July 21, 2007

• Vacuum screamer
• I have found that cheap vacuums don't last long & are generally shit. Dysons are super duper sucko supremo & have good rep, they suck the snot out of a hippo. I hate vacuums with bags, I find them dirty & inefficient. Bagless are easier to clean. I have burned out a couple of cheapos, I have never heard of Dysons burning out, I think they have a warranty type dealio for repairs for quite some period (disclaimer: I don't have one but know people that do). I wish I *did* have a Dyson. I have desired one for a while. I currently use a $200 dollar job, it has a good bit of suction, but it was a cheap replacement for a similar model which died after only a year or so, & I expect the same thing to happen. If you were to get a Dyson type, I would recommend the, uh, little ones (barrel type? not sure what they are called), not an upright. Merely because uprights tend to take up more space, are difficult to maneuver, & I think the revolvy brushy thingies in the base of the uprights might present a possible area of mechanical failure. As with any piece of equipment, generally you gets what you pay for.
• Nothing sucks like an Electrolux. We have one that's more than 20 years old, and it is still irreplaceable (except by another Electrolux). However, it is quite a distance from Sweden to Middle Earth.
• Everything I've ever heard about a Dyson, from professional reviews to owner testimonials, takes the following form: "Man, you will not find a vacuum on this planet that comes close to cleaning as well as a Dyson. Too damn bad they're unreliable as all hell."
• Hmm. Which magazine voted them most unreliable. Looks like you are right, & I am wrong. :(
• I'd say a Dyson is worth it, but look around for a better price. We've had a Dyson for five plus years with not a single problem. It's an earlier model of this type, I think. It's definitely the best vacuum cleaner I've ever used, though that's out of a total of five or six different machines so not a very big sample. $700 seems like an awful lot. Is this in NZ money? I'd expect more like 200 to 300 euro (maybe 240 to 360 U.S.)
• A few years back, "Consumer Reports" rated Dyson 13th out of 32 uprights and 3rd out of 15 canister models. And it seems Dyson machines are lots more expensive outside of Europe, even though they're all made in Asia these days (I think).
• We have 2 cats, and I have longed for a vacuum that performed consistently and perfectly on getting both carpet and furniture clean. I've owned a Hoover & a Dirt Devil that never did the job well. I have finally found an excellent vacuum in the Dyson DC07. My Dyson has not been unreliable, ever. I love this thing. Love, love, love it. I agree it's a bit spendy, and it took me a while to work up the nerve to spend that much on a VACUUM, but I found a great deal at Target and used some wedding gift cards to get it. (also, being an accountant, I justified it on a per year cost - if I own it 10 years, that's really nothing to keep the carpets clean. I'm on Year 3 right now and haven't had a single problem with the machine yet.)
• This is what I mean by the uprights being more likely to go wrong, they have this revolving brush thing in the base which is essentially driven by a little plastic belt (I don't know if the newer ones have these but the older ones do). This can easily screw up, get broken, dislodge, etc. The canister models obviously don't have this, so they should be more reliable. But even if Dyson isn't the manufacturer to go with, bagless vacuums seem to be a pretty good idea. (I have no idea why I'm getting so het up with this vacuum palaver. I think it reflects my long term lust for a bagless vacuum)
• DC07 looks good.
• I frequently drool over those (like the DC07) at Target. Even if I could bring myself to spend that on a vacuum, I don't have that much money anyway. But I want.
• OMG am I gay for lusing after a vacuum?
• I was in a bar in Shibuya and met two engineers from Dyson. Never have I learned as much about vacuum tech as I did that night. Of course I was drunk and can't remember much of it. But I do remember their excitement as they discussed sucking up dirt technology. If you can afford it why not? No point in getting a cheap useless one - especially if you have kids/allergies.
• If you can afford it why not? Because you'd pay $400 for something that'll break quicker than most other vacuums, in a nutshell. There are plenty other, cheaper, bagless vacuums that'll get the job done. I don't know if you can get 'em down there, tracicle, but every damned state fair over here has a booth that demonstrates Rainbow Vacuum Cleaners. I have no personal experience with them, but I had a buddy in high school who swore by them. He claimed his allergies stopped being as severe indoors after his mom bought one.
• Yeah but do their engineers go out drinking in bars in Shibuya? This is an important consideration.
• I twenty-second the Dyson bagless, canister. Have had Eureka, Hoover, and off brand, and the Dyson made me gag at the price when I bought it, (and get into a major fight with Mr. B) but it has stood the test of time and major dog/horse/cat hair. It's the only thing that can suck the fuzzy cat hair off the cat's foot stool. Electrolux is your next best--get the top 'o the line model if you do--cheaper than a Dyson, but still very effective. I've never had a problem with my Dyson. And it's 15 years old. *stands up, raises hand to Dog my long term lust for a bagless vacuum Yes, you are a bagless-loving prevert.
• mr medusa & I bought a Kenmore (Sears) $300 canister vak 4 years ago. It works excellently, has never had any problems and came with an excellent, renewable warrantee. Do they have Sears down there?
• and it has a hepa filter
• I have interviewed Sir Jame Dyson, walked around his workshop, touched the hem of his garment, and generally got a bit moist around his stuff. I, and the lady Mothninja, also have one of his sucky machines. It is supreme. Seriously, I grew up in a household consisting of a mother *obsessed with vacuuming*. She now has a Dyson. It's like the mountain coming to Mohammed and then beating him in an olympic scale drinking contest. Dyson rocks so hard, you'll be ashamed at the dirt the wonderous thing sucks up. it's a bit pornographic, frankly. They last forever, they're a wondrous thing to behold, and oh my god I'm going on about a fraking vacuum cleaner...
• This thread may be the best place for this so far: BUSH SUCKS!
• And his fans blow!
• It sounds like the brand names are consistent the world over (skrik, my in-laws have an ancient electrolux that is probably as old as me and still running perfectly -- they don't make them like they used to). Yes, the Dyson is $700 or so in NZ$, but I know of one that's 15% off right now which is mighty tempting. This would be an easier decision if we hadn't just returned from holiday and spent our dosh on petrol, as you do. MCT, you seem to be outvoted! Who can argue with beer guzzling Dyson engineers and the knighted Mr Dyson himself?
• If more people cared as much about human suffering as they do about cleaning their carpets, then this world might indeed be a place where we all could live in peace, love and happiness. - Natural Wood Floor People for Ending World Hunger.
• Heh. I care about not spending my days in an asthmatic fog. If I can breathe and my hubby and kids can breathe, I feel much more charitable.
• PS: something else to consider when making that vacuum cleaner purchase.
• Rainbow takes me back, mct! When I was a kid, Rainbow reps would come door-to-door to demonstrate their machines. My mom had them back a couple times to demonstrate their steam-cleaner thingy, because she wanted them to clean our couch for free.
• Yeah, Rainbow are good. The model I have used sucks the dirt through water, meaning that no dirt is released back into the room. Also Vax, which also sucks through water.
• "Is the FBI used to cleaning up after multiple murders?" "Of course. Why do think it's run by a man named Hoover?"
• There's a $45 Bissell vacuum cleaner that does an outstanding job. I bought it and was ecstatic about it. I read a few months later in Consumer Reports that it stacked up well against the $200+ models. I can't recall the model number, but it's a black upright and it's in practically all U.S. Wal Marts. I'd say try that out before you blow a huge chunk of change on a vacuum. In the grand scheme of things, $300 for a vacuum cleaner is just insane. And if ANYONE deals with a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman, for the love of god, throw some pennies on the carpet and ask the dude to vacuum them up. I have yet to see ANY vacuum cleaner that can handle pennies worth a damn. Usually they smash around inside the roller assembly and get spit out again. It's one of my "they can put a man on the moon, but they can't ___" scenarios.
• ... why not use your fingers to pick them up?
• Given the rate the US dollar is falling, it will soon not be worth the energy to pick pennies up off the floor.
• MCT, you seem to be outvoted! Who can argue with beer guzzling Dyson engineers and the knighted Mr Dyson himself? Sensible people, tracicle, but whatever with your Playskool My First Carpet Licker contraption. Have fun with your Lego-powered housecleaner and say a prayer of thanks to the third-world child labor that built it, and while you're at it, be sure it distracts you from giving us all avatars here like I've been begging you for, oh, decades now. I'll be in the corner cleaning my rug with a reliable old rugsucker that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and an iPhone and does the job quite well, while YOUR children have to suck on old socks soaked in sugar water for sustenance, praying for the day they can eat store-brand breakfast cereals like Frosted Farts and Froot Poops. God, I hope your vacuuming skills are better than your parenting skills. "Of course. Why do think it's run by a man named Hoover?" "He threatened to kill me in public." "Why would he want to kill you in public?" "I think she means he threatened in public to kill her." "...oh."
• mct = quidnunc? o.0 The man of the house (as he likes to be called) found a bagless, filtered up the wazoo Kambrook canister vacuum (I had an upright in California, hated it, and blew it up after too many post-Christmas pine needles) down from $300NZ to $150, so that is what we have. For what it is, the price was okay, so we'll see in five years whether I am cursing yet another crappy hoover (or lux, as they are colloquially known in NZ). This one looks like the cheap version of a Dyson. Laugh at me now... After two days of not luxing, it was mighty nice to see my floor not buried under dead skin cells, belly button lint and carpet bugs.
• I only steal from talent. Still waiting for a place to post my animated gif of Hitler eating watermelon, but you know, no hurry.
• I'm late, but if anyone else wants a point on vaccuums, I have one anecdote from work: The NICU ward uses a Miele vaccuum because it is quiet and has a HEPA filter. It's also very small.
• Gosh, how many skin cells do you lot drop in a day?
• My vacuum cleaner motor blew up and I can't abide a dirty floor, so I'm planning to buy a replacement tomorrow Why not just buy a new floor?
• Yeah, stupid kiwi.
• Anyway this whole thread is just a scame because everyone know kiwis live in dusty holes in the gruond.
• BANNINATE
• If there was any way I could afford to mave to a place with hard floors instaed of carpets, I'd be done with vacuums for life. Hate carpets, hate vacuums. A plague on both their houses.
• BROOM
• If you have dust allergies, bagless vacs aren't a good way to go. You do eventually have to dump that dust in a can, at which point it will bloom up into the air. Hate the things. (However, if you have dust allergies and a bag vac, mites will live in the bags, so there's a no-win right there.) Canister vacs that I've had were too difficult to push because the hoses weren't long or light enough to keep there from being a drag on the broom handle. Using a canister vac is much more difficult on my back, because the handle can't be as upright as it should be, and every push of the vac also pulls on the canister. YMMV, I just hate pulling the thing behind me. We have a Hoover Wind-Tunnel with HEPA filter that was rated highly in Consumer Reports. It does the job. However, it's heavy and very loud, so I wouldn't recommend it if you can find something that works as well and is lighter and quieter. We were given an Oreck... it doesn't have a filter and isn't a particularly great vac, but it works OK and is light. The bags for it are extremely overpriced, though. My favorite thing would be a relatively light & quiet vac upright vac with powerful self-propulsion and good suction, & that's what I'd tell others to look for. I don't know if the Dyson fits this bill or not. I've also heard people recommend Miele vacs heavily - probably on Apartment Therapy. Hope the new vac works out! :)
• Well, you're all going to scoff at me for this but I have this bad boy. It cost $2000. No, I'm not kidding. My grandmother bought it. She was senile. She never used it, never took it out of the box. I am the happy recipient of this fine piece of machinery. This is how good it is; If my house is burning down I am running in for three things. 1) My kids, 2) my photo albums, 3) my vaccuum. It is easily the greatest vaccuum I have ever used, bar none. My grandmother had all the good ones, too; Electrolux, Hoover, Kenmore, you name it. Nothing touches this. I had a Kenmore before I had this one, I thought I had it good, it was a great vaccuum.....then I tried this and it blew the competition away. All my friends ask to borrow it during their spring cleans, my family requests its services from time to time, as well. It also includes miniature tools for cleaning the computer. No joke. I swear on...whatever, this is the greatest vaccuum ever made. It has HEPA everything, add-on's up the yin-yang, filters to suit your needs, it's feather light, quiet, and maneuver's like an experienced whore. There is literally no place in the house I can't get to and you'd be amazed at what this thing can pick up after another vaccuum has gone over the floor. Seriously - the greatest vaccuum ever made. I've had it for about ten years now, beat the crap out of it, vaccuumed things I should never have tried to vaccuum. It still looks brand new, it works like its brand new. What more could you ask for. It's paid for itself many times over.
• MonkeyFilter: ...it's feather light, quiet, and maneuvers like an experienced whore.... What more could you ask for.
• *experiences hose envy
• > this bad boy It's nice, but I wouldn't know whether to clean the house or invade another country.
• From Darshon's link: 100 inches of static suction Oh, MY. *fans self, heavily* And the $2000 makes a lot more sense when you find out they're a government contractor.
• And if ANYONE deals with a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman, for the love of god, throw some pennies on the carpet and ask the dude to vacuum them up. I have yet to see ANY vacuum cleaner that can handle pennies worth a damn. Usually they smash around inside the roller assembly and get spit out again. It's one of my "they can put a man on the moon, but they can't ___" scenarios.See below: Prolly too late to help, but after a brief stint in construction, I refuse to buy a household vacuum. I *heart* my shop vac. You get twice the suction of a dyson, but for 500 dollars less. simply buy the carpet add on, (doesn't come with the vacuum) and you're good to go. Added bonus: I've lent it out three times this year to neighbors/friends as they've had some nasty plumbing problems and this thing'll handle up to 8 gallons of water as well. Also, as noted above, this vacuum will handle pennies, quarters, bolts, nuts, you name it. It'll even vacuum up random kittens. NICE! Heeeeeere kittty kitty kitty
• My favourite vacuum is the eternal vacuum of deep space. It doesn't cost a goddamn thing to buy, either. Whenever I want to clean my carpet, I fly the ol' house up to 328,000 feet and open a window. But first I make sure the cat is firmly nailed to something heavy - the dog, for example, or my wife.
• Hi quiddy!
• I would like to take this opportunity to moan that somehow, despite the NZ$ being currently valued at over US80c, which is the highest it's been in 22 years, THINGS ARE NOT GETTING CHEAPER. I hate economics.
• Like Nature, I abhor a vacuum. Don't know why we're in agreement on this, as Nature and I are completely at odds with the whole "everyone must die" thing. I mean, really. Basically, I think Nature is just an ass bag full of great beginnings, fantastic plots, but no grasp of a proper climax. If you've seen "Easy Rider", you know what I'm talking about.
• rolypolyman -- Yay! I just bought that vacuum because a) I could afford it, b) I have blown up 3 bagless vacuums in the past 5 years and therefore hate them (plus the whole dust allergy thing when you dump the cup out), and c) I could afford it. I think I just have bad luck with vacuums. I've had a high-dollar Hoover that I inherited (it didn't pick up cat hair well enough for my mom) that I blew up, and I've blown up a couple of cheap Eurekas as well. The last one ended up blowing more dust into the air than it sucked up, which didn't help much with the carpet but at least looked interesting.
• However, I would like to add that Eureka has awesome customer service on the phone. I practically took mine all the way apart and put it together fixing a clog with their help, and the guy on the phone was polite, knowledgeable, and funny.
• *snatches random kitten away from Debaser Yeah, Trac. I hear you. Economics sucks. Cleans out your wallet, and the dang floor's still dirty.
• Hi mothy!
• Another solution.
• *touches self*
• Q: What's the difference between a Harley and a Hoover? A: The location of the dirtbag.
• Oh, no wonder no one laughs: I keep saying, "the location of the douchebag."
• The October 2006 issue of Consumer Reports rats Uprights highest. Their top rated Upright vacuums are 1. Kenmore Progressive with direct Drive 35922 2. Electrolux Oxygen3 3. Kenmore Progressive with direct Drive 36932 5 Hoover WindTunnel Bagless Self Propelled U6630-900 6 Dyson DC15 The Ball All Floors canisters they recommend are by electrolus, 3 kenmore models a Bosch and a Sebo model. So it looks like Consumer Reports is saying Kenmore are the best. I would have never guessed that.
• Sears generally contracts out to really good hardware manufacturers to make their appliances. Kenmore's normally more known for refrigerators and washing machines, but generally any appliance with a Kenmore or Craftsman label on it's going to be more or less as good as you'll find out there.
• I've had a Kenmore bagless upright w/hepa filter for about 4 years now, and no complaints. Cost about $200.
• Actually, you know Kenmore's made by Maytag, don't you?
• wikipedia claims that Whirlpool makes most Kenmore things (Whirlpool bought Maytag) but the vacuums are made by Panasonic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenmore_Appliances standard wikipedia accuracy disclaimers apply
• Actually, you know Kenmore's made by Maytag, don't you? Kenmore, like Craftsman, varies from time to time. They'll do a contract for x number of years for manufacture, then at the end of that term they put feelers out. If they're happy with the previous company and can satisfactorily renegotiate the contract, they stick with 'em, otherwise they find someone new.
• *waves hand around Yeah, yeah, all that you said. Good quality.
• Sooooo.. how's this new vacuum standing up to pressure?
• I have a little red Henry and I love him. He is efficient and cute. Like my men.
• POST VAC PICPLZ