Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

1)  Nov 21, 2007 James Dyson t.v. commercial parodied on Saturday Night Live.

2)  March 17, 2009:  While many independent vacuum dealers bad-mouth, lie of and/or dismiss James Dyson and his teams contributions, many others champion the man.  Watch James Dyson in his element - in his Malmesbury Headquarters.  NBC’s “Today Show”  http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-us&vid=71fa9222-10d2-413c-bf31-0007895697ac

2)  Older video news:  I could not resist...  A Hottie car-news chick mentions the rumor of Dyson working with car makers, and Oreck gets a mention too (funny).

www.blinkx.com/video/hamann-stallion-audi-a7-fast-lane-daily-24jun08/JQ18e2m7y5hiULCgEQWSvw

Personally I find good ole Jerry to be nothing more than a Miele salesman who uses whatever little trick he can to promote his product.  Unbiased consumer reporter?  I think not.  Good salesman, most definitely...if you count half truths as being part of his skill. If you look at his website the only machine he recommends is Miele, everything else is just a poor substitute.

Carmine, as an Oreck user and proponent of the product, tell me what you think of Jerrys take on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2ZQV-hZ_3M

While I'm not as sold on the Oreck as you are I certainly don't agree with everything he puts forth and for that matter I can say the same for any of his videos.  I also wonder why he no longer allows comments on his work.  Seems kind of odd for an unbiased consumer reporter not to allow feedback on what he's putting out there.

Dusty

Hello Dusty:

Gerry Rubin is, after all, an advocate and believer in MIELE.  Regardless of what your vacuum preferences, MIELE is a top shelf, premium made and performing home vacuum cleaner.  NOw it is in the upright market too.  Is Gerry Rubin any better/worse than any other vacuum proponent who pitches his/her product?  After all, that's what sales people do.  By not accepting feedback, does this detract from Gerry's salesmanship?  Just as Gerry does, any proponent of another vacuum product with an opposing view of the MIELE and/or proof to rebutt Gerry's findings about their products can do so on youtube too.  So there is a venue for rebuttal and feedback

WRT ORECK everything Gerry said and demonstrated is true to my knowledge save one: Scratching the bare floor.  Not true in real life.  Certainly, it is possible with the right circumstances but highly unlikely based on the ORECK's undercarriage design and function.  To my knowledge, and I'm happy to hear contrary comments, I have never heard/read and witnessed a single complaint to this effect about ORECK in its entire history of business of over 45 years. 

Carmine D.

Hi,

I wish we could get beyond this because, as always, this a matter of preference. Personally, I don't particularly like Oreck. Lowest upright scores 39 and highest 73, CR gave the Oreck XL Deluxe U3760HH an overall score of 51. Nonetheless, it did it as good in carpet cleaning but, then again, what's wrong with "good"? Despite Jerry and the particle meter, CR claims Orecks emissions as excellent. That said, to me the main advantage of Oreck is that it is a light and simple to operate machine and owners might be more inclined to use it more frequently than heavier, more complex cleaning artillery. What does owning a fancy Kirby, Rainbow, Miele or anything else mean if the owner feels they're too much work to use it?

Though Mr. Oreck may not allow for buyer comments on his website Consumer Reports does, epinions.com does -- just to point out a couple of spots online where buyer sentiment is looked on as valid. From 19 CR owner reviews shown per the current ratings, the model mentioned averaged a four-star rating out of a possible five though most did not consider the machine quiet. They felt it did well especially on bare floors. I came away with a sense that these people would, when time came, buy another Oreck. Though I don't have the exact detail, I do know that each of those postings, positive or negative, statistically represent the thinking of x-amount of other buyers. I also know that data is important to manufacturers.

This same thing -- buyer opinion vs. consumer testing organizations -- happens with better brands that I either may like or not like. ("Better" here refers to machines made with the intention of lasting due to method of manufacture than a roll of the dice.) Would that it were that prospective buyers were more informed as to what to buy that fitted into their like, needs and manner of cleaning as opposed to the BS about "must haves".

The day of the "homemaker" is long past and the high art of cleaning too. We probably now have more single head of households -- with and without children -- than wives who work at home with husbands who provide the finances for it. That means there's a lot of folks with more things to do than worry over the rug.

Even the best of vacuums is not suitable for everyone who's looking for one. Despite all the doo-dads offered, vacuuming is still a labor intensive job. For the average person coming home from work on any given day even a high-end machine will not afford time or ease in getting dinner on the table, will not better accommodate presence of self or time to sit with a kid and help he or she work out homework or even a moment to just to put your feet up and mull over the day. Thus the job is often neglected.

As well, if in your heart of hearts you don't give a darn about vacuum maintenance why spend a lot of money on something you know you're not going to take care of?

Ideally, a super duper machine that might help compensate for neglect would be great to own but no such machines exist. It's far better to buy a decent affordable vacuum of any type that heightens your enthusiasm in regard to cleaning just enough to make you want to use it as often as you can. Oreck -- at the right price -- is that.

Venson

So how come the consumer reporter doesnt tell you how much moneys in the miele and how inflated the parts and bags are, oh i know why miele would shut him down,

Rubin is nothing but a door to door rip off artist who supposedly has a store. I bet Rubin could not even change a cord winder on a miele.Rubin is one of the reasons that this industry is nothing but a smoke and mirror show,

98% of the public could care less about rubin and miele.......

MOLE

CarmineD wrote:
I prefer not only to sell, but be sold  on the merits of the product I'm either showing or being shown.  If I come across someone who likes to slam other product I generally walk away and check out the other product because I wonder why they feel the need to be so negative to it. 

Dusty

mole wrote:

Hello MOLE:

You'd win that bet.  Gerry Rubin is a vacuum salesman not repairman.  My preference for a vacuum professional is one that can do it all from the backroom, to the storeroom, to the showroom.  But that's just me.  Not all in the biz are the same.

Carmine D.

dusty wrote:

Hi Dusty:

You always take the high road which is commendable.  Still, Gerry is a animated salesman who hits a human chord with most vacuum consumers today.  MIELE sells itself with/wo the Gerry's in the vacuum world.  I give him credit for his preference in vacuum brands and don't ding him for his bottoned down white shirt and out of retro style tie.

Carmine D.

DysonInventsBig wrote:
Hi DIB,

Even if he did loosen the cover the air he is measuring is not leaking out, it would be getting sucked in.  The air being measured would be exhaust air  from the hepa filter, mixed with unfiltered air and resulting in the high particle count.  If the measurement is taken at the filter, similar to how the Miele is done the count would be dramatically lower. If, as Jerry says, the air is leaking from this seal...would it not be drawing the Kapok in rather than blowing it away?

Dusty

CarmineD wrote:
Hi Carmine,

My issue with his Oreck video is where he places the particle counter. Doing a particle test at the rear vent and neck on the Oreck would be akin to doing the same thing at the neck of a Miele powerhead.  There is no way that will give a zero reading either.  Does it make the Miele a bad machine?  No, but it doesn't make the Oreck a bad machine either.

Dusty

DysonInventsBig wrote:
dusty wrote:
Hi Dusty,

Thanks for injecting common sense.

Q:  How in the heck does the intake side blow (kapok)?
A:  It doesn’t.

After I downloaded the video and played it frame by frame, here is how the con works...
1)  He tampers with and/or breaks the pre-motor seal/s.  He then places Kapoc a little above the pre-motor compartment attempting to show a leak, but instead (in 3 to 5 frames) the Kapoc is sucked towards the intake [sucking] air-leak.  He quickly...
2)  Lifts the Kapoc up and into the exhaust air-stream and releases.  That's it.

The illusion (if it can be called that) is due to the camera angle (it's a little difficult to get a depth of view).

No science here, just snake oil.


DIB