Trebor

even if you have copied... COPIED?

Excuse me, but there is zero need for me to copy info from anyone. My comprehension of the fundamental principles of air pressure and air flow in general as well as my familiarity with vacuum cleaners in particular enable me to discern the Axis brush's extreme similarity to the Miele parquet brush.  The castle cut is not  a new innovation, but extending it all the way around the perimeter does negatively affect pickup unless the suction and airflow of the vacuum being used are at the high end of the scale, otherwise one could simply pop this tool onto any stick vac and have a great bare floor surface vacuum.  Bare floors are a separate rating category in Consumer Reports for a very good reason. Large objects that occupy most of the hose/wand diameter are easily picked up by even very weak vacuum cleaners. Small, light debris, like dust bunnies, are easily sucked up as well. The debris in between the two extremes is the problem.  It has to do with the surface area (more surface for the air to grab hold) to weight (amount of weight that can hoisted by the suction). The higher the airflow, and the higher the suction, the better the pickup. There is an optimum ratio. A castle cut bristle used with inadequate pickup power will perform less well than a bristle with fewer or no castle cuts, because the open cuts all the way around increase the airflow while decreasing the suction on the surface of the floor. Closing up some of the cuts begins to reduce the airflow and increase the suction. Therefore a central vac, or a powerful canister will give much better performance with a tool of this type than a less powerful vac. Sebo vacuums and tools were not part of the comparison, therefore were not impugned. No brand was impugned.  Miele was mentioned only because their tool is so like this one. I cannot be 100% certain, but believe the Axis was introduced after the Miele swivel parquet.  Electrolux introduced their castle cut bristle on the front only, and if the bag was partially full, the drop in bare floor pick up was noticeable. Just observations, nothing more.

It is my opinion, sir, that you might consider a refresher in your famous British manners...

Trebor

It looks similar to Miele's new parquet brush with the pivot and swivel neck. The bristles contain the airflow and direct the suction. The compact floor tool does such a good job because of the shortness of the bristles. Every notce how much better a Lux picks up on bare floors when the bag is new? Even a small reduction in airflow causes a huge drop in pick up power. The Mieles have ample suction and airflow to pull through the castle cut bristles all the way around the tools. So will most central vacs. THis tool will not work satisfactorily on many vacuums because they will not develop enough pull to pick up debris off the floor, Too many holes, not enough pull.

Hi Everyone!

I use the white bags because they have kitties.  Remember I have been cleaning this house for 10 years, so I know it well. There are no children. There is no buildup of dirt whatsoever in the home and they have excellent furnace filters which are changed regularly, so I am maintaining a high standard of spit and polish rather than starting from scratch. Occasionally I will slack off the above the floor vacuuming to polish wood trim in the lower level or do a few windows, but I have to say, their home is cleaner than mine.  Mine is full of lint from the loom, the knitting machines, the sewing machines, the sergers, and the cutting and pressing tables as well as the hair of my two adorable doggies.

I have one remaining cleaning client and I clean their 6,000 sq ft house once every two weeks. Yesterday I was reminded again of why, although I like many different vacuums, when it comes down to getting a lot of cleaning done in a short amount of time,I turn to my Kirbys. I have two G series a 4 and an Ultimate. Both have 50 ft cords. I used one in canister mode with a 16 ft hose, and one as an upright.  It is actually faster to make one trip around the entire level per task than to constantly switch tools.  I dust all the deep moldings and soffits with the wall and ceiling brush attached to the elbow and wands in one trip, ending up where I began. The wands are so light I can use four of them with no strain on my arms and shoulders. Next up, the upholstered furniture, using either the Zipp brush, or for the jacquard covered pieces, the wall and ceiling brush. The Zipp brush is too harsh, and the straight suction tool leaves streak marks. I dust the lampshades during this round, switching to the duster brush as needed. Finally, with the brush in place, I do the carpet edges with the crevice tool, and dust the narrow lip of the baseboards. Then the carpets are vacuumed.  I use the polisher brush with the fluffer bar in place to  vacuum the sealed wood. I use a fine mist of a product called Selig (formerly called Enforcer) and spray buff with the Kirby. The mist dries quickly due to friction, and it leaves a shiny, non-slippery glow on the floor. I vacuum the carpet on the stairs with the hand portable

Any pet stains are scrubbed with the rug renovator and rinsed with the Hoover Steam vac.  Nothing remains but to polish the wood furniture (once year I use the Turbo sander for this), clean the mirrors and glass tables, and the bathroom fixtures and counters.  I could not cover this amount of square footage with both the speed and the thoroughness I do with any other piece of equipment. I can see why some people would not like to use a Kirby as their daily driver, but when you really want to clean a lot both quickly and thoroughly, nothing else really  compares.

Trebor

It seems to me that a crucial point of this debate has not yet been fully articulated. No one vacuum cleaner CAN do it all, nor could it ever be so engineered until A) BOTH batteries and cords are eliminated and the vacuum operates from a Tesla generator that draws electricity from the aether and B) the dirt is either teleported to a disposal site, or dismantled at the atomic level to provide it's own power. Those two points solve the weight/power issue with respect to the size of the motor and the size of the dirt container, leaving ample room for a full set of on board tools. Back to our current understanding of reality.

The present understanding of the laws of physics compels a recognition of two distinct types of above the floor cleaning 1) on the fly as in the stray piece of popcorn behind a chair, a cobweb, or crumbs on a chair/sofa and 2) thorough cleaning of all surfaces that are not carpeting or area rugs.  The on board hose of an upright lends itself to the first type and not to the second because a) it does not roll like a canister with a tug of the hose (the new Miele S7 is a PARTIAL exception to this caveat because its hose locks down, keeping the pull exerted  at a low center of gravity) b) the hose of necessity is of the stretch variety which collapses when suction is applied with an upholstery or crevice tool. The hose must be managed with BOTH hands so the hose can be used to make even strokes on upholstery or along the edge of a floor. Longer stretch hoses don't really help, just have more length to collapse. Longer regular hoses mean more hose to store on board,more weight, more to undo when needed, taking more time to replace on the cleaner when finished with the task. The new Miele canister stretch extension hose is brilliant, but has the limitation (for the moment, at least) of not being usable with an electric hose/nozzle assembly, but the discussion is still about uprights. Full size attachment kits offer more convenience in the attachment mode but require the conversion, which users complain about bitterly, especially with regard to the Kirby, the most complete and thorough conversion of all, taking in to account reach, number of tasks, and true portability. The separate portable canister offers lighter weight for both machines, since the canister does not need to clean carpets, and does not need wheels, but again, consumers complain about having to go get the second cleaner. The original Bissell LIft Off was a good idea, but it was bulky do to the fact that the bag compartment had to be large enough to accommodate a full size upright's carpet cleaning capability.  Taking all of this in to account leads us to Oreck's development of the Edge. They have distilled the on board tools concept down to what people really use it for: quick grabs of stray debris the upright cannot reach. A longer hose and more tools would defeat the purpose. Oreck's research (remember some Oreck stores did repairs on all makes and models) revealed that even with owning an upright with on board tools, a great many consumers still use a separate canister for their above the floor cleaning. Those who do not tend do much less thorough above the floor cleaning. Many, many uprights come in for repair missing their tools, but people still like them for their ability to grab stray debris on the fly. That is the one strength of an on board, instant on hose with an attached wand, that and nothing else. When I tried the Edge, it gripped the carpet better than any other Oreck, ever, on all carpet types. It maneuvered well, and the instant on board hose with attached flex crevice tool did well for what it was intended. I predict Hoover will imitate Oreck's advance as soon as the patent expires, or they can find a way around it. The Sharp bagless upright was brilliant in that the hose/floor suction was diverted back and forth with a foot pedal. One could actually operate the cleaner with the upright's handle in one hand and the wand in the other and simply flip back and forth from floor to hose, hose to floor  without even raising the handle to the full upright position, but no additional hose could be easily attached/removed. Most of the Panasonic, Riccar, Simplicity, etc uprights with on board tools are equipped with a port for a hose to accommodate a full set of tools. Not a bad compromise at all, easily designed, and it limits the trips to retrieve the hose and tools to those times when they are really needed. I think combining this approach with the Sharp diverter valve would be brilliant. Mention must be made of the Hoover concept with the on-board hand vac, nice try, but no wand to reach with, and not enough power for deep cleaning.

What about canisters? Well, the quick release wand from a power nozzle still leaves a metal wand to lift, and a metal edge to ding and scratch walls if one is not careful. The new Panasonic power head with built in bare floor brush looks brilliant, but the jury is still out on its durability. Some have complained it is difficult to re-insert the brush onto the nozzle base. Separate plastic wands are a good idea, but they don't ride along with the rest of the tools. Telescopic aluminum electric wands offer the best compromise so far, points to MIele, but still not as light as plastic wands.

The debate revolves around a few key points, which is why there is no one best vacuum for everyone. Six people faced with the same cleaning challenges might very well make six completely different choices of cleaning equipment.

1) How many different kinds of cleaning do you have to accomplish?
2) How do you prefer to do them (or not)?
3) What is most convenient for you?
4) Convenience, Power, Price: pick two and compromise on the third

I have not used it, or read reviews but the videos of Beam's new central vac hose look intriguing. It expands from 13ft to double it's length.