A vacuum cleaner head having a housing, supports extending downward from the housing to a support point, a suction opening, an agitator chamber above and in fluid communication with the suction opening, an agitator with a spindle rotatably mounted to the housing and one or more agitating devices projecting from the spindle, a cleaning member movably mounted to the housing to move to a position where it engages the agitator to remove debris from the agitator during rotation of the agitator, and a pedal connected to the housing and movable to a position to place the cleaning member in the cleaning position. The pedal has an activation surface configured to receive an activation force from an operator, and the activation surface is configured such that application of the activation force on the pedal generates a moment force to bias the agitator away from the downward direction.