Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

On housekeeping, maintenance and carpet care sites are dire warnings NOT to use a rotating brush vacuum because it will 'untwist' and 'fuzzy' the tips.

On the Shaw site, it uses the word "shag" in quotation marks, implying cable,shag, and frieze fall under the same maintenance requirements.

So, what would your top picks be, both vacuums and attachments, for vacuuming frieze,cable, and shag carpet? Some include berber in this suction only maintenance category, along with handmade rugs. So, what do you say should be used, considering some carpets have a 10yr. appearance retention warranty provided the care instructions are followed.  

Thank you, Venson, and all who responded with helpful information.

One of the carpet fibers being produced now is a step beyond stainmaster, it actually keeps dirt from sticking to the fiber.

I remember on old Electrolux tool for shag carpet that had 5 elongated small suction 'mouths' that extended down into shag carpet. Maybe that type of tool will make a comeback

Trebor,

I hear you on the old Lux five finger shag tool.  I remember using it at my uncle's in the 70's on his shag and filling his vac bag.  The only other tool that might work, (haven't tried it though) is the Lux flip tool that flips over from barefloors to carpet.

In regards to carpet warranties:  A couple of years ago I purchased a commercial carpet extractor, a small five gallon unit with two, two stage motors producing 150 inches lift, 105 CFM and an external 2400 watt (6 x 400) heater as we were tired of rentals and poor contractors.  The carpet cleaning industry has been trying to solve the problem of detergent residue causing premature soiling.  Hence, rinse solutions and the "Green alternatives".    I have jumped on the Green band wagon and have had excellent results.  I called the manufacturer of the chemical, as I knew his products were CRI and Green Seal Approved.  Not only has he got these approvals, he has sent his chemicals out for further certification, especially to the carpet manufacturers.  From what I gather, CRI has a set of limited parameters.  Now in regards to warranties for carpets--FORGET IT!!

Sorry, hit the send button too soon

From what I was told in regards to warranties, by the time you followed each manufacturers check list, how often do you vacuum, how do you vac, what type of bristle brush do you use, how quickly do you attend to a stain, what did you use to clean the stain, what temperature of water did you use to clean, by the way, did you try club soda to remove that wine stain on your carpet.  What about the carpet cleaner that comes to clean your stain resistant carpeting and notices that it's extremely dirty and uses a ph of 12 instead of below 10??   Warranty void.  How many people will follow everything to a "T" inorder to claim warranty coverage, how many people even know what their requirements are.  At the end of the day, you come out with the short end of the stick. 

Vernon

Trebor wrote:

Hi,

Only when shag is noticably in vogue again.  Just about everyone had a shag tool at the time it seemed and none worked very well all round.  Kirby, FQ, Rainbow and just about all the store brands had a spin on the idea. The Lux tool was supposed to get at the stuff down at the bottom usually not too dense shag pile and you flipped it to clean away surface litter.  For me the big problem with shag carpet was keeping it looking good.  It felt no matter how much I vacuumed it lost that wonderful "fluffy" look it had been bought for and went back to looking mashed flat in a matter of hours.

My aunt had a sizeable piece of beautiful beige broadloom that had maybe one-half or three-quarter inch pile that she sent out for storage and cleaning around late spring every year and had brought back to the house every fall.  Most amazing thing was its fibers were made of good old cotton.  It took well to any kind of vacuuming straight or upright and thrived on a good cleaning every three or four days -- with no padding -- and she had it for many years.  It was great for us but, after me, she was the youngest thing in the house.  She was in her mid-fifties at the time.  Her mother and father, also living there were in their late 70s.  Not a lot of romping on the rug going on.

Venson

Trebor wrote:

If you are referring to the HOOVER Norca, and my memory serves me correctly, the Norca's agitator used brushes only [strips] with no beater bars, as all the traditional HOOVER-s of that era did use beater bars [unlike today's].

Carmine D.

Sorry Carmine,

I was going off the memory of an old post, thank you for setting me straight.

Trebor

CarmineD wrote:

Here is a Norca owned by a good friend of mine. You're right, Carmine - they had a 4-brush brush-roll. But you can't really call it an Agitator, since it lacks beater bars! They were sold through stores in towns which already had Hoover Dealerships and door-to-door sales, so Hoover wouldn't be competing with their own product. 'Norca', or course, is derived from NORth CANton.

You're correct on the agitator term, NORCA did not:  Beats, as it sweeps, as it cleans.  Tho, "agitator" is a HOOVER specific term for it's own brushroll, because of the bars.  I suspect HOOVER called the brush rolls in NORCA-s "agitators" too in order to distinguish them from the industry's term "brushroll."  Later, the vacuum industry accepted and used the term "agitator" in the vacuum vernacular to generically identify brushrolls, not just with beater bars, but in general.  As is currently the case. 

Note the similarity between the NORCA pictured and the traditional HOOVER model 305 with an agitator.  Also of note, no suction port on the side of the base of the NORCA to fit attachments.  The hose pictured, while a hose for a HOOVER upright, is not for the NORCA.  If I recall correctly, the H-305 had no attachments.  NORCA-s were less expensive than the traditional HOOVER uprights of the day.  Marketed for value conscious vacuum consumers on a more restrictive budget.  NORCA vacuums did not have a long life.  But the name NORCA was used by HOOVER to market replacement bags and belts for an assortment of vacuum brands.

Carmine D.

Anyone remember the EUREKA vibrabeater/groomer rug tool from the 50's and 60's.  Especially for frieze and shag, which were probably still a no show on the household scene.  Who would have thought that EUREKA was ahead of its time for the vacuum and rug industries?

Carmine D. 

CarmineD wrote:

I'm pretty sure Hoover only ever used the term 'Agitator' in conjunction with it's own-brand, beater-bar equipped models, since it references the concept of Positive Agitation. 'Only The Hoover has the Agitator'. You could save money and buy a NORCA, but for the most efficient cleaning, you'd have to spend a little more and get a Hoover! I believe Hoover used the term '4-brush groomer' to describe the Norca-type brush-roll. The 4-brush groomer was also more suitable for commercial applications, and Hoover offered it as an option on their commercial cleaners until the Conquest was introduced.

The hose seen in the picture belongs to the Hoover Model 150 standing next to it, which I cropped out of the picture. The Norca model shown does not have the side-port for tools - it uses a non-quick-fit converter which attaches underneath, as the Hoover 305 did. To fit it, the user had to switch the cleaner off, turn it over, and remove the fanplate and belt. The side-port was a deluxe feature which only the TOL models had.

As well as NORCA being a Hoover spares name, it was also the trade name for the fabric used to make the cloth dustbags from Model 700 onwards. However, RONAC - an anagram of NORCA! - was also used for this purpose.