Well that's a rubber belt. I needed a new belt after my old belt burned out. The agitator in my carpet cleaner was jammed and before I knew it the room smelled strongly of burnt rubber. When the old belt came out, it had a frayed and stretched section that added about an inch to its overall length. He no longer had enough traction to pull the brush. So I removed all the hair and debris from the agitator and put on a new belt and the cleaner worked like new. The strap works perfectly and fulfills its functions. I planned ahead and bought extra next time the brush gets stuck.