Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Hello,

I am looking at purchasing a good vac for pet hair.  I am considering the above 2 or something else.  I prefer a bagless upright that has attachments.  I like the price of the Sanitaire.  I also would like something that is reliable.  Thanks for any help!

HARDSELL wrote:
Hi Hardsell,

I think the problem here is that the person who posed the question initially is not taking the suggestions for the Dyson OR Bissell and is instead looking at inferior machines with bin filters, not realizing that it will be a huge mistake, especially for someone with allergies as they clog with fine dust and are a huge mess to empty.  I agree 100% that the Dyson should be the first choice if money is no object, and for $250, while not as good as the DC17, the Bissell HealthyHome is a viable alternative (really the *only* viable alternative here).  At least with either machine there are no nasty bin filters to clog and spew dust.

-MH

Motorhead wrote:
That would be the place. I never actually got a name from him. Over on FW we all know him as Cycloneman :). He has given us a lot to chew on in terms of vacuums (both bagged and bagless) and deep cleaners all on one thread. Here is the link:

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/652989

Started as a deal discussion about Hoover Fusion machines, then the Mach3/5 machines. After cycloneman jumped on it expanded to the Bissell Velocity, Dirt Devil Spinnergy, Shark Infinity, Eureka 4880, Bissell Healthy Home... basically encompassing all machines on the market that use cyclonic filtering. It also led to how to extend the life and performance of these machines. Great read. Currently I'm trying to figure out how to dampen the static electricity being generated in the dirt cup of my Total Floors Velocity which led me to this forum looking for answers.

CarmineD wrote:

There you go lying again.  I wrote my post from memory, and not from pretext.  I gladly and easily swap must for should.

Some years ago, I engaged Mr. Tom Gasko on the pros and cons of the Eureka Whirlwind bagless [the first bagless upright vacuum marketed in the USA to use the term 'cyclonic'] and the newcomer dyson bagless, his favorite at the time.  He praised the DC07 and its exorbitant price and kow towed the mediocre performance of the dyson.  He bashed the $100 bagless Eureka Whirlwind.  I took the opposite view in favor of the Eureka, in large part, because of the affordable price and its excellent rug cleaning performance. 

One of Tom Gasko's arguments at the time, like DIB now with the BISSELL Healthy Home, was the need to change the HEPA filter in the Eureka for $25 each time.  My comment to him then was that I doubled up on the foam pre-motor filter in the Eureka bagless Whirlwind and I had not changed the HEPA filter [for over 6 years].  No loss in performance [read suction] and no noticeable air emissions degradation.  Why?  My dear Wife, as an allergy and sinus sufferer and primary user of the Whirlwind, would have noticed and let me know.   I believe the pre-motor filter cost $3.00.  I cleaned them [read vacuum] once a month.   Replaced them yearly. 

For those who remember the written debate, I said the Eureka bagless Whirwind upright for $100 was a deal and gifted more than 6 away over the years, including my own eventually.   Some of these Eurekas are still in use after many years.  Always adding the extra pre-motor filter to the vacuum before gifting.  I mentioned then that I liked the Whirlwind in part too because of a plastic shroud that covered the motor.  Unheard of in a $100 vacuum.

The Eureka Whirlwind Cyclonic bagless upright was a long running popular selling vacuum for Eureka.  Like the HOOVER Tempo, one of my favorites. 

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:

Carmine,  No matter what brand is discussed (other than Dyson)  you seem to own it and rotate brands in your daily vacuuming.  I would expect a vacuum to last for years when it has dozens or maybe hundreds of back ups and is not used more than a few times each year.

Why do you criticize plastic useage in Dysons and praise other brands for using it?  Same old double standard against Dyson I suppose.

HARDSELL wrote:

Hello My Friend:

I've owned and tried [to use] a new DC07 pink in my current home here in Las Vegas.  Gifted it away after several months rather than return it as dyson recommended.  It didn't work on my carpets.  Gawdawful ratcheting noise kept happening.  My poor Wife and dog had to leave the house whenever I started to use it.

The Eureka vice dyson debate between Tom [then called dualcyclone] and I was before your time here and on a different forum.  Like I said earlier, Eureka was the first company and vacuum in the USA to don the "cyclonic" name on its vacuums.  Long before dyson did.   And Eureka didn't sue [like dyson would].

I have always had favorite affordable "value" vacuums.  Why?

After spending 40 plus years in the vacuum business, lots of people always ask me [still do, even email] what is a good upright vacuum that will not cost me an arm and leg.  I respond to the question with an answer based on my [and my dear Wife] personal and professional judgement and experience.  Before the HOOVER TEMPO, it was the Eureka bagged/bagless upright.  Posters and readers who follow the vacuum Forums starting in 1997 [pre-dyson] will recall.  You're a newcomer [post dyson].

I gift these away to friends and family when I am done using [read testing].  In part, to track the vacuums' service and performance after my usage in our homes.  There is at least one poster on this Forum who will verify that I've gifted a new HOOVER product to him [not the TEMPO].   The HOOVER Slider.  It's used in my home. I've gifted more than a dozen away to friends and family.  If HOOVER marketed this, I think every home in the US would have at least one.  Retails for $25-$40.  I've posted a review on here.  As I do all the products I use and I think are a value. 

And another poster here will tell you I gifted 2 new HOOVER vacuums to local churches this past Christmas: One, a HOOVER Z to be used in a commercial cleaning setting; and another a HOOVER TEMPO for a needy parish family.

Carmine D. 

CarmineD wrote:
To be fair he did state in the FW forum that Dysons were designed in a way where the user should not need to do more than clean the pre-motor filter. The other "clones" had design(ed) limitations that would effect the overall life and performance of the machines. What he did give us over at FW were the steps to easily modify or maintain these "clones" in a way that made the machines perform on par with their dyson counterparts. Here is a quote he said to DIB on the FW fourum:

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/652989/m11051108/#m11051108

cycloneman wrote:
There is a lot more in the post but I left what I thought was important. For us over at FW looking for a bagless vacuum cycloneman gave us options that many of us didn't know about when we started looking for vacuums.

Carmine, was the Eureka Whirlwind you mentioned the dual-cyclone 4880 or another model? 

I'm honestly surprised that Eureka hasn't introduced another dual-cyclone or multi-cyclone contender to their current lineup as of yet.  I remember the 4880 being around in the early-2000s (even before the Dyson arrived), and then it just disappeared.

MrApollinax wrote:

Mr. Apollinax:

You're a good man.

What's old is new again, as Mike W. likes to say.  Very true for the vacuum industry and has always been.

Back in the day when tanks with cloth bags ruled and reigned supreme, vacuum manufacturers took good care to "sure" up the pre-motor filters in vacuums.  Why?  To reduce the dust and debris that got past the cloth from getting into the motor compartment.  For obvious reasons.  To protect and extend the motor life and improve the exhaust air [smell and content].

How did they do this?  Most would sandwich the filter material, which was very primitive by today's standards, between screen wire and/or fine mesh and then enclosed in a rubber gasket.  To give the filter material strength, support, and substance; absorb motor heat; and seal the air [read dirt leakage] from entering the motor.  In order to extend filter life and keep and prolong peak motor performance. Most times these filters were rarely replaced and instead merely vacuumed cleaned. 

These pre-motor filters and set ups went by the wayside as filter paper bags appeared in the 50's and 60's and flourished in the industry.  With bagless vacuums, these pre-motor filters [and ways to improve their longevity] have made a resurgence.  And rightly so.  A clogged pre-motor filter is the quickest way to burn up a motor.  Both then and now.

BTW, the Eureka Whirlwind bagless was a signature gray and yellow.  Just like the dyson DC07 All Floors.  Except the Whirlwind came first.

Carmine D. 

Thanks to all for the replies.  I read Cyclonemans info and it was interesting.  All of the info. made me go and order a Dyson DC07.  I know it isn't exactly what everyone recommended but it should work better than a 10 year old Hoover upright.