Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

I also forgot to mention about the bags and filters.  The bags will last a long time, usually about a month each (they really do pack the dirt in well), and the filters are recommended to be changed "when discolored", meaning turning tan from the dirt.  This can be anywhere from a year to a year and a half.  The overall maintenance cost on the Sebo will actually be less than continually replacing those messy filters on the Hoover you have now.

DysonInventsBig wrote:

Not quite DIB, you're a tad bit confused.  The Kirby Sentria was rated in the 4th and 5th spots in 2008 while dyson's DC17 was in the 7th and 9th places.  The other dyson models were rated and ranked in the middle of the field of all others. 

I believe you meant to quote reliability data which is not model specific, only brand.  Kirby is the best brand for reliability and has been for many years by Consumer Reports.  Dyson ranked second.  But, you have to remember that this was the very first time Consumer Reports gathered enough survey data to include dyson.  Consumer Reports makes alot of caveats about its reliability data.  For example, new brands, with less time and models in use among the consumers surveyed, tend to score better due to the inherent risks of the limited amount of the survey data associated with new brands.  CR advises readers that the reliability data is more meaningful when reviewed over time for consistency. 

Which?, a counterpart to CR in Europe, rated dyson vacuums as the most unreliable vacuum brand, both canisters [cylinders] and uprights for 7 of 8 consecutive years.  It was not until recently that dyson was able to get out from under all the other brands for the worse in reliability.

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:
The $50 DD razor thin margins account for much failures. - You get what you pay for.          DIB

CarmineD wrote:
Not so fast.  Rating a vacuum based on assembly?

Dyson can use melted down Jujubes for all I care.  As long as the vac performs as advertised or more.

DIB

Hello DIB:

It is what it is:  A substance that breaks, cracks, nicks and dings.  But lightweight!  The notion that a higher price guarantees better quality is naive.  Why?  Does paying $700 for a dyson DC15 ball make it less likely to have broken hinges and cracked bins than paying $300 for a DC15 ball?  Did the $700 buyer get more than the $300 buyer? Of course not.  That's why you purchased yours for $300 and not $700. 

Carmine D.

Over the past 40 years I have owned numerous vacuums.  The first were canisters.  In my non professional opinion they were superior to uprights when I first started buying vacuums.  My electrolux purchased in 1973 was an excllent vacuum.  Next I purchased a Rainbow and gave the Electrolux to my daughter.  I got tired of cleaning the Rainbow after each use and after a few years I bought a Hoover WT self propelled (upright).  I never felt that it did a thorough job of cleaning so I gifted it and bought a Dyson DC07.  I then got sort of interested in vacuums and bought a Hoover Fusion.  I also inherited a Hoover bagless that was pure junk.  The screen filter clogged after a few minutes use and rendered the vacuum almost useless.  The screen and the pleated filter were very very difficult to clean.  I gave it away.  I sold the DC07 and the Fusion and bought a Royal Eminance.  Less than a year after buying the Royal I bought a Kirby Sentria.  I now own the Kirby, Royal and Rainbow.  I have bought and returned numerous vacuums that failed my expectations for various reasons.  The most dissapointing for performance was the Oreck XL21.  It was not much better than a broom.

There is no perfect vacum in my experience.  However, the DC07 remains the best that I have used.  The brush never gathered more hair or strings than my Kirby or Royal.  It removed sock lint, string or other solid debris with one pass (hard surface or carpet).  I never had another upright that would do this.  I only washed the filter twice in three years.  The hose is somewhat inconvenient to use if you do not remove the tube that is inside it.  It never clogged.  Of course I only used in the home and never vacuumed leaves or mud with it so no need to clog.

I plan to sell the Kirby and the Royal after the first of the year.  My next planned purchase is the Hoover Whisper, currently less than $100 at local Wal Marts.  No way will I sell the Rainbow as I have used it numerous times for vacuuming water and occasionally as a shop vac.

If you do not have a lot of hard floor surfaces the Eureka Boss does an excellent job of vacuuming.  The exhaust blows dirt away from the vacuum on hard surfaces. 

An inexpensive ($65) bagless is the Bissell Power Force Turbo.  It has as much suction as any vacuum I have used.  The draw back for me is it has no off switch for the brush.

Dyson looks to be a high grade plastic.  Remember that metal will dent or break also.  If any of the plastic breaks on the Dyson I will bet that it is user neglect.

I have probably rambled and given a lot of info that you did not need, however I hope that my experiences will help with your decision.

DysonInventsBig wrote:

Making a point DIB that dyson itself is so worried about damage to the plastic caused during repairs that dyson cautions its own authorized dealers IN WRITING to use extra care.

A significant case in point recently where 39 UK dyson buyers/users and several vacuum makers prevailed against dyson with the ASA in the UK to force dyson to cease from making false and exaggerated product claims.  And others here in the USA who bought $500 plus dysons under the auspices that their dysons would never clog and lose suction.  Only to learn that dysons did both, and they  returned them to the retailers for refunds/credits. 

IMHO the primary reason dyson makes its 5 year limited warranty on its later DC24 and 25 models contingent on the requirement for users to perform frequent filter cleaning is due to clogging and suction loss with the earlier models.  Many buyers were lulled [read: duped] by the advertised dyson claims into believing it was not necessary to clean filters save once a year.  And based on this, they paid high prices for the convenience of not having to do so. 

Carmine D.

HARDSELL wrote:

Hello HARDSELL:

I didn't know where to start.  You provide so much for rebuttal.  I excerpted just a few of the comments that you've made many times here before for a response. 

You have said on numerous occasions that the ORECK spread the dirt/dust on barefloors as did the EUREKA BOSS, which you said above again.  I disagree with you with every ounce of being in me.  You are full of the proverbial scatalogical stink.  Both models are excellent as barefloor cleaners.  Both are consistently rated as excellent barefloor cleaners by Consumer Reports.  The fault kind sir with the performance is with the user. 

"Dyson looks to be a high grade plastic."  Tell me, please, exactly what does high grade plastic look like as opposed to low grade?  I'm interested to know and I'm sure others are too. 

Metal breaks?  A 20 pound sledge hammer and several direct hits with enough force doesn't count as breakage in the normal course of usage.  Nor does dropping from a 12 story building.

You'd bet that "any' of the plastic breaks on dysons are user neglect!!  Wow!  You have keen eyes for judging the grades of plastics AND expert personal knowledge on all dyson users too.  Has to be user neglect IN ALL CASES.  Never dyson!   Sounds like you're saying ALL dysons are perfect vacuums whose only faults are a result of neglectful users.  I'm smelling that unfragrant aroma again. 

The ORECK brand which you love so much to mock [based on a single free in home trial of 30 days] warranties the plastic vacuum housings on all its models for 10-20 years.  What is dyson's? 

ORECK earns and maintains the highest seal of approval/recommendation by the Carpet and Rug institute of America for all its models for ALL CARPET brands and styles.  How about dyson?

Carmine D.

ainstalshia wrote:

Hello ainstalshia:

This prerequisite reminds me of a true story that I'll share with you and the readers here.  In the 50's an Air Force military family bought a new Kirby upright with all the attachments for about $250.  In the course of a 30 plus year career, they moved back and forth from duty stations around the world to the USA, always shipping the Kirby.  After retirement, in the early 90's, the couple decided it was time to repair/buy another vacuum.  They remembered the Kirby factory rebuild service agreement and decided to use it.  They shipped the Kirby back to Cleveland Ohio and asked to exercise the agreement at the price guaranteed at time of purchase: $12.50.

After a few weeks, Kirby shipped the rebuilt 30 plus year old Kirby back to the owners in near brand new condition.  The last I talked with the Kirby owners was in 2005.  Their Kirby was still going strong.

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote: