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 just purchased a Dyson Animal DC 50. It is light weight, easily maneuvered, and really cleans well, even the dog hair. I also like the way it transists from capet to hard wood and tile flooring without any adjusment.
I bought a complete Kirby system (even has a carpet shampooer) a year ago. It cleans better than anything I’ve ever used, but so darn heavy, cumbersome, and complicated that I just quit using it. It cost three times what my Dyson did. I’m looking for someone younger and stronger to sell it to.
Yep, we have two Oreck uprights - made in the USA. Sadly, the company was recently bought out of bankruptcy by Hoover's parent corporation (which I believe is part of a Chinese conglomerate). So for a while, Hoover will continue to make use of Oreck's assembly line in Tennessee. After that, I'm sure the brand will have a lot in common with the stuff at the Harbor Freight store.
How much are you prepared to pay for a machine that does the snipping automatically?
It’s amazing how much useless stuff I remember from high school.
News babe from Phoenix didn’t hurt.
We have a whole house vacuum system and absolutely love it. The hose reaches outside so I can do my cars with it too.
My Y2K Eletrolux $500.00 is still going strong and sucking away!!!!!!
We retired two electrolux uprights after many years and a few belts,, now running two Panasonic,,
Nature abhors this thread.
I use a shop vac, a fraction of the price of the usual product and just as powerful. The hard part is finding someone to run it because I sure don’t want to!
All I know is, if it’s bagless, you couldn’t give it to me for free.
We had a classic Hoover that lasted over 20 years. My wife tried several brands of hi-tech bagless vacuums but found them ineffective and a hassle to maintain. I found a nice clone of the classic Hoover, a brand called Sanitaire. It is lightweight and yet could suck up a shetland pony. We like it.
Ah, there’s the rub! The first model to come out would probably be very expensive. But I’d pay about $500, I think.
I have a kirby from 30 years ago and it is still damn good
big and heavy, but works and works and works.
Now, does anyone here have any P.O.S. ones to warn us about?
Nature is dirty.
Rainbows vacuums are great.
A great vacuum made 100 percent in the USA is made by Riccar. They have a canister and an upright. I bought the upright because the vacuum store owner raved about their customer service, and I got tired of buying Chinese made vacuums that lasted 6 months and died. It’s been great so far.
I’m using the electrolux vacuum cleaner my grandmother bought sometime in the 1970’s. It’s been fixed a couple times and had a new hose or two but it’s still perfectly good.
I sprang for a $1,500 Kirby over ten years ago, and I’m glad I did. Before that, we bought a new vacuum cleaner every year.
The Kirby is built like a tank, and from what I’ve heard, is the preferred tool of its kind among five star hotels and restaurants around the world.
I also have an el cheapo $50 dirt devil from Target I use in my kitchen for crumbs.
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