Whats a good vacuum cleaner?

[rabbidrabbit]

OK,

My old fantom is pretty much dead.  My question is what is good and what is not ?  I have been told Riccar is a good vacuum.  Any suggestions?  Who knows their stuff about vacuums?  My standard is a vacuum that works well and lasts.  I don't want to pay 500 bucks for something that will break twice in the next 5 years so I end paying twice as much for it.  I have a mix of hardwood and carpet floors about evenly split over 2800 sq total.  I prefer canisters over upright and bagless over bagged but can be convinced otherwise.

Thanks in advance.

[Sandman]

I recently put laminate wood flooring in most of my house. Then, I got a Roomba.

Damn, I love that thing. It's bagless with a small bin, but you typically use it every day or every other day so it doesn't really pick up all that much anyway.

You can find refurbs for $150 or so.

[SirLoin]

According to Consumer Reports Kenmore make the best vacuums...And bagless uprights spew to much dust.

[rabbidrabbit]

I'm probably going to get a Roomba too but will still need a regular vacuum to get what it misses.  I do like the Roomba and love my Robomower..>  Last year, the most I ever did to mow my big ol lawn was go kick the Robomower when it got stuck every few weeks.  Beyond that, a well manicured lawn and no hour per week mowing for me.


I called a few vacuum shops and they all trashed Kenmores for breaking a lot..  Its tough to know whats fact and whats fiction.

[Sandman]

Originally posted by rabbidrabbit
I'm probably going to get a Roomba too but will still need a regular vacuum to get what it misses.

Here's the thing. Because no one is pushing the thing, we use it every day. It doesn't really miss anything.

[rabbidrabbit]

Ya but I have a 2 year old and 2800 sq ft of space..  Won't the sucker get lost, get screwed up by clutter etc..  From what I read its pretty good but you still need backup.  Did you get the regular one or the scheduler?

[Sandman]

I have the Roomba Discovery.

I bought it refurb from Amazon and I have to admit I started out having trouble with it. The battery was bad. It would run for twenty minutes and then just stop. I spoke to a service rep and he listened to the tone and believed that the battery was in a state of "deep discharge". There's an eight day process to get it out of this state, but after the eight days there was no change. So, I called iRobot again and some knucklehead decided that it wasn't the battery because battery problems are rare. He sent me a new Roomba, a new charger, and a docking port. Turns out, none of these things were the problem. It was still the battery. iRobot finally sent me another one.

...but now, I have two perfectly functioning chargers and docking ports so the unit never gets lost.

My next door neighbor has one with a single charger and she says it gets lost less than 10%.

I keep the clutter off the floor. I had to remove one small rug because the Roomba got tangled up in the fringe.

[Maverick]

Go the the hardware store and get a good shop vac. A 20hp gas powered on oughta do it!  

[wetrat]

Originally posted by rabbidrabbit
Ya but I have a 2 year old and 2800 sq ft of space..  Won't the sucker get lost, get screwed up by clutter etc..  From what I read its pretty good but you still need backup.  Did you get the regular one or the scheduler?

My house is 5000sqft, and the thing never gets lost... when it gets stuck on something it beeps and beeps and beeps, so it isn't that hard to find.

[TPIguy]

I used to repair vacs a few years back, then I got a job selling vacs at sears.

The kenmore canisters do clean and filter quite well. The bag models anyway, the bagless ones are aweful (as are most bagless.) But they do break alot. They are mostly plastic which just dosent hold up. Especially the wands and where the power head attaches. The electrical connections wear out often also. When I worked at sears we got ALOT of returns on these that were only a few weeks old. IMO I'd avoid them.

There are some good canisters out there that will last decades (if you take care of them) but they won't be cheap. Unfortunatly, you will be hard pressed to find a good canister for under $300 that will last.

Right now I've got a filter queen thats about 20 years old. It'll probibly last me forever if I don't run it over with a truck.

As for riccar, they are decent (most models) and are also sold as simplicity and berina.

My advice to you is to check some vacuum shops that will let you try out the machines. Buy one that feels solid to you. I would also avoid the bagless vacs, with few exceptions they neither perform nor filter as well as bag vacuums. The vacuum companys push these because they get rich off you buying expensive filters.

[crowMAW]

I bought a new vac 3 years ago based on a Consumer Reports recommendation...the CR review seemed spot on and my expectations were met.

CR just did a vac review for March:

#1 cannister was Kenmore model Progressive 25914; rating was 76 points, was only cannister to score 'excellent' on carpet cleaning.

Highest ranked bagless cannister was #15 out of 20; Hoover WindTunnel Bagless S3765

#1 upright was Kenmore Progressive with Direct Drive 35922; rating was 79

Highest ranked bagless upright was #2; Kenmore Progressive with Direct Drive 36932; rating 76.

According to CR data Kenmore vacs are mid-pack for reliability out of 11 brands with data. Cannister vacs show dramatically worse reliability. Kirby was #1 in reliability and Eurika #2 uprights only.  Highest ranked Kirby was #7 (Ultimate G Diamond; rating 68 and very expensive); highest Eurika was #4 (Boss Smart Vac Ultra 4870; rating 73 and very inexpensive).

One thing I really like about the new uprights is the particle sensor...basically tells you when the spot you are vaccuming is clean.

I found a medium shop vac with a hepa filter really works great on my wood floors...fast and can suck a dust bunny under the couch from across the room.  

[EN4CER]

Bought a Dyson Animal and ended up returning it. It was "Ok". Actually saved some money on the second purchase with a Kenmore Progressive. Needless to say it does a great job and the old "ack" is satisfied.

[Morpheus]

My Ex.

[crowMAW]

Originally posted by Morpheus
My Ex.

Costs too much and is not reliable.

[Ripsnort]

Get a central vacuum system.  We have a SMART central vacuum. Outlets cost about $70 a piece installed, and you'll generally need 4 in a 2500 sq. foot house. The vacuum itself runs about $800. It will last a lifetime and the suction is incredible.