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As a retail employee that sells Shark products. They come back A LOT, some of it is based impossible costumer expectations, but they tend to break a lot more frequently than most other vacuums.
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Oct 23, 2011 00:22
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I have a shark, but don't really use it. I "sweep" the hardwood with the vaccuum, then mop with one of the swiffer mops with a regular cloth attached. I use Mrs. Meyers mostly because I like the way it smells. I'm not sold that steam gets the floor cleaner than a damp cloth.
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Oct 28, 2011 19:10
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Best vacuum I ever used was one from the 70's that had been in storage for the past 30 years. I mean think about it, they had to build them to be able to handle all that shag... Don't build them like they used to.
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Oct 31, 2011 20:55
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Dysons are awesome... they are expensive and there is probably a Hoover that works just as well, but they are also art pieces and you will actually enjoy using it. Dyson fans, those are easily the best fans I have ever owned, and I also highly recommend them... I'm getting another one soon.
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Oct 31, 2011 21:08
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I will say that the Dyson hand dryers are the only ones I've ever used in a public restroom where the time it took to actually dry my hands was shorter than my patience.
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Nov 1, 2011 01:43
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ChronicSilence posted:Best vacuum I ever used was one from the 70's that had been in storage for the past 30 years. I mean think about it, they had to build them to be able to handle all that shag... Yup. I've got my grandmother's old Electrolux; it's unkillable and amazingly well designed.
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Nov 1, 2011 01:59
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CubanMissile posted:I will say that the Dyson hand dryers are the only ones I've ever used in a public restroom where the time it took to actually dry my hands was shorter than my patience.
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Nov 1, 2011 14:17
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Combat Pretzel posted:What, you don't think they work faster than these repurposed hair dryers? That and the "air multiplier" blows less air than my $12 Sunbeam desk fan. Dyson sucks rear end. Well, I for one, love my Dyson. They may seem like a slick overpriced marketing driven product, but in all honesty, we always go back to our Dyson. It's just a great vacuum that frankly beats the poo poo out of any other vacuum we've tried. My wife is on me to get a DC41 Animal...she saw the commercial that shows that little plastic plate that adjusts on tile/carpet on the fly and picks everything up. There goes another $600 after I lose the argument that our battle-tested DC14 still works fine... So, if you can scrape up the cash, Dyson really is the way to go. As posted earlier, you can find refurbs online quite frequently and they are worth it.
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Nov 1, 2011 17:19
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hotsauce posted:you can find refurbs online quite frequently and they are worth it. Keep an eye on Woot.
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Nov 1, 2011 17:44
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Guys, if you're looking to get 20% off sticker price, you can always buy Dysons at Bed Bath & Beyond with the 20% coupons they send to people on their mailing list and in the newspaper sometimes. They usually state that you can't use them on Dysons or All-clad, but I've never seen it enforced (except Miele vacuums, that's a no-go). Also, the Dyson fans are a joke. They look pretty, but does anyone actually need to spend $300 on a fan that doesn't buffet the air?
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Nov 1, 2011 18:08
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So I guess I'll go ahead and post my thoughts. I went ahead and got the Hoover WindTunnel Anniversary. The thing is a beast, but the self propulsion helps. It is kind of annoying in tight spaces though, as I've run over my own foot a few times. Everything else seems to be working great. The bag fills up pretty quickly which to me is a sign that it's getting up a lot of dirt and junk. I don't really use the dirt finder feature. I tried it the first few times and it just took too long to finish vacuuming. I never use the attachment tools so I can't say much about them. I do dread trying to use to it to vacuum the stairs, again because of it's weight. Would I buy it again? Eh, maybe. I don't want to say that I'm unhappy with it, because I'm not, but I might like to try out some others just to see how they operated first. Hey, powderific, how's it going with your AirSpeed?
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Dec 8, 2011 05:52
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Really happy with it so far. The bagless setup isn't as annoying as I thought it would be as it's kind of fun seeing the results of your efforts; HOWEVER, there is no way it's less of a hassle than bags. You have to empty it quite a bit more often than you have to change bags. It's easy enough, but yeah, I'd say bagless is actually more work.
Not sure what else I can say about it other than that I'm happy with the purchase. In general, it vacuums well and it's easy to use. The layout of the vacuum is very similar to my old Boss (which is a plus to me) with some subtle refinements and a couple things missing. Would I buy it again? Probably. I think it delivers a lot for the money. However, I had a really good idea what I was getting into since it is so similar to a vacuum I already love and is cheaper to boot. edit: I should mention that I'm talking about the Eureka Airspeed here. powderific fucked around with this message at 02:58 on Feb 8, 2012 |
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Dec 8, 2011 06:50
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powderific posted:Found two mini reviews that mention the AirSpeed in comparison to Dyson. I didn't realize that Eureka had been trying to target Dyson directly with it. Anyway, consumer reports said the AirSpeed "cleaned more deeply" than the DC25 in their testing lab, while Popular Mechanics did a test with flour where the Dysons worked better. Anyone buy this Eureka and have a trip report on it? The Amazon reviews honestly look better than the reviews for the Animal. She really liked her last bagless Eureka. grover fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Feb 7, 2012 |
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Feb 7, 2012 01:04
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After years of buying crap at Sears I just started paying attention to what was being used commerically. Panasonic commercial uprights are the best thing I've found. Built like a tank, with large (and cheap, readily available) bags. Been using one for fifteen years. I just take it apart & clean it every couple of years. And boy, do they suck. http://www.abcvacuumwarehouse.com/vacdetails.asp?DBID=2500&zmam=1072764&zmas=1&zmac=20&zmap=PA-213&gclid=CMS4tpXyiq4CFUSo4AodR2K-6A (edit) Last year I trash-picked an Oreck HEPA vacuum which looked brand-new. The PO that curbed it cut the cord off  . Found the intake pipe clogged with debris; cleared it & installed a new cord. It works great, is lightweight, but is VERY loud. I use it out in the sunroom off of the garage.
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Feb 7, 2012 04:13
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grover posted:My wife just got pissed at me for not letting her buy a $600 Dyson, and challenged me to find her a better vacuum. Please help me convince my wife that Dysons are overrated and overpriced and a $100 bagless will be just as good! She already has a perfectly good a Kirby she hates (her mom was a sucker and bought it but is too frail to lift it and gave it to us) and a Hoover that I guess just isn't good enough, but I suppose the grass is always greener... Let's be honest; Dysons are only overpriced *now* because all the other bagless vacuum manufacturers had to jump and improve when it came out. My Dyson is worlds better than the ones I had before, but I was lucky enough to snag a refurb on Woot for $125. I don't think I could ever justify spending $600 on one. Why not ask her to sell the other two vacuums first, since they both seem to work fine? It sounds ridiculous to purchase a third working vacuum cleaner. Then you guys can put a little more on top and buy a new one. ^^^^Commercial products are often a great choice in many areas, since they're built to be used and abused. mediaphage fucked around with this message at 08:11 on Feb 7, 2012 |
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Feb 7, 2012 08:07
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The problem with a lot of bagless vacuums in the past was that Dyson held the patent on staging two cyclones for better filtration (in my opinion, it's a loving obvious thing based on its physics, but anyway), that led to other manufacturers resulting to a single cyclone for filtering coarse dirt and resorting to filters for fine dirt, kinda defeating the point. Dyson's patent ran out a while ago, two stage cyclonic vacuums should be available from everybody now. Dyson's new thing is three stages and this is patented. The final stage on these has way smaller cyclones than the two staged Dysons and should be able to filter way smaller dust particles. Whether there's an advantage or not depends if you skipped paying for a version with HEPA filter (which again would need cleaning).
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Feb 7, 2012 12:26
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grover posted:Anyone buy this Eureka and have a trip report on it? The Amazon reviews honestly look better than the reviews for the Animal. She really liked her last bagless Eureka. Yeah, that's what my post right above yours was about. I suppose I should have said which one I was talking about.
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Feb 8, 2012 02:58
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This is just my two cents, but I have hardwood floors in my house and I just use a 5 HP craftsman shop vac I picked up on black friday for 40$ and it does the job just fine. I also have an upright Eureka vacuum, but the beater brush makes it worthless for anything that isn't carpeted. My fiance's mom runs a housekeeping business and her preference is Kenmore canister vacuums. I had an old one I fixed up, but the performance of my shop vac is pretty comparable on bare floors. This probably is not an option for you, but my parents have a built in central vacuum system in their house. You lug around a hose and plug it into receptacles around the house. It has more suction than anything I've ever seen, doesn't have to be emptied as often, and is hands down my favorite system. They're expensive as gently caress though. Edit: Central vacuum systems can reach literally anywhere too, since they're just a hose with a wand attachment that plugs into the wall. Catatron Prime fucked around with this message at 23:50 on Mar 11, 2012 |
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Mar 11, 2012 23:47
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My wife ended up deciding on her own not to get a Dyson, and bought a Eureka AirSpeed AS1000A, and it turned out to be a great vacuum that's working extremely well.
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Mar 11, 2012 23:51
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I'm in the market for a vacuum. I'm also incredibly lazy. How good are Roomba's and the other robotic vacuums nowadays?
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Mar 13, 2012 20:16
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Zorro KingOfEngland posted:I'm in the market for a vacuum. I'm also incredibly lazy. How good are Roomba's and the other robotic vacuums nowadays? I have one on wood floors with two cats and it works great. Run it every few days and it gets pretty much everything. You still have to play a little catch-up with it, clean the brushes, empty the tray, re-direct it to zones that for whatever reason it missed, but on the whole I love it.
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Mar 13, 2012 23:56
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OSU_Matthew posted:This is just my two cents, but I have hardwood floors in my house and I just use a 5 HP craftsman shop vac I picked up on black friday for 40$ and it does the job just fine. 5HP is 3728W - I guess your house is wired for higher amperages than mine. 
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Mar 14, 2012 05:09
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Computer viking posted:5HP is 3728W - I guess your house is wired for higher amperages than mine. Its the usual Craftsman "Peak HP" bullshit. Shopvacs are loud as hell, don't have beater bars, and do a poo poo job of filtering. I've got an old Panasonic canister (1990-something) that still works after two decades of abuse. We'll stick with that until the three-stage cyclonics come down in price.
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Mar 16, 2012 14:38
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sharkytm posted:Its the usual Craftsman "Peak HP" bullshit. Ah right; that makes some degree of sense. (I'don't think I've ever seen a Craftsman product.  and all that.)
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Mar 17, 2012 05:14
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On a related note, I just picked up a Hoover Max Extract Carpet Cleaner for my mom. I checked Consumer Reports again and found that this is the same as the highest rated model, which has additional bare floor function that she didn't require. She says she's quite happy with it so far and that it seems to do a much better job than the old Bissell she had before. I've never really had the need for a carpet cleaner myself but I might have to borrow it to give it a try.
-Blackadder- fucked around with this message at 06:33 on May 12, 2012 |
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May 12, 2012 06:27
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Thought I should update that eureka has a new version of the airspeed that seems to have been enhanced for bare floor use. You can turn off the brush roll and it has little flaps on the head to give it better suction. Also, anyone looking for a shop vac should check out rigid's vac with the scroll noise reduction. I think it's about $100 and it is the quietest shop vac I've ever used. It's quieter than my regular vacuum, actually. Makes it pleasant to use and the thing has plenty of suction. Now I'm looking for something that'll do bare floors better. My ergorapido stick vac and eureka airspeed tend to scatter kitty litter, while my old boss vac seems to have gained suction while it was at my girlfriends place and now sucks up the same rugs it worked great on before. The shop vac is miraculous on bare floors if I feel like lugging it in from the detached garage. Right now I'm thinking something like a mighty might, though I'd prefer to find a lightweight upright as canister vacs are a pain.
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May 12, 2012 15:13
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If you can find an old Kirby on Craigslist or elsewhere definitely check it out. They truly are the rolls Royce of vacuums. I found mine on the curb during one of those large object collection days the waste management people have once a year. Some idiot sucked up a bunch of drywall dust and gunked everything up. A few minutes of cleaning and its been an awesome machine. Terrific suction, built like a tank and the self propulsion is an amazing luxury. On the downside its as heavy as a tank and it requires bags that are a shade more expensive than most. I wouldn't pay the $1200 or so that they charge for a brand new one but if you can find a bargain check it out for sure.
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May 12, 2012 18:40
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Nathan Explosion posted:If you can find an old Kirby on Craigslist or elsewhere definitely check it out. They truly are the rolls Royce of vacuums. We ended up buying a Eureka AirSpeed AS1000A a few months ago, which is working out great. It's got all the best tech from Dyson's expired patents and works very well (better than an actual Dyson, according to 3rd party tests) and without any of the ridiculous Dyson markup. grover fucked around with this message at 00:10 on May 13, 2012 |
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May 13, 2012 00:08
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grover posted:We have a Kirby and hate it. We actually got it, because my wife's mom bought it and hated it, and gave it to us, but my wife used it for a bit before deciding she hated it and went back to an old cheap vacuum. Her Kirby works well enough, but it's too damned heavy and takes special bags that cost a fortune. Even when her favorite cheap vacuum died, she refused to use it. Long story short: it's WAY overrated. I think most of the positive reviews are psychologically tainted from people who don't want to admit they got scammed out of $1200 by a slick salesman, and others who think "more expensive" = better. I'm gonna have to disagree with you. Kirbys are over engineered like crazy. Mine is at least 20 years old and still runs like a raped ape. The thing is constructed like some sort of turn of the century steam powered torture implement. The suction and power is legendary. Its definitely heavy. I wouldn't want to have to lug it up and down stairs. The bags are $3 more than other brands and its a bitch to hook up the attachments but I love it the same way people love classic cars. They just don't build em like that anymore. Like I said, don't pay the outrageous price for a new one. But if one can be had for the right price there isn't really anything that compares to it.
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May 13, 2012 04:09
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If you think your going to spend new Dyson type of money for an upright, do yourself a favor, go to a real vacuum shop and at least look at the Riccar 8955. This is a consumer version of the Riccar commercial upright. They don't have a lot of frills, but they are built like bank vaults, not terribly heavy, pull amazing vacuum, easy to service and rarely need it. I was buying a new vacuum every other year cleaning 1800 square feet with two kids, two dogs, two cats and three adults living here. That Riccar has now gone seven and has only required a new belt once after someone wedged the drat thing under the couch running, which had the effect of seizing the beater bar, which caused the drive to eat right through the belt.
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May 15, 2012 01:57
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While I feel I may get ridiculed for this I read a bunch of reviews yesterday and bought a Shark Navigator LiftAway Pro. There are literally hundreds of reviews for this thing and they are overwhelmingly positive.  I just wanted a basic vacuum with good suction, there were complaints about this model but a lot seemed to be nit-picky and I didn't think they would effect me. Some people didn't like the lift-away feature (a bloo bloo), and some people don't like bagless vacs period, and some people were concerned about the longevity of the plastic parts, latches and the like. Mini trip report: Tried it out last night and it has excellent suction. I had vacuumed the day before and it pulled a lot more dirt out of the carpet, which would imply superior suction. Much quieter than my old vacuum (junky bissel something or other), both cats don't run for the hills when I turn it on. I'm further ashamed to admit that the brush/suction were powerful enough to make it somewhat of a workout to use this thing, especially on my super-deep pile area rug. $160 at Bed Bath & Beyond with a 20% off coupon.
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May 15, 2012 14:01
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I'll 2nd the Shark Navigator LiftAway Pro. Amazing bang for the buck.
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May 15, 2012 17:25
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Everyone should go look at their local vacuum repair shop too. We picked up a high-end used industrial vacuum from a decade for the co-op I lived in and it was almost fun to use.
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May 16, 2012 20:39
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Daddyo posted:I've got a Dyson DC17 and would only give it 2 out of 5 stars. I've had it for 3 years now and found that it manages to suck pet hair into the cyclone with an alarming frequency. I've had to use a coat hanger to clear the ports several times. I've got a DC17 as well, and I've noticed the same thing. We've got cats and a dog, and those little loving cyclone chambers always get blocked with pet hair, and the cyclone shroud thing isn't a user-serviceable part. Is this something that's been addressed with the new Dysons? I know they advertise them as "never clog," but mine sure as hell does. Regularly. The attachment wand is also awkward as poo poo to use in small spaces.
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Jun 6, 2012 03:54
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a handful of dust posted:I've got a DC17 as well, and I've noticed the same thing. We've got cats and a dog, and those little loving cyclone chambers always get blocked with pet hair, and the cyclone shroud thing isn't a user-serviceable part. I have the DC25 Animal, and it has never clogged (I have 4 cats and live in the desert so they shed like crazy all year round). So apparently they resolved that issue, at least for the Animal version. I can't comment on the others, however. Edit: I take back the never clog part, but that was because I tried sucking up a bunch of pine from my Christmas tree. It didn't like that. It was easy to unclog, but I won't do that again. rawk cawk fucked around with this message at 22:53 on Jun 6, 2012 |
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Jun 6, 2012 22:50
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rawk cawk posted:I have the DC25 Animal, and it has never clogged (I have 4 cats and live in the desert so they shed like crazy all year round). So apparently they resolved that issue, at least for the Animal version. I can't comment on the others, however. Looks like you're right, according to Wikipedia: quote:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dyson_products#DC17 Still annoying for a $450+ vacuum. Are Mieles and Riccars worth the money?
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Jun 6, 2012 23:22
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[quote="a handful of dust" Are Mieles and Riccars worth the money? [/quote] Mieles absolutely are. My grandparents bought one in the early 90s and it still works like new. We have one of the canisters and it is fantastic. Super light (10 pounds for the unit, hose, AND floor wands) and amazingly quiet. At the normal setting, you can easily take a phone call without stopping if you have to or vacuum and not worry about waking a sleeping baby. Build quality is top notch and the bags are really well filtered. So well filtered that after several years of use, ours is spotless inside. It also beats any vacuum I've used when it comes to edge cleaning. You really don't have to get a wand out to do around the baseboards. Can't recommend the canister Mieles enough.
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Sep 9, 2012 01:39
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Nathan Explosion posted:I'm gonna have to disagree with you. Kirbys are over engineered like crazy. Mine is at least 20 years old and still runs like a raped ape. The thing is constructed like some sort of turn of the century steam powered torture implement. The suction and power is legendary. Yeah, a Kirby pretty much has an endless service life. My grandparents on both sides bought one in the 60's and they're still going (and work extremely well). I think they were last serviced for ~$100 about 10 years ago. Motors were re brushed, new bearings, replaced the cords, bag, polished the hell out of them, etc. My parents bought one in the early 90's for god only knows how much, but considering that it's been roaring along for ~20 years, gently caress all other vacuums. The service cost is some percentage of the original purchase price now, so even a 90's Kirby is hilariously cheap to have rebuilt. I would never buy a new one, but good lord do they work well. e: they only weigh like 30lbs. My 80 year old grandmother used to walk up the stairs carrying it in one hand. Hypnolobster fucked around with this message at 15:04 on Sep 9, 2012 |
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Sep 9, 2012 15:00
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Bought the Hoover T pet edition from this thread. Absolutely ROCKS. Thanks everybody!
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Sep 10, 2012 03:12
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Captain Apollo posted:Bought the Hoover T pet edition from this thread. Absolutely ROCKS. I'm a recent Hoover Haver myself and the goon recommendations for a vacuum are, good sir, on loving point.
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Sep 10, 2012 05:05
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