Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Hey, I need some help picking a vacuum cleaner. Price is not really an issue, but I want to use the vacuum cleaner for these purposes: -pet hair -carpet -wood floor -tile floor I also want the vacuum to be light-weight... Can anybody suggest a good vacuum? Thanks ;) . All the best, tw23

Anjalena wrote: That is the link I was talking about.  It is a much more robust mini turbo attachment and will work fine w/ the HOOVER WT Air.  What I am concerned about are the two pictures of two different models.  There is the regular/standard mini turbo attachment(w/the inset picture of the attachment opened up), then there is the picture w/the deluxe, quieter mini turbo attachment.  For the listed price, w/free s/h, the standard model would be a good price.  If it ends up being the deluxe model, that is a fantastic deal.

The filter I am referring to is a foam cut-to-fit air filter.  It will be frameless foam material, in a plastic package.  It can be found at your local hardware store.  Type in "Cut-to-fit foam air filter" in a search engine to see what it looks like.  If it is foam, then it can be rinsed periodically.  The filter can be attached to the intake side of the coil/cage/grill of the fan.  It looks like the air enters your fan from the side(s).  I attach mine w/twist ties.

The belt, on the WT Air is very easy to change.  Because it is a cogged(has "teeth") belt, it will not have to be changed all that often.  If it was running on carpeting, it could run for approx. ten years w/o wearing out.  Also, because of its cogged design, it will not be as tight as a stretch belt.  That works out great for those of limited strength.  If you run your machine on floors w/the brushroll OFF, the belt should last a long time.  There are those occasions when the belt could become defective and break in a few years. 

vacmanuk wrote:
The risor visor is kind of a "bells & whistle" feature that is useless on this attachment, for cleaning stairs.  Eureka's Risor Visor first showed up on their Corvette vac/ Step Saver hand vacs.  It is still available on their present hand vacuum.  They promoted it as a great feature for cleaning the riser of the stairs.  Hence the name Risor Visor.  Eureka handvac users vacuum the steps of the stairs as usual, but when they wanted to vacuum the risers of the stairs, they would have to hold the vacuum in an awkward position to clean.  What added to the difficulty was the added weight on the hand/wrist. Personally, I did not think it was that difficult.  Eureka solved this problem by opening up the front w/a visor.  When this happened, the user just lifted the hand vac up and down.  There was no awkward position and off balance weight to worry about.. 

Now comes along the mini turbo attachment.  Every company must think of some way to make theirs special.  They put on the risor visor feature.  This is not needed.  There is no weight to the attachment.  All one does is vacuum the stair steps, then, get this, they turn their wrist.  Your wrist is positioned palm up or facing the riser.  It all depends how you are sitting on the stairs.  Actually, you could vacuum the risers w/your palm facing down also.  With this mini turbo attachment connected to a hose, you could even vacuum the risers from left to right by holding the tool sideways.  It is so simple.  Think of the time one saves by not switching the risor-visor on the turbo brush. Bells & Whistles keep manufacturers in business.  If you like it, good for you.  I prefer to have a better-performing mini turbo attachment.

I like how you like to use reviews from people you do not even know.  Do you know their knowledge level regarding vacuum cleaner?  Do you know how/what they clean?  How often they clean?  How dirty their environment is.  Some of the things people say in review are just hilarious.  I say this because I see people who say their vacuum cleaner is junk, because their carpets are not coming clean.  Then I take a look and see  their brushroll belt is broken.  How about people who will say the mini turbo attachment turns slowly.  This is a very simple one.  They do not clean the filters of their bagless vacuum cleaner, for one.  Or, their bag is too full.   They might have debris wrapped around the ends of their brushroll; making it impossible to turn.  There are even going to be shills.  There are going to  be people who honestly believe they are helping others w/their reviews.  If someone is interested in a product, do not base everything of a review, unless you understand where the reviewer is coming from or know his/her experience.  One of the worst comments someone in the market for a vacuum cleaner can say is, "I want to buy brand X, because 20 people said to and very few talked about brand Y".  What people need to do if they read a review is test it themselves.  Anything I say can be tested.  They can take what I say and go try the machine and see if it is true  Example-take a mini turbo attachment and one w/the risor-visor feature.  See for yourself.

Mike_W wrote:
Well, if the link that Anjalena has provided to the Riccar tool - I have that turbo tool - it is the same one they make for MIELE AND SEBO - and its absolutely useless in some cleaning scenarios. Oh yes it does the job well but cleaning the hairs off the thick bristles is a nonsense and time consuming, hence why I suggested the Eureka/Electrolux tool - it has thinner bristles and takes up pet hair in a jiffy - it is also a darn sight smaller and far lighter on the wrist. You might not have lifting difficulties but some people may do and this tool is far heavier than the Eureka one.

Also you may well feel that the risor visor is not needed. I however find it fantastic for cleaning the material on the front of my rear car seats where people brush their feet when getting into the car. The risor visor also makes it easier to clean the dust that sits on the padded fabric under the car seat runners. Of course it isn't always needed which is a lifestyle requirement depending on what you drive - I drive a Kia SUV and it sees a lot of action in fields, thus the car is always dirty and with pets on board it requires a brush roll as opposed to suction only floor head. Miele's car tool set only goes so far but the turbo brush is too bulky and big to get into awkward areas -the  Eureka one is smaller and more compact.

In so far as to review quoting, I'll do what I like thank you very much - after all our view points are what Anjalena are reading into - but they won't know what the vacuum is like until they try it. But I'll add in my experiences to boost my opinion and justification. Again, you may not have pain when you turn your wrist, or fight with a suction hose when it snaps back due to natural suction from a vacuum cleaner when you lift up a conventional turbo tool, but I like versatile cleaning tools that serve a purpose. The Eureka one with the risor visor prevents stress from other design issues like snapping back hoses - it is also fantastic for setting the natural flow of velour curtains or soft furnishings when the risor visor is lifted. See what I mean about versatile? If I have to continually change my hand when I'm cleaning with a hose in a downwards fashion and have to change it up, thus having to put up with hose to the side or at another angle, it is compromising - turbo tools with any design speed up cleaning time. IMHO, the Eureka design is far more efficient.

You guys are like an old married couple, sheesh. *grin*

You both have been incredibly helpful. And guess what? I've listened to both of you and then made my own decision. Vacmanuk is right in that department. Reviews themselves aren't necessarily a bad thing if you use some common sense along with them. If you realize that there will always be a percentage of reviewers who can't be pleased by anything, or got a defective unit, or had a specific situation that this particular unit didn't suit, or didn't understand exactly how it worked or how to maintain it, OR on the other side, they only had to use the unit periodically or situationally and so it always worked perfectly, etc etc. You have to account for that. And then you have the reviewers like you guys who have tested it thoroughly before making an opinion. And there are those who are professionals and know what they're doing (though, depending on the item, might be a very small number of people). The point is that you have to look at more than just the raw numbers. You have to read through the reviews, and also use your common sense to make judgement calls on the reviews. But if you've got hundreds of reviews on an item and the majority (90% or more) are still 5 out of 5 stars, for example, then you probably have a good find. So you put it on the list with your other good finds and you do more research. Why do you think I came here and posted? You guys were PART of my research, not all. Nor were the reviews all of my research.

But I've learned a lot from you guys. I hoped by coming to a vacuum-specific forum, I would get people who were knowledgeable about vacuums and I would get a feedback-based knowledge in that I could ask specific questions and get responses and then question the responses. This was different from reviews since those have static information that is coming from only one perspective and that perspective might not be specific to what I need. So I knew it would be a good learning experience and it has been, despite the drama. =)

You guys, neither of you has to be right or wrong. I think of the world as if we're all looking through our own windows that give us a view of the world. But if my view is different than yours, or yours from his, etc... it might just be because my window is on the 10th floor, or you live further down the street. If I see something different than you, it's just my perspective, ya know? You guys should be friends. You both share a love for the same thing and that should bring you together. Having to fight against each other is only a measure of pride and ego. Being someone who's always had too much pride and ego, I know. I should probably belong to the Pride and Ego forum. *laugh* There have been far too many times when I fought back because I felt a need to be right. So I'm not just saying this to you guys. I'm saying it to me too.

I think as far as the hand tool, you both just have different needs and situations. Doesn't make either of you right or wrong. Just different. But you BOTH have important knowledge about vacuums and vacuuming that is valid and important and helpful. But the in-fighting just makes you seem unprofessional and petty and tends to run your newbies, who need help and guidance, off to somewhere that they might not get such good, experienced information. So that's just something to consider.

Anyway, I'll stop zen-fu'ing you guys here with my pearls of "wisdom" and my blabbity blah blah crap. *laugh* Thank you both, again, for all the information and help! =)

Anjalena - thank you - also please post back here once you do get your new vacuum and let us know how you get on!

vacmanuk wrote:

Thanks Vac! I sure will. =) Well, I'll try to remember. I have some mental disfunctions that severely hamper my short-term memory. The only reason I've remembered to come back here is by keeping the link to this page up on my bookmark toolbar. So I'll keep it there and hope I remember. I'll probably wait a while to see how it really affects things around here... give it time to really work, ya know? But I'll try to remember to come back and let you guys know. You've been so helpful and very sweet.

And Mike hasn't said anything yet. I hope he isn't upset with me for my last message. It might have seemed kinda condescending. I didn't mean it that way. I was afraid both of you might have written back and fussed at me for it.

Oh I'm quite sure he will in time, not to worry.

Well, you guys wanted to know how the Hoover Windtunnel Air worked out for me, so I'm back. I've only used it a few times cuz it scares the crap out of my kitty.

Anyway, I'll vacuum up a pile of dirt and fur, maybe a half to a quarter Cup if you were using a measuring cup from the kitchen, and when I turn the vacuum off and move it, some of the stuff falls back out of it. I've been using it with the brushes off since I have linoleum but I actually think turning the brush on works better. This is an OLD apartment and the flooring is crap. It's not level and it's dull and stained. So I don't think the brushes are really going to hurt it much.

But what do you guys think about the stuff falling back out of it?

Anjalena wrote:
You should do fine w/the brushroll on or off.  When the brushroll is OFF, hair can get caught on the brushroll or get stuck between the brushroll and the brushroll chamber.  Debris, like kitty liittle, can sometiimes lodge itself in the chamber if there is a hidden crevice.  Debris can even sit around the edges of the bottom plate.  The brushroll can help move debris to the airflow intake, in the brushroll chamber.  If you find that you are vacuuming up alot of debris at once, you can tilt the vacuum to one side.  This will help dislodge any debris; moving it back into the air path.  This is also the same thing to do if something like a penny gets caught, but you do not want it to go through the machine; damaging something like a fan.  The object will usually shoot back out onto the floor. 

I wanted to make some comments from your previous post.  To start, you said, "Vacmanuk is right in that department. Reviews themselves aren't necessarily a bad thing if you use some common sense along with them".  Now, I said, "do not base everything of a review, unless you understand where the reviewer is coming from or know his/her experience."  Is this the topic you are contrasting?  I have to say, it looks like they are saying almost the same thing.  With your own situation, you did not base everything off a review.  You also came here and received more info.  The same as if you were walking into a vac shop.

I was making a comment to Vacmanuk, in this thread, because of something he said in another thread.  The discussion, about reviews, w/him, is in reference to a post he made here-

http://www.abbysguide.com/vacuum/discussions/64106-A-1.html

You see, one cannot make a conclusion on a vacuum cleaner he or she has never used, nor base it on only eight reviews.  All eight were not even bad reviews regarding the hose and power nozzle.  Plus, you cannot get an accurate conclusion , when reading over all of them.  Some said the cord was short, long, etc.   Eight reviews is not a good sample to conclude this particular brand and model is not very good, because there are more owners of the Riccar 1700. 

I am hoping that you have a better understanding of where I was coming from. 

BTW, did you purchase the extra attachments?  You did not mention it.

Happy Vacuuming!

Anjalena wrote:
HI Anjalena. Glad you got the Windtunnel Air though I'm sorry it scares your cat. My cat gets scared any time our "quiet" Bosch dishwasher is on - just imagine what he does when the vacuums are on! Sadly because of budget restrictions and suggestions previously pointing towards Miele being your better bet, I'm not aware of any quieter vacuums in the U.S that can offer quieter motors than Miele. There may be other brands out there; but we in the UK aren't as lucky to get the brands that you can find in the U.S like Simplicity or Riccar. Perhaps those brands and associated models are quieter, I don't know.

I haven't personally got the issue of dust falling out but do bear in mind that Hoover's dust capacity is a very small 1.5 litres in the bin or 1.31 quarts. I notice Hoover U.S plays down this fact, not able to give this detail for its buyers, and instead promises "25% extra capacity." Hoover U.S already have got into trouble with Euro-Pro and Shark over false advertising with the Windtunnel Air and Navigator vacuums (See http://tushnet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/apparently-false-demonstration-still.html if you are interested.)

I would agree with Mike that if dust is falling out, then it is every possibility to point towards the dust channels on the floor head. Open up the top hood via the two clips at the front and inspect the twin or single dust channels where you may well find a piece of cat litter wedged that is knocking out dust after you finish. It is easy to remove if you have the time and if you have a blunt flexible stick. If the dust is falling out by the bin at the top, then the bin just needs to be emptied thoroughly. Also ensure that the rear hose is firmly pushed into the vacuum at the back. With the Windtunnel Air being a clean air vacuum, the motor fan is completely sealed.

When it comes to unlevel floors though, I find the brush roll is better - the underside is flush and flat to cope with carpets anyway, but on the basis that fibres naturally flatten down before being activated by a brush roller, using brushes on unlevel floors should give you better performance than no brush roll at all.