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.  

I would think a straight suction vacuum such as a power pro, or an Electrolux with just the rug tool, not the powernozzle would do a fine job for you. 

I was told when I was shopping for a light weight last year by both Oreck and Riccar.  "These will do fine on your carepts if you don't have a shag or frieze, if you do the strands of the carpet will wrap around the brush and not only be extremely hard to push, but will burn your belts out very rapidly."  I have a plush and the Riccar and Kirby work very well on it.

Back in the 70's we had a sculpted plush which the Kirby (with brush roll on) did a very good job grooming and cleaning.  Kirby does have the option to turn off the brush, however, as well as they had a "Shag King" a really terrible, $#%*bersom, hard to use thing that attached to the front of the machine.  It did an ok job if you could get it to stay on the front of the vacuum.

Any straight suction with good air flow should do a good job for you.  You will more than likely have to rake the darn thing if you are like me and don't want foot prints to show.

http://www.articlealley.com/article_550591_47.html

FWIW: About ORECK and an excerpt about usage on shag carpets.  I believe the author is a former ORECK HOME CENTER manager of many years.  But no longer an ORECK employee. 

"None of the Oreck vacuums adjust for different carpet types, but unless you have the really long shag style of carpet you don’t need adjustments to your vacuum. They are merely extra parts that will break in time."

Just to reiterate, I'm not pushing the ORECK on anyone.  Just want to show that there are varying opinions and answers on the matter of proper cleaning/vacuuming of shag/frieze carpets depending on the sources.

Carmine D.

I have the answer! Should my friends/clients opt to go with frieze, I will finagle a 3' x5' sample from the salesperson, and place it as the walkoff mat at my friendly local vac shop for a month, then vacuum with a Kirby 'G' series with the gentle brush roll installed AND one of the old suction-relief vents that used to be on the older style Kirbys (I installed one on a Heritage, and it was great for shags and scatter rugs.) I think the ability to sweep the pile gently and thoroughly without sucking it deeply into the nozzle, since it will be unable to seal to the floor should provide maximum cleaning with minimal damage.

Carmine,

My original purpose in posing this question (and you are right, rose` DOES compliment canned worms nicely :) was regarding the use of rotating brush vacuums on fireze carpet which sometimes have manufacturers warranties which prohibit their use to keep the warranty valid. While the Oreck may indeed be safe to use on some frieze carpets, the reassurances of the Oreck employee, and even the person who sold the carpet are utterly worthless if the manufacturer decides the warranty has been voided due to the use of a vacuum cleaner which, in their view, caused the damage.

A true frieze is a carpet made up of yarns which are highly twisted, so twisted, in fact, that they twist back upon themselves like a piece of string. It is not just "trackless" carpet, although frieze does not readily show foorprints. The yarns of a frieze, if untwisted, become longer as the twist unwinds (increasing the likelihood they will wrap around a rotat, and the ends "bloom" and get fuzzy. A shag already has its ends exposed, and "blooming" is much less noticeble. It would take repeated uses over a period of time to determine if ANY vacuum will have a detrimental effect on frieze carpet. This type of carpet has been growing in popularity for a decade now, but with so much carpet installed just to facilitate a sale, (remember frieze is very popular) and families moving so frequently, I'm sure many potential warranty claims have gone unsubmitted. Who is going to ask what vacuum they should use on their new carpet, and is the warranty transferrable anyway?

I think that until a vac manufacturer(s) has a vacuum(s) tested by CRI as safe for use on the dubious frieze, and the manufacturers submit their samples for testing (which they surely would, wanting to be able to advertise that their carpet is safely cleanable with very specific vacuums/brush configurations) it will remain a murky issue with no real clarity in sight. I wonder how many warranty claims on frieze carpet have already been submitted, and what the disposition of those claims has been, and the criteria for vaildating or dismissing them. Of no real importance to anyone except the consumer trying to submit a claim on their carpet warranty. Class action lawsuit anyone?

I'm familiar with both the rug and vacuum industries in the USA since their infancies.  I've drawn conclusions about both.  One conclusion that has always stood the test of time is that vacuum professionals know more about the best vacuums to clean and groom different styles of rugs/carpets than rug/carpet companies know about the vacuums that are available. 

As you know, the ORECK also offers a two speed version which reduces the suction power of the ORECK for delicate and sensitive rugs like shag and frieze.  Again, I reiterate, I'm not pushing the ORECK.  My point is this.  Despite what a few rug makers say, there are many vacuum brands, upright and canister with P/N, with models sold in big box stores and independent vacuum stores, that work well on shag, berber and frieze carpets.  Many of these brands offer manual rug height adjustments, variable speed controls, and softer brush tufts that separately and in concert offer effective options for cleaning, grooming and ensuring the longevity of all the different rug styles and heights on today's market. 

Carmine D.

Carmine,

I have the utmost respect for your knowledge and experience. I also agree that a vacuum professional has more knowledge of what is available than the carpet manufacturer. But ultimately, it is the manufacturer who holds the trump card in deciding whether or not the terms of the warranty have been voided. That is my point. If the carpet has any restrictions whatsoever about the type of vacuum used, it is incumbent upon the consumer to ensure the manufacturer of the carpet has indeed approved the machine(s) that will be used to clean the carpet. Appearance retention warranties/wear deated warranties refer solely to amount of fiber lost. It can be matted and crushed, but as long as it still has 90% of its original face weight of the fiber, it is considered to be performing as promised under the warranty. It will take more than one bottle of rose` before this can of worms is finished.

Trebor

Many years ago, a lovely unmarried NJ lady decided to add wall-to-wall carpeting to her large home.  Having large area rugs already, she was a long time buyer and user of HOOVER upright vacuums.  When she made the conversion to wall-to-wall rugs, she naturally continued using her HOOVER upright which she promptly had serviced to ensure its peak performance.

After a few months, she noticed that the carpets looked like they were wearing and worn.  It dismayed her.  She returned to her favorite vacuum store and asked that they have another look at her HOOVER upright.  The store owner did a once over, replacing the belt and bag, and advising her that the HOOVER is as good as new and in perfect working order.

A few more months passed, and the rugs looked worse.  She called her vacuum store man and asked if he would make a service call to her house.   At the time, many independent vacuum store owners still did house calls.  A mutually agreeable time was made and he came.  Upon looking at the carpeting, he agreed that it appeared 10 times its age.  Inspecting the HOOVER vacuum, he gave it the thumbs up and advised the lady to contact the rug manufacturer.  She did and on the prescribed time a representative from the carpet maker came.   He looked at the carpeting and agreed it was old beyond its age.  He asked next to see the vacuum.  The homemaker accommodated and brought out her HOOVER upright.  While seeing nothing wrong with the HOOVER vacuum, he asked her how often she vacuumed.  She replied that being alone she vacuumed her rugs a few times weekly and did so for many years.  Still sceptical, he asked her how often she had her HOOVER vacuum serviced.  She quickly showed him the service records for her HOOVER vacuum.  After a quick inspection of these records, he agreed the carpeting was defective and it was completely replaced at no charge.

Shortly after that incident, and probably others like it, the carpet maker [and others too] started gifting new HOOVER upright vacuums with the sale of wall-to-wall carpeting.  A practice that continued for many years and still to a lesser degree continues to this day by some rug makers and rug retailers.

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:

I don't get it.  The carpet is defective so the carpet manufacturer decides to give away free Hoovers.  That would have been like Firestone giving free nitroge with those defective tires years ago. 

HARDSELL wrote:

Hello HARDSELL:

I'm not surprised that you don't get it even tho the facts are self-evident.  The carpet maker's representative was duly impressed by this NJ Lady and the facts and circumstances surrounding her story.  First, the lady's loyalty to her HOOVER vacuum.  Second, the lady's conscientiousness in vacuuming with her HOOVER weekly, even tho she lived alone.  Third, the lady had her HOOVER vacuum serviced religiously by the same vacuum professional, presumably an authorized HOOVER dealer.  Finally, he must have been impressed by the HOOVER vacuum's performance which was the definitive bases for his judgement that the carpeting was indeed defective.  He brought the story back with him to his boss.  The word spread.  Soon, the carpet maker [as well as other big US carpet makers] gifted HOOVER upright vacuums with its carpet sales.  If there is a connection or not, I can't say for sure.  But, there is a high degree of assurance that the lady's case had an impact on the actions and outcomes of the carpet maker[s]. 

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote: Just as I suspected.  You have no facts.  Just an opinion.  Could it be that Hoover gave carpet manufacturers a sweetheart price on the vacuums just to flood the market with their and name.  Think of the publicity they gained.  Do you really believe that a manufacturer gives freebies with their products?
Those such as yourself fall for such BS marketing.  Seems as if the story is about the lady and not the brand.  OTH, All her efforts and the Hoover did not correct the defect. Do you really believe that a manufacturer gives freebies with their products.