleaner upside down and push the brush using your fingers. If the brush doesn’t spin at all or spins hard, something in the compartment of the brush is blocking the rotational mechanism!

How to Fix When Hoover Smartwash Brushes Not Spinning?

Let’s troubleshoot the issue with your Hoover SmartWash in 7 working solutions!

1. Activate Hoover SmartWash Correctly!

One of the reasons that the brushes of your Hoover SmartWash are not activating is that you’re not using the cleaning pet’ SmartWash feature.

You must press down a pedal, to activate the brushes of your Hoover SmartWash so the device could start actively collecting debris.

Hoover SmartWash Pedals?

You will find two pedals on either side of the Hoover SmartWash:

• The pedal on the left side (the rotation pedal), allows for adjusting the tilt of the cleaning pet when pressed.

• The red pedal on the right side (the power pedal), activates the brushes and also turns on SmartWash for your Hoover devices.

Note: Keep in mind that your Hoover SmartWash can be used in several ways to clean so the SmartWash with the brushes is only one of the available models.

2. Remove Obstructions Around the Brush

Any debris inside the brush’s compartment could be obstructing the movement of the mechanism.

To fix this problem, you must open up the compartment of the Hoover SmartWash brush and thoroughly clean it of any solid debris that is obstructing the rotation.

Here’s how to take out the brush and clean off any debris:

1. Use a Philips screwdriver, to undo all 7 screws on the bottom of the cleaner.
2. Carefully detach the panel that holds your brushes into their compartment.
3. Take out your Hoover Smartwash brush and clean the compartment it sits in.

How to Test Hoover SmartWash Brush?

Carefully place the brush into the compartment and attach it to the rotational sockets.

Then, give the brush a slight push and determine if it goes around freely or if something is preventing it from rotating.

Tip: Use rubbing alcohol and a clean cloth to collect all debris in the brush!

3. Power Reset the Hoover SmartWash

Perhaps, a simple power reset may fix the issue with your Hoover SmartWash.

There’s an easy way to discharge all electricity within your Hoover SmartWash by unplugging it from the power for long enough.

This will automatically withdraw all of the current power in the cleaner.

• To achieve a power reset, your Hoover must be unplugged for 5 minutes!

Follow these steps to power reset your Hoover SmartWash:

1. Unplug the power cord of your Hoover SmartWash.
2. Hold down the red pedal on the left side for 5 seconds.
3. Reconnect your Hoover SmartWash back into power.
4. Push the red pedal to turn on the carpet cleaner.
5. Check if the brush is not going to start spinning.

Tip: While testing your Hoover, it’s best to place the device in a way so the brushes are facing upwards. 

There will be no rubbing force this way and you will be able to track their movements!

4. Refill & Re-seat the Tanks!

Your Hoover’s brushes may not activate if either the water or solution tank is empty.

During the SmartWash cleaning, your Hoover must have both water and Hoover’s Paws & Claw solution formula to work properly and collect all of your pet’s hairs and other debris!

Here’s how to refill the tanks of your Hoover SmartWash:

1. Take out the water tank on your Hoover (the larger tank).
2. Open the cap of the tank and fill it with ⅔ of water.
3. Place the water tank back onto the pet cleaner.
4. Uninstall the solution tank from the cleaner.
5. Pour Hoover’ solution into the middle of the tank.
6. Place the solution tank back onto the cleaner.

Water Tank Vs. Solution Tank?

The one significant difference is that the water tank is much larger than the solution tank.

The water tank is on the front of the cleaner, whilst the solution tank is smaller and is on the back, opposite the water tank!

Alert: Don’t pour too much water or solution in either of the tanks as this could prevent the cleaner from withdrawing liquid properly.

5. Deactivate the “Dry Only” Mode!

There’s a button on the side of your Hoover SmartWash cleaner that enables the device to only dry surfaces it touches.

Activating the “Dry Only” mode on your cleaner will turn off all other cleaning instruments on the device, including the brushes that should spin and collect debris!

• Press the “Dry Only” button while your Hoover cleaner is working!

How to Tell if “Dry Only” Is Turned On/Off?

If the “Dry Only” mode is activated and your cleaner is running, the button should be lit up sp, press the button once until it turns off to deactivate the mode.

Note: Your appliance will resume standard functionality once the “Dry Only” mode is off!

6. Set the Floor Setting to “Carpet”

If the brushes of your Hoover SmartWash won’t activate even after checking the cleaning tanks, you should try to set the floor setting to “Carpet”.

Hoover SmartWash cleaners are programmed to use all tools and cleaning mechanisms when set to the “Carpet” setting!

• Modes on your Hoover SmartWash are adjusted with the front buttons!

About Hoover Cleaning Modes

In most cases where the brush roll of your Hoovers won’t spin is because the device is set to the “tool” mode.

Those are cleaning regimes of your Hoover SmartWash that do not use the brush roll so they will not activate at any point while the particular mode is still toggled.

Note: Press the “Carpet” button on the front to change the cleaning mode of your Hoover!

7. Factory Reset your Hoover SmartWash

A quick and effective solution to the brush problem of your Hoover SmartWash is to perform a factory reset on the device.

All that needs to be done for a factory reset is unplug the cleaning appliance while holding a button on the front panel of the device!

• Resetting your Hoover SmartWash will erase any activated cleaning modes!

Follow these instructions to factory reset your Hoover SmartWash:

1. Turn off your cleaner and unplug it from the power source.
2. Remove the water tank from the Hoover SmartWash.
3. Press and hold the power pedal on your Hoover.
4. Keep holding the red pedal down for up to 15 seconds.
5. Let go of the pedal and reconnect your Hoover’s cable.
6. Press the pedal once again to turn on your Hoover.
7. Activate a standard SmartWash cleaning session and test.

Info: It is necessary to trigger the correct cleaning mode (SmartWash) after the factory reset to check if your Hoover’s brushes are now working.

Need More Help?

If you’re still here, and the Hoover brushes are still not spinning, it’s not excluded that now the appliance is broken or defective. The best next step would be to seek help at Hoover Support.

Tip: Don’t forget to share the troubleshooting you’ve done in this guide!

Quick Recap:

We’ve learned that when Hoover SmartWash brushes not spinning, it is necessary to power cycle the device and check for obstructions in the brush’s compartment.

If that didn’t work out, set the cleaner’s mode to “Carpet” and factory reset the device!

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