Relatively cheap too - under $200.
Posted on 08/12/2013 10:43:30 AM PDT by golux
Vacuum Cleaners: The Freeper's Guide
Here, in a nutshell, are the critical basics on vacuum cleaners. These facts will be of use if you are buying a new or new-to-you one.
Thanks to the babel of modern advertising and increasingly shoddy manufacturing standards, FACTS are harder to find, and little known. Here they are.
No brand names are mentioned in this piece.
There are two general kinds of vacuum cleaners: canister vacs and upright vacs. I will not talk about in-home central vacs. The question of what kind of vac to choose is purely yours, but many who vacuum thicker carpets choose the heft of uprights. Also, these vacs, because of their heft (by this I mean weight over the target area) are often thought to have more effective roller brushes.
Canisters are at their best when they follow you around like a puppy dog. They also have the potentiality for having stronger motors (since they roll around behind you,) and being easier to handle. If you like vacuuming the labyrinth under your dining room table with speed and agility, as I do, a high-suction canister vac with a nimble attachment is your best choice.
Roller brushes have only one important job, no matter what the salesmen tell you: it is to agitate the fibers of a carpet so that particles may more easily be sucked up. A good roller brush is powered independently, not by suction.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO CONSIDER in buying a vacuum cleaner is SUCTION. Not "no suction loss," not "cyclone suction," not "anticyclone suction," not "magic water suction," none of that matters... What matters is SUCTION. Suction is power, and you can feel it. If you are doing parquet floors, if you are doing shag carpets, the number one thing is suction. The better your vac sucks, the more time it saves you (or your housekeeper) and the cleaner your home will be.
How do you measure suction? Never mind the TV ads or the salesman with the handful of dirt or rice. Feel it with your hands. When it's turned up (yes, you really do want variable speed) does the vac feel like it really "sticks" to your floor or carpet? It should.
No amount of clear lucite, gadgety words, fancy descriptive labels, space-shippy looking doo-dads or inspiring advertising can make up for SUCTION. And just because a company claims to have good suction does not mean it's products do. The vacuum business is full of lies and shedazzle.
One of the reasons I am writing this for my FRiends is because I have never, in my life, seen so much advertising and so much genuine product loyalty surrounding absolutely terrible products. (I run a small, successful advertising agency and we have been specialists in the vacuum trade, local and national, for over 15 years. I am also personally a fan of fine vacuum cleaners and love to use and study them.) Much of what you will find on the shelves today - and many of these units sell for hundreds of dollars! - is absolute junk wrapped in pretty ribbons and award-winning advertising. It's sad to see.
(Why won't you find high-quality vacuum cleaners, used, at your local thrift store? Because your local "sew n vac" guy got there first or got the call when it came in. He "serviced" it, (opened it up, sprayed and wiped it off, replaced the power cord maybe,) and put it on his shelves for sale.
Ahem...
What is also important is a SEALED SYSTEM. If your motor is more powerful than the housings that keep dust, dirt, and dander from pushing back out into the surrounding air, your vacuum cleaner is effectively just an "aeresolizer," worsening the air quality in your home. Look for o-rings, feel for drafts, FEEL the unit. Is it simple? Does it close with a pleasing "thwup?"
When turned on, is it quiet and strong? Quiet strength is a good preliminary indicator of both a sealed system and a good quality motor.
HEPA and "S-class" HEPA filtration means nothing if the system is not completely sealed. The higher grade (or smaller micron gauge) the filtration, the more difficult it is for the air to pass through the post filter, and the more likely it is that unfiltered air is escaping into your home. If you have kids or families with allergies, this is a very, very bad thing.
Do you get what you pay for? Yes, on the whole. At the same time, good ads and a heavy price tag are no guarantee of quality.
I urge you to be suspicious of gushing reviews: many vacuum owners rave for years about their first half decent vacuum, until they use a truly great one. Don't trust your friends.
Many companies - a few in particular - who made absolutely marvelous vacuum cleaners ten or twenty years ago have unfortunately succumbed to the natural temptations of business and have quite drastically cheapened and worsened their products. A vacuum dealer who admits this and can discuss these trends openly is someone you can trust... More than others.
Finally, on the subject of vacuum dealers, I do encourage you to visit them, to speak with them, and to do your purchasing with them. You may save ten or twenty dollars buying your unit from a big retailer (if they do happen to carry a unit you want) but you will miss out on all of the advantages in education, service, "freebies," and general mutual loyalty that come with buying from an expert in the field.
That is enough for now. I hope these words may prove helpful now or in the future to you and yours. Happy vacuuming! Freepmail me if I may be of particular assistance.
Best,
"Golux"
I saw a TV ad for a mini-van that has a built in vacuum cleaner....
Also, depending on the model selected, it is a good idea to explore the costs for replacing filters, recommened frequency, whether the filters are washable/reusable, etc.
My dream is to rip up every inch of carpet in my home so that I don’t need a GREAT vacuum cleaner, but alas that’s a pipe dream at the moment. So thank you for the great info. I’m sick of buying cheap crappy vacuums that tear up after a few months of use. Wish we had bought a great one earlier in life when we could have afforded it. Oh well, such is life.
I am guessing the latest line of bagless vacuums from Dirt Devil must really suck (and not in a good way).
The local Salvation Army thrift store never has fewer then five displayed out front-and-center.
Bottom line, none has the suction of ShopVac. Sometimes there just is no substitute. Nothing better for cars.
As for regular vacs, never will I buy the overrated nonsense that is “bagless”. It’s all smoke and mirrors - generally more on the smoke.
My sister(RIP) bought some really nice German machine and loved it. Still don’t know what it is, but it was very expensive. I will not buy expensive until we get rid of our cleaning woman, who is too stupid and constantly wrecks everything she touches. She breaks the vacuum then jerry-rigs it together a bit. You should see our Hoover now, which has survived some 3 years of her abuse. I’m shocked the thing still works.
The Kirby is awesome. It’s just because of some older age physical limitations that I can’t use it any longer. We have a sunken living room aand I simply cannot lift it to get it down there........and forget about the game room, my Dad’s apartment and storage rooms in the walk-out basement.
I have a housekeeper come in a couple times a month to use the Kirby, but for day to day clean up, I love the Dyson.
I bought a cheap upright Westinghouse for my apartment years ago away from hometown. That thing was unbelievable; I called it Jaws recalling the “Mr. Mom” movie. I think we did something to it that broke it (probably the cleaning lady previously mentioned) when I brought it back home with me. That was just at the time Westinghouse shut down forever, so there was no replacement. Boy I miss that thing.
Well, this is a bagless one. But since I just use it in my kitchen it’s not got a lot of demands on its abilities.
I worked in a commercial floor cleaning equipment repair shop a couple of years...still do repair on the side. My personal home vac is an electrolux canister I picked up at a thrift store for 10 bones. Here’s my take:
There are throwaway vacs that cost around 100 bones that last an average of two years before they fry and get tossed.
Then there are good quality vacs that last an average of 5 years or so before needing repaired. These are well proven designs from reputable companies that have been around, and will be around making parts for years. These vacs run from 200 to 500 dollars...but because they are fixable...one saves money in the long run.
First vac I would recommend is an electrolux sanitaire. Good old workhorse that’s been around for years. $200 to $300 buys one. Not fancy, no attachments, but it will suck the padding off the floor.
Second is a Windsor upright. German made. Can be taken apart with no tools. Very durable, and will suck the padding off the floor. 500 bucks and excellent factory service.
Neither of the above have a hose or attachments. They are floor machines. I recommend buying a floor machine and then a small shop vac for cleaning requiring hose and attachments.
Any vacuum will last much longer if taken outside and blown out with compressed air from time to time, along with cleaning anythng that can get wet with a damp rag.
“Bought a Shark six months ago...”
May I ask if you have pets? Trying to find another vacuum but it has to do well with pet hair.. Thanks.
I’ve had a Panasonic for about 30 years and it runs great for those twice a year house vacuumings......
I remember when Westinghouse used to make a vacuum cleaner.
Back when the Pittsburgh Pirates moved into Three Rivers Stadium and began playing on artificial turf, their legendary play-by-play man, Bob Prince, began referring to a runner on base as “a bug on the rug”. And to remove a bug on the rug you need “a Hoover” (which became his term for a double-play).
When Westinghouse, the owners of KDKA radio, fired him in 1975, one of their beefs with him was that he was constantly promoting a competing brand of vacuum cleaner every time he called the double-play “a Hoover”.
Of course today Westinghouse is CBS, and makes nothing but crappy TV shows. The name Westinghouse was sold to Toshiba, which makes nuclear reactors under that name.
I loved being single too, for much the same reasons. I had a great old dog that had outlasted several wemens and life was good. Then I met this lady, I just haaad to have her. Now my great old dog is dead and long gone and I am married to the best woman that I have ever known. Such is life.
Thanks Vigilant. Excellent info.
DAMN YER EYES!
Thanks!
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