One of the most common problems with a suction pump is when the reservoir overflows because it has not been emptied and cleaned on a regular basis, or the flood valve gets stuck or damaged.

If you see any signs of liquid within the machine, first turn it off at the mains and unplug it.

You must now take the machine apart and clean and dry all the components.

If you do not do this before you turn it back on, you risk creating a short circuit and further damaging the machine.

The best thing to use for cleaning it is alcohol and cotton. You should not use chlorine on any metal or parts as it causes rapid corrosion.

So first, remove the exhaust. Then disconnect the life in neutral terminals on the pump assembly.

Next, remove all the internal tubing. This will need to be sterilized by soaking it in chlorine solution and then rinsing thoroughly following normal cleaning protocols.

Then undo the four screws on the pump assembly and remove it. Now check whether the power entry module and the power switch have any signs of liquid or liquid damage. If they do, disconnect them, clean and dry them, and put them back.

Now look at the pump assembly. First of all, clean and dry the electrical components. Next, detach the diaphragm and its casing from the pump assembly.

After cleaning and checking the piston and diaphragm, you should take apart the diaphragm casing. It is held together by four screws.

Take out the individual parts of the casing and clean them one by one using cotton and alcohol. You can also use a cotton bud.

If there has been liquid spillage, this is the first place that the liquid will reach. So you need to clean and dry this thoroughly.

Now is the time to put everything back together. First of all, the diaphragm back into its casing, then the whole pump assembly. Next, put the pump assembly back into the machine.

Reattach the internal tubing and reconnect the live and neutral terminals onto the pump assembly. Finally, replace the muffler exhaust.

You are now ready to test the machine.