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My lovely wife decided she was not happy with my Bosch hoover to clean the floor in outr new build so took the household hoover down instead. She did not realise that there was some concrete dust left and this has made the hoover overheat now. It is a Shark and I have cleaned all the filters and made sure there are no blockages but when I stripped the body down I noticed the armature/commutator is now covered in this dust and i think this is what is causing it to overheat. Would I be ok to try the WD40 contact cleaner to try and clean it out or would it be better with something else? I can get the motor out without disconnecting any wires so have good access all round. TIA

After nearly 30 years of sterling service, my ancient VAX is showing signs that all is not well. It's a 121, the original wet and dry model, and bits have gradually been breaking/failing for some time, and now the motor is making ominous noises, so I suspect it's not long for this world. I could just rebuild it, as you can still get motors and all the other parts for these, so around £80 would see me with all the parts needed to fix the bits that I know need fixing, assuming there's nothing else about to fail. However, the VAX 121, very good as it is, is a bit big and cumbersome, so I'm thinking of just buying a replacement, rather than just go on fixing it. Something like a Henry might be an option, I don't really need the wet and dry capability any more, but I don't like upright vacuum cleaners at all, so it needs to be the same sort of form factor as the old VAX or the Henry. We already have a cordless vacuum for all the light and fiddly work - what I'm looking for is a machine with far more suction than a cordless machine and that's tough enough to be used for things like cleaning out the back of my car, or vacuuming the workshop floor, as well as very occasional household use. It doesn't need to have a particularly good carpet cleaning action, so I can live without rotating brushes in the head. Not fussed if it looks pretty or not - we've lived with an ugly, bright orange, VAX for 30 years. The only thing I wouldn't give house room is a Dyson; we bought one once and it was the most useless, over-priced bit of junk I've ever seen. Can anyone recommend a tough, high suction power, replacement, please?