Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

I'm in a house with 4 dogs, 1 cat, and a Miele Capricorn. The bags tend to get quite odiferous before they're even half full and the activated charcoal filter can't keep up. I even tried hosing the bag down with Febreze and drying it out before using it, but that just makes it smell worse.

Have any of you tried the Arm & Hammer bags? Are they any good? Other than that, I'm tempted to go to an aquarium store and buy a box of Zeolite granules.

Venson wrote: hi venson
so where can i get  some borax....and what is borax...heard of it but no clue beyond that...and how does it compare to b-soda...

retardturtle1 wrote:
Borax is hydrated sodium borate, NaBO·10HO, an ore of boron, that is used as a cleaning compound.

Being that it is usually sold as a laundry booster, you should be able to find it in any supermarket that has a good supply of cleaning and laundry products.

Back in the day, many household products sold due to multiple capabilities. A powdered laundry detergent might be used not only for the wash but for the dishes and cleaning linoleum flooring too.

Plain old Ivory soap, in bar form, washed dishes and faces plus laundry on occasion.

Besides being a cooking aid, baking soda -- a deoderizer and mild scouring agent -- can be used to brush teeth, wash out a fridge and soothe heartburn.

Venson

Venson wrote: would baking soda work just as well as borax..and whats the corn meals purpose......where carpets and vacs are concerned.....ive never heard of this  before...the only thing im familiar with is the damage carpet fresh/pet fresh and similar can do to vac...seen a riccar tandem air destroyed beyond repair because of carpet/pet fresh.....whats the diff....please forgive my lack of knowledge ...and exp.

retardturtle1 wrote:
Hi retardturtle1,

Per my grandad, "There's more than one way to skin a cat," meaning there are lots of way to solve problems. Depending upoon your age you might not be aware of some of the plain and simple old fashioned ones.

Prior to the time we were rendered helpless by TV ads swearing that only this or that product could remedy a household problem, people were dealing with odors, tarnish and stains. Floors and rugs were kept clean too with only a broom in the house. Here we are -- new day but some of the same old problems. It would seem that some of the same old solutions will still work.

The dry cornmeal is for absorbency. I've used borax and liked the result but you're perfectly free to try baking soda. Doesn't matter what you use as long as the job gets done.

As for Carpet Fresh, I have tried it but haven't bought it for years as I see it as an unecessary expense. But this I'll say for sure, it is not as harmful to vacuum cleaners as a lack of common sense is.

Venson

Venson wrote: Venson..thanks for the insight...my friend.
gonna get some cornmeal and borax....here in the south all homes would normally have cornmeal in the pantry....well they do ..except mine..guess i found the one southern peach...that doesnt know how to cook....so i kinda use the pantry as my vac room/play room....but she loves to clean house and is open to my vac expieriments....no matter how bad it turns out....so i guess its a fair trade and its still our first year so ......

Hi Venson:

Thanks for the info from CR on reviews vice their testing/rating.  I excerpted one part here,  just a short statement, to share.  It conforms and confirms what I posted about "contrived" and "manipulated" reviews by users.

• Users and manufacturers may also try to skew the results by intentionally posting biased reviews themselves or through others. Some reviewers could actually be shills.

As I posted about the HOOVER WT Anniversary reviews, I found it interesting that the bulk of the poor reviews came immediatedly after the Consumer Reports rated it number One in its March 2009 edition.  As with the above statement to show their own brands and models in a good light, shills for companies can do the opposite with other brands: Pan them.

Thanks Venson.

Carmine D.

retardturtle1 wrote:

Carmine is scared to use baking soda with his Oreck.  It doesn't do harm to Dysons.

HARDSELL wrote:

Wrong HS.  I don't need the baking soda to neutralize the odor from yellow lab.  The HOOVER [TEMPO] and ORECK [XL CLassic] bags work just fine. 

Carmine D.

hiHARDSELLwell i tried your idea and i gotta say it worked great....in vac bag at home,in carpet,and at work....really nice freshness to the air in conjunction with the hepa ac filter...thanks

retardturtle1 wrote: I am glad it worked for you.  Don't tell Carmine. He is either used to the smell and doesn't notice it or his smeller is diminishing.