Now if you really ‘n’ truly want to get inside the Rainbow, you need to take off those two clear plastic side panels, with the fake plastic pictures of grills underneath (see photo)
To get into the Rainbow, you need to take of the clear plastic panels, with the fake grills underneath (see photo)


You need to insert a small flat screwdriver between the edge, and unsnap the plates (there are four tabs that need to be disengaged) which hold in the faux grills (sheets of paper with pictures on them … they look pretty realistic when they are in place). Once these two plates are off, there are four Phillips head screws that hold the vacuum together (see the next section on Disassembly)


Set the round motor filter (it will probably be very dirty, so you will want to replace it) and the HEPA filter (there are 3 different types, so note which type you have before reorder) off to the side. You could clean these, but the motor filters can be replaced for ~$30, and the HEPA filters from between $5 and $20 each depending on type … so why not?

Disconnect all of the motor and switch wiring. You may want to pay attention to where these attach — there is the water canister safety switch; the power nozzle plug, the on/off DPST switch, the circuit breaker, all of which have neat plugs on the board .



The inside is just the motor, and a lot of rubber gaskets and attachements that hold it in place and absorb its vibrations. Just disassemble all of these by unscrewing all of the Phillips head screws (take pictures in case you don’t remember where they go)

When you finally try to pull out the motor, it is likely that it just won’t release. That is because the gasket is often glued in with a grommet type of glue. Take a screwdriver and force the motor out, and then cut off the gasket with a knife. You can purchase replacement gaskets cheaply on the Internet, and should replace them all whenever the vacuum is open.
