Anybody bought a vacuum cleaner lately?

[Meadbh]

I had my carpets shampooed this week. The cleaner brought a Kirby with all the attachments. Apparently the Kirby is highly regarded by professionals. Carpets look great.

[Tyro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janet H Dogs at my house w/ off white carpet (sigh....)

BWAHAHAHAHA!!! Ever notice that whatever color your rug is, and whatever color your dog is, they always seem to be able to shed the color that shows up most?

Fortunately our dog only sheds twice a year. Unfortunately, each time lasts six months.

Our reconditioned Kirbys are still mostly metal, never had any plastic break off of them, and the rotating brushes do a pretty good job of getting dog hair out of carpet.

Tyro

[obgyn65]

I use nothing. Cleaners and maids come every few weeks. I live on my own, no pet, and rarely at home.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disappointed We currently use Hoover Wind Tunnel but having difficult time finding bags? What are you using? W

[Redbugdave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obgyn65 I use nothing. Cleaners and maids come every few weeks.

Ha! I figure that's the best answer about the vacuuming problem there is...

[kyounge1956]

Does anyone use a robot vacuum (e.g. Roomba)? I have contemplated getting one of these for a small house with hard floors throughout except possibly an area rug or two. I have one longhaired cat and may add another cat or two in the future. I am thinking a robot might keep the loose hair and scattered litter picked up better, or at least more frequently, than I am likely to!

I have an old upright vacuum that I was given as a gift some years ago. I think it's either a Kirby or a Royal, perhaps from the mid-1950's sometime (like me). It still works and bags are available, but it's all-metal construction and weighs a ton! I'm thinking of making one of those soft sculptures that fits on the handle and makes the vacuum look like a parlormaid (or a rabbit or duck in parlormaid's uniform).

I also have a 30+ y.o. Kenmore that doesn't run any more, but maybe it's worth fixing. Hmmmm.

[Dimsumkid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyounge1956 Does anyone use a robot vacuum (e.g. Roomba)? I have contemplated getting one of these for a small house with hard floors throughout except possibly an area rug or two. I have one longhaired cat and may add another cat or two in the future. I am thinking a robot might keep the loose hair and scattered litter picked up better, or at least more frequently, than I am likely to! I have an old upright vacuum that I was given as a gift some years ago. I think it's either a Kirby or a Royal, perhaps from the mid-1950's sometime (like me). It still works and bags are available, but it's all-metal construction and weighs a ton! I'm thinking of making one of those soft sculptures that fits on the handle and makes the vacuum look like a parlormaid (or a rabbit or duck in parlormaid's uniform). I also have a 30+ y.o. Kenmore that doesn't run any more, but maybe it's worth fixing. Hmmmm.

DW's friend has a Roomba and they have 2 cats. I'm allergic to pet hair/dander and I need an outdoor air break every hour to survive. Several years ago they got a Roomba. Now I can tolerate 3+ hours w/o needing to get fresh air. For the older units, if parts are still available and they work well and repair parts are readily available, then it makes sense to maintain them.

My father worked for Sunbeam and Electrolux, so I've never needed to buy a vacuum. He gave me a rebuilt Electrolux after he replaced the motor and gave it an overhaul back in the 80's. Still runs like new. I was cleaning/organizing the basement and found a bunch of Sunbeam bags new in package dated 1973! The Electrolux is a canister 4 wheeler and suction is really good on it. Only reason to get rid of it is if I get tried of looking at it because I also have 2 spare units.

[Tyro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyounge1956 I am thinking a robot might keep the loose hair and scattered litter picked up better, or at least more frequently, than I am likely to!

I'm not sure it would work out that way, however they do make a great (albeit expensive @ $350-$400) cat toy.

If the problem is the weight of "the beast" (your Kirby/Royal), something smaller/lighter (backpack, shoulder bag style, lightweight cannister) might suffice for keeping up with the pet hair & litter.

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh I had my carpets shampooed this week. The cleaner brought a Kirby with all the attachments. Apparently the Kirby is highly regarded by professionals. Carpets look great.

Back in the bad old days, I spent a few months selling demonstrating Kirbys (Kirbies?). Built like a tank, and user rebuildable, but expensive, especially for folks in shotgun shacks with no carpet...

[M Paquette]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR Back in the bad old days, I spent a few months selling demonstrating Kirbys (Kirbies?). Built like a tank, and user rebuildable, but expensive, especially for folks in shotgun shacks with no carpet...

Oh, they might not be able to vacuum a carpet with it, but there were all those great attachments. Pop off the end bell, and you could connect a flexible cable to drive a buffing wheel, drill, knife sharpener, or a meat grinder! (My grandma met an exceptionally good Kirby salesman... She had every accessory they sold. :faceplant: )

[Tyro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M Paquette Oh, they might not be able to vacuum a carpet with it, but there were all those great attachments. Pop off the end bell, and you could connect a flexible cable to drive a buffing wheel, drill, knife sharpener, or a meat grinder! (My grandma met an exceptionally good Kirby salesman... She had every accessory they sold. :faceplant: )

Super Sucker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[cmaglaughlin]

I once sold vacuum cleaners door-to-door, often "cold" calling. Talk about the ULTIMATE sales job! Good thing the brand I was selling easily out-performed any vacuum the "prospects" already owned and used. My brand(only sold new door-to-door)...FILTER QUEEN. They are simply the end-all to total ceiling to floor cleaning. Also just happen to totally clean the air while doing so(hospitals use them). They are not cheap. Sales people offer prospective buyers "big bucks" for their used brand, then deduct that from an overblown retail price for the Filter Queen. Got tired of my sales supervisor wanting me to be dishonest with people, so I quit. Found terrific buys of used Filter Queens on eBay. They last a lifetime and then some! You'll NEVER buy another brand! Closest to Filter Queen quality? Rainbow(uses water). Filter Queen has patents Dyson can't touch. Just thought I'd share this if someone insists on wanting the finest in total house filtering and cleaning.

[HighRoller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyounge1956 Does anyone use a robot vacuum (e.g. Roomba)? I have contemplated getting one of these for a small house with hard floors throughout except possibly an area rug or two. I have one longhaired cat and may add another cat or two in the future. I am thinking a robot might keep the loose hair and scattered litter picked up better, or at least more frequently, than I am likely to! .

Yes we have been using them for several years now but are about to switch back to a more conventional vacuum. The Roomba's seem to work great on carpets "when they work" unfortunately, with weekly use, they only seem to last about a year before they start having problems and good luck finding the right parts especially at a reasonable price.

[Brett_Cameron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack It depends on your needs, carpet, tile, wood, traffic, sqft, pets? If you don't have pets any vacuum may well work for you, I'd just see what a Consumer Reports recommends and buy it. We had two long haired dogs, and went through a Hoover, Eureka and Oreck each in less than a year. Even cleaning the rollers of hair on the Oreck every time we used it, it was toast in less than a year. Then we bought a Dyson Animal (we'd resisted because it was $500), but it's still going as strong as ever more than 5 years later. Works great! So even though they may be overpriced, we've definitely gotten our money's worth out of the Dyson already, so you get what you pay for (more often than not).

I agree, it depends on what you want the vacuum to do. I had an Oreck that lasted about 15 years and loved it, but I had no indoor pets. Currently have a yellow Dyson. It works ok but it is overpriced. I used airline miles to get it.

[Brett_Cameron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M Paquette We're looking at an Oreck Magnesium, a 7-8 lb light vacuum. This would replace the 30-odd lb Hoover that DW doesn't want me lugging up and down the stairs any more when I vacuum. Costco has a pretty reasonable price on it right now compared to what Oreck usually wants. I just wonder about maintenance on the thing. It looks like parts aren't available to the public, and all service/repairs have to be done through a factory authorized suck broom dealer.

I always bought the parts directly from Oreck in La. We had no store close by.

[M Paquette]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsparks2 I always bought the parts directly from Oreck in La. We had no store close by.

I bought it and owned the thing for about a day. Unlike the older Oreck vacuums, the Oreck Magnesium was built to not be user serviceable. When the 'lifetime belt' failed after about 20 minutes of use, I called the Customer Service line, and was told that I could take the machine to the nearest service center, or I could return it to Costco. I took a close look at the machine, and it required some special tools to open up. While I could find or fab the tools needed easily, the idea bothered me. Well, that and having a brand new vacuum die after almost cleaning one room, and it's less than great performance at that task.

I returned it to Costco, took the cash, and got the $100 Hoover PAWS Wind Tunnel upright. It's heavier, really ugly, but cleans better, can turn off the brush roll for bare floors, and I can get and replace parts very easily. Heck, when I eventually replace the belt, there's a simple tool-free release of the belt cover to make this easy.

[haloFIRE]

Got a rebuilt Dyson from woot.com. Not the ball, the older model. Really like it

[Coolius]

I have owned a Dyson DC25 Animal for a while now. Really like it. Easy to use, easy to carry around, easy to clean.

The cost is high, but this may well be one that lasts me for a very long time without aggravation.

[GolfingDuo]

I bought my vacuum 15 plus years ago. I have never had a problem. It picks up dust and dirt every other vacuum leaves behind. I have tested it. No vacuum will beat it ever. It is pricey so be prepared. It cost more than Kirby. It does not use a filter. It uses water.

Rainbow. http://rainbowsystem.com/

I do not work for the company or sell them door to door. I just own one and everytime anyone asks about this I tell them.

I have used and abused this thing for 15 plus years. It has the attachments to do carpet hardwood floors, blinds, refridgerator coils, sofa and chair cushions.

Trust me when I say this. It is amazing. It picks up drywall dust and captures it and keeps on going. When the water is too saturated with let's say dust it will let you know by a violent shacking of the unit. Clear the mess up in the water tub and put new water and you are ready to go.

[stephaniee36]

I went to the Oreck store and bought a floor model/sample for $165ish for our vacation home. They reduced the warranty from 4 years to 3. Have an Oreck at my primary residence, and LOVE it.

[Moemg]

I bought two Shark Navigator lift off pros . One for me and one for my daughter. We both love them . The suction is great and so much easier to push then my hoover .