Anjalena

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?

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.

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! =)

vacmanuk wrote:

Hey Vacmanuk.

Yeah, I'm sure I'll be cleaning mine once a month. It's bad here. But I'll check the filter probably once a week at first to get an idea of how fast it's getting dirty. Thanks for the tip on how to wash it. I won't be drying it that way since I don't have a dryer in my apartment. These little $#%*ty government-subsidized apartments don't have washer/dryer hookups in them at all. But that's the same way that I wash and dry my stuffies. I've got a stuffed bear in my room that I tend to use as a pillow. My "bed" is a couch and I sleep with my head up on the arm of the couch. But it's kinda hard and not comfy, so I use the bear to soften the experience. heh. But when he gets dirty, I throw him in a pillow-case and tie it closed, then throw him in the wash and the dryer. I got that tip on TV somewhere in the distant past. Seems it's a safe way to wash stuffed animals without ruining them. =)

I'll see how much another filter costs and if I have the money anytime in the near future, I'll buy an extra one to use while the first is drying. But vacuuming will probably only happen 2-3 times a week, if that. Trying to get my son to do chores is like trying to motivate a wall to move and my PCA is only here twice a week. And like I mentioned in one of those 4 pictures I linked above, if we have to go to the store or to do laundry or do anything that takes most of our time that day, chores won't get done that day. I'm supposed to have a worker 3 days a week but my current girl is out of university (heh, a little Brit lingo!) for the summer and moved back to live with her parents until school starts again. So she's only near here on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so those are the two days I get a worker. Which means I'm without somebody for 5 days in a row. I'll be glad when her classes start up again. Or I might be getting a new girl soon.

Yeah, I definitely wouldn't use a rubber blade on the floor! ACK! Well, I have a rubber broom and it works great but you HAVE to hold it at a certain distance from you to prevent the awful friction resistance. So most of my workers, and my son, just avoid it. But it works better than any other broom I've ever had. I just can't use it myself. I tried to sweep up around the litter boxes a little while ago. The whole thing took me less than 2 minutes. But well before I was done, I was in a lot of pain. Sweeping, especially, just pisses my back off. It must be the position that you have to hold your body in while sweeping that does it. That's all I can figure.

I like the roller brushes but they're really probably not going to help me on this floor. Plus, I loathe having to dig out wound up hair from between all those bristles. It's definitely UNfun! But there's one thing I'm liking about the WT Air, and I don't even have it yet. I watched the little Usage and Maintenance videos that come with the vacuum and the one that shows how to change the belt makes me super happy! I remember having to help my Mom change vacuum belts back when I was growing up and it was infuriating and almost impossible! I like the way the WT Air's system of belt replacement works. Seems like it would be MUCH easier than the old days.

Mike_W wrote:

Is this the attachment you're referring to, or did you mean the deluxe one (which is going for $71.99. OUCH!):

http://www.amazon.com/Riccar-Handheld-Brush-Standard-Cleaners/dp/B00106EBG2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343777203&sr=8-1&keywords=riccar+turbo

Is that the one that you like better than the Hoover and the Eureka attachments?

As far as cleaning the filters go, that will end up being my job. My son would never do it unless I beat him over the head and forced him to. Heh. And my workers really aren't supposed to do maintenance type things like that... though she might be willing to do it if I asked. But as I'm usually the one who cleans the air conditioner filter and the high velocity fans (which I love my high velocity fans too! though don't blow it directly at you while you're sleeping unless you want to wake up with dry mouth, nose, and eyeballs! *ROFL!!*), I'm sure I'll end up with the job of cleaning the vac filter as well.

But our high velocity fans are short/small... almost like little shop fans... so I can set them up here on my desk and clean them. I've still got a bunch of Q-tips (ear cleaning swabs.. not sure what they're called in the UK) on my desk from cleaning the fan just a few weeks ago. And today I had to pick it up and wipe thick mats of fur off the intake vents from that same fan. My worker saw it and went "EWWWWW!" *sigh* And I totally forgot about the refrigerator! The back has NEVER been cleaned!! I'm surprised it still runs! *faint*

Here, I took a few pics to show you guys. I created an album on my Photobucket account and put the 4 pics in there. Make sure you click the thumbnail so you can see the bigger version. (actually the pics are bigger than what they show here but oh well) I wrote a description under each picture so be sure to read that. It's right under my name, Anjalena. My album with 4 pics for you guys.

Okay, having seen my fan now, how do I use the method you talked about, Mike, with the cut-to-size A/C filter? And where do I find that kind of thing? Please give links if you can.

I do hope to be able to get my WT Air soon, but I have to wait until my student loan stipend comes in for this semester. It should already be in my bank account but it isn't. Blargh!

As far as carpet vs hard flooring, I don't really have a choice. I'm so poor that I have to live in subsidized housing, which means I have to live in what's available. I hate this place! Mostly I hate the landlords but I also hate the apartments. They were built in the '70's and it shows. There's only ONE telephone jack in the whole place (not that apartment is very big, it's pretty small actually) and it's up on the wall in the hallway! With this being the age of the internet, that's pretty damn inconvenient. And they'll add more jacks if you want them, for $25 per jack, but they will not maintain them. They'll only maintain the original jack. For any others, you have to pay the phone company to come in and fix them and they are very expensive! The only thing I like about having no carpet is that it IS easier to clean up messes. Spill a drink, cat pukes on the floor, dog pees on the floor, whatever... it's much easier to clean up wet-type messes on hard flooring. But with hair and dust and dirt... hard flooring shows EVERYTHING! =(