Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Shot this video with a Dyson and placed it on youtube. It might be of interest to those thinking of buying a bagless vacuum. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnad0yuASec

Lucky1 wrote:

Hi Lucky1,

I thoroughly agree as to many shoppers believing all their problems have been solved with the purchase of a bagless vac. Yet, I can't get a handle on how some people have slipped into suspended reality.  How anyone can believe you can buy a vacuum that you don't have to take care of is pure indulgence in fantasy.  What goes up still has to come down some time and there are no free rides.

I didn't mean to infer that a bagless vac be washed out with each use but, instead, be given a good cleaning when its obvious that a lot of residual dust has gathered on its essential components.  The clear bin on my Iridium made it impossible not to see dirt build-up in its airpaths after several uses and I'd find myself getting sick of looking at it. To its credit, the machine cleaned and filter quite well as long as the little tubes around the bin wall were kept clean and debris wasn't allowed gather and build up in the shroud area.

Since consumers are showing less and less desire to be concerned with maintenance, a disposable vacuum cleaner just like toss-away cameras and razors might not be a bad idea.  However, ecologically, we can't take the heat any longer. We're up to our ears by way of the fallout from disposable items.

Venson

I guess it would be interesting to see how much dirt you could blow out of a central vacuum hose.  Dirt sticks to the blades of ceiling fans, and pretty much everything. 

In the late 1990s when Hoover UK first launched their first series "Cyclean," and "Hurricane," bagless uprights, the company ironically made see through food bag type dust bags that could line the actual dust bins. It made no sense having to buy them when the idea of a bagless vac rules out bags. Needless to say the bags weren't a good seller.

Also if that video on you tube had been done in a darkened room or something with light paper behind it, you'd get a better chance to see what's actually on the shrouds.

Severus wrote:

Hi SEVERUS:

Not the same analogy.  At worse, if the build up of dirt in the hose is a concern, and I doubt it is unless there is a clog that can't be fixed, you buy another hose and start over brand new again.  What do you do with build up in the cyclones?  Buy new cyclone assemblies regularly?  I suppose so.  I suspect hose dirt doesn't affect suction power unless a clog develops.  This requires introduction of a foreign object like a nail, hair pin, clip, sock etc in addition to dirt.  Not true with cyclones and normal and gradual dirt build up.  Never clogs, never loses suction?  Now just a mere marketing myth.

The dirt build up on most surfaces can be vacuumed up.  Not so with closed and sealed cyclones.  You have to blow them out regularly.  Air and breath pollution.  I suspect the MIELE draped mechanic in the video was/should have been using a commercial grade face mask.  Lucky not to be cited and fined for air pollution [no pun intended].  All the blowing in the world never ever gets cyclones clean and completely dirt free.  The more in operation, the more the dirt build up.  Bagless is bogus. 

Carmine D.

Hi,

I'm not sure, but isn't plain old uncooked rice used to help clear central vacuum hoses of clinging matter?

Venson

CarmineD wrote:

As the Miele clad person, my purpose was to illustrate to the unaware, the amount of dust retained in a bagless vacuum, more so than my method of cleaning the machine. (As for the method, In addition to air I also wash as many of the parts as possible).

Lucky1 wrote:

From what I see and hear your methods for bagless cleaning are pretty standard industry wide.  The concern with these methods, especially the power blowing, is the air pollution and risk to doers like you.  Back in the day, cloth bags posed these problems too and in large part the efforts to clean/keep clean were the reasons for paper bags and their huge popularity  among users.  Quickly becoming the standard industry wide.  Bagless is a reversion to the worse of the vacuum dirt containment systems very similar to cloth bags.  Just as cloth bags were hyped as less expensive than bags, bagless is hyped as less expensive too.  The argument fails once put to the users' test.  Sounds good in theory, not in practice.  Just as the argument for cloth failed the users' test of popular opinion, bagless is too.  Except for household hands and sticks and wet/dry.

Carmine D.

I overheard  my vac shop managing friend engage in the following dialog with a customer:

"Why don't you sell NEW bagless vacuums?"

"I only make 10.00 selling one. I make 30.00 every time I service one. Plugged filters and hoses are not covered by the warranty. I don't want to be the person who sells a product that creates that much unhappiness and frustration."

"But you service them, right?"

"Yes, they need servicing quite often. I sell the filters, brushrolls, belts, whatever you need to keep your vacuum running."

"Why are the Mieles so expensive?"

"They are not expensive. They just cost more upfront"

"What do you mean?'

"That Miele Callisto is 899.00 with the large powerhead, a free pack of bags and a HEPA filter."My average Miele purchaser buys THREE bagless vacuums at an average cost of 130.00 each first. That's 390.00.  Each one will be serviced three times at a cost of 30.00 each time, that's 270.00, and each one will have an average of two to three filter replacements, call it 2.5 times at an average cost of 30.00 each, give or take) depending on how many filters are in the unit,that's $75.00  times three, so $225.00 and three belt changes, at 3.00 each, that 9.00 times three, so 27.00, so total cost for those three bagless vacuums is $912.00, and at the end of that time, you still need another vacuum cleaner.  A 5 pack of Miele bags lasts the average household a years. Some people get smart after the first throwaway purchase, some never do, and we cheerfully keep fixing their Wal-Mart vacuums at 30.00 bucks a pop

Just then THREE customers come in to pick up a total of FIVE bagless vacuums and fork over a total of $150.00 exclaiming "What fast service! I just dropped this off yesterday/this morning!"

"Would you like to take home a Miele of your own today?"

"My husband would kill me if I spent that much on a vacuum!"

"Would you like to look at our selection of used vacuums?"

"I don't want a used vacuum.  I think I'll head on over to Wal-Mart"

"Here's our card with our hours.  Our turnaround time on most vacuums is one day, sometimes same day. See you in six months."

"Why six months?"

"Six months is the average length of time it takes for a customer to bring in their new bagless vacuum and tell me it doesn't pick up, either at all, or on the floor. And for them to tell me after I explain the filters are clogged that, "There are no filters in that vacuum!"

"Six months is still under warranty!"

"For defect in the product ma'am, not failure to maintain it properly."

"Are the Mieles easier to maintain?"

"Yes. They are durable, stop the brush when it jams, have a thermal overload protector, tell when the bag needs to be changed. In 20 years as a Miele dealer, I have seen less then half a dozen motor repairs. period."

"Maybe I'll bring my husband in"

"Please do, I'll be happy to show the both of you the Miele advantage."


After she left, I asked him how he could be so cheerful and patient. He replied, "She's another Miele customer, she just doesn't know it yet.  For every sale I do at least three demos to the same customer before they part with the money.  There is a reason I specialize in Sanitaire and Miele. There are maybe six other new vacuums in my shop ,total, all proven sellers, that meet a specific price point and specific need. I fix their vacuums quickly, reasonably, and competently. That's how I earn their trust. I don't flit all over trying this thing and that. They see the same brands featured each time they come in. They don't see the vacuums I sell with repair tags on them. Eventually, it sinks in. And if it doesn't, there's still the 30 bucks a pop. I can dismantle, wash, disinfect, and shine up a bagless vacuum in under 20 minutes. I keep a supply of used filters blown out and ready to go. With selling belts, I can turn 100.00/hr.  WHY would I do it any other way?   He's found a way to make the BBR work for him.

Thanks for the laughs guys.  Hilarious!

I asked an old-time dealer once...  “What percentage of dealers do you think lie?”  He replied...”They all do.”