what kind of vacumn cleaner

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I broke my 10 year old vacumn and my fix-all hubby says it's a gone-er. After checking several stores I am not sure what to buy. I'd like a bagless type but all the bagless models I've found have those expensive to replace hepa filters. I don't want to pay more than $150, would like to pay less of course. I am afraid that the filters won't last long around here. We live practically IN the dirt on a dirt road so there's lots of dust and, well....DIRT. Any advice? What kind of vacumn do you have and what do you like and dislike about it? Are those hepa filters washable? Some seem to be made of paper and the replacements cost around $20 ! What to do?

-- cindy palmer (jandcpalmer@sierratel.com), January 05, 2002

Answers

I love the Rainbow vacuum cleaner. No bags, just a container that you fill with water. And really picks up dirt that other vacuums can't touch. However, I think it will cost more than $150 unless you find one used.

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), January 05, 2002.

In case you are interested:

http://www.rainbowsystem.com/

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), January 05, 2002.


I recommend that you check Consumer Reports magazine for their ratings on new vacuum cleaners. I never buy any new appliance or gadget without checking to first to see what their opinion of the "CR Best Buy" is that year.

-- Liz Rhein (merhein@shentel.net), January 05, 2002.

I have a 10-12 year old Electrolux that I bought for $150.00 3 years ago. It runs like a champ, picks up everything (with 4 dogs and 4 cats in the house it gets a work out) including thread, many machines won't. I found it at a small vacuum shop, the owner said that machines like this don't stay in the shop but a day or two--I was lucky to find it. I even had a year warranty on it.

Stacy in NY

-- Stacy (KincoraFarm@aol.com), January 05, 2002.


I have a fantom Cyclone XT!! It is great. I have 3 big dogs in and out of the house all day and my husband and son in and out working on cars and remoldeling my son's house around the corner. It is the first vac I had that could handle the carpet mess and and taking about half the sinus meds I was on before I got it. Anyway if you go to there web sight you can read about each one they have. I got the higher end one that says it is for the biger family with pets and it is just wonderful. I think I payed about 275 for it with I thought was outragis till I found out how well it works. Worth every penny. I have had it two years and it is still just as strong as the day I got it. It also has a canister so No Baggs. You can get it for alot less seems the price has gone down since I got mine. I got it off one of those shoping chanels. I looked up the maker first to see the model that would be best for me then I would watch there fantom segments and ordered the one I wanted. I think it was worth every penny.

-- Teresa (c3ranch@socket.net), January 05, 2002.


Cindy, I love my Fantom. Yes, it does have the HEPA filter, but I've been using it for almost a year and it hasn't needed replacement yet. I've heard that as long as you avoid very fine particles like drywall dust, that they can go for a couple of years. Stuff like sand would not plug HEPA filters. This one I have works great--picks up more dirt than any vacuum I ever had (had Sears Hoovers before) and no bags! The BEST thing about it is, when you are done vacuuming, there is NO VACUUM CLEANER SMELL in the air! I don't know if it is the dog hair or what, but anytime I used the old kind the air would smell some after you finished. No smell at all now, and I love it.

I bought this one new on Ebay and it wasn't too bad in price.

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), January 05, 2002.


My husband and I talked more about vacumns last night and I'd almost decided to buy the bagged kind because of price and the hepa filters. Thanks to your kind responses I have some new ideas. I never thought of checking the shopping channel or ebay. And checking for a used/reconditioned upper scale model is a good option too. Thanks so much for everyones input. I will see if I can find some consumer info on the internet too. Thanks again to everyone and if anyone else out there still has advice I'd be glad to read it. It will be a few days before I take the plunge. I want to be satisified with the vacumn and it's price. Thanks again.

-- cindy palmer (jandcpalmer@sierratel.com), January 05, 2002.

We have an Oreck (uses bags, which we reuse at least once before tossing) and like it for being lightweight. The attachments all come on a little separate vacuum that comes with it.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), January 05, 2002.

I have an Oreck, also. Love it!! Light-weight and really cleans (I have 10 housecats)!!! Yes...it is a lttle more expensive, but, as far as I'm concerned...well worth it.

-- Marcia (HrMr@webtv.net), January 05, 2002.

Bought a Dirt Devil at Sam's Club with a smaller vacuum for $200 this past Christmas. Clean like the dickens. Look at the rating power, not the motor size, usually around 12 amp. The numbers are like 18f for the cheapies (sucks) to 30 - 35 for the expensive ones (really sucks). You keep a vacuum cleaner for quite a while, try and pick a model that really does the job. One lady we were shopping next to, cleans a house with an second floor. Her demand was for a lightweight upright that she wouldn't have to fight going up / down the stairs.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), January 07, 2002.


My husband collects Vacuum cleaners. Yes, it's a weird hobby, but it could be worse. Between the house & barn, there are about 400 vacs in various stages of repair. Perhaps I should say 'disrepair'. He repairs, buys, sells, and collects vacs from all eras and makes & models. Like cars, he restores the older ones, so they are "complete". Needless to say, I haven't had to vacuum my house in years!

This hobby started when our new Dirt Devil died. It was only about 1 year old. Being the handy guy that he is, he took it apart to fix it. He was amazed at how cheaply it was made. He bought a Hoover upright from the 40s at a yard sale for $2 and he's been hooked ever since.

Several "new" vacs are made to be disposable. Meaning, for various reasons, they cannot be fixed, they must be thrown out and a new one purchased. Some vac companies will discontinue making certain styles of bags. Therefore, if you can't find the right bag, you'll go buy a new vac. It's such a disposable society. They just don't make 'em like they used to. You get what you pay for, etc etc.

In his opinion, each vacuum has it's 'place'. Rainbows are worth the money, good motor, and good for health reasons. He's not too hip on the Hepas. Motor isn't as good as it could be. And it's not as dustfree as you might think. Also what you save buying bags, you spend buying filters. Ditto on the Fantom Furys. Don't even ask him about Orecks. Many commercial vacs are no different than their non-commercial models. Some don't even have a stronger motor. Another consideration when buying a new one is upright vs. canister.

For everyday cleaning, he prefers to use an Electrolux. Not a new one. Recent models are not made by the same company that they used to be. He likes older ones, maybe from the 50s. He also prefers upright Hoovers, again, not new ones, prefers older ones, like Convertibles.

Please consider purchasing a used vac from a reputable vac repair shop. There are some shops that do not sell new ones, so they won’t be ‘pushy’, they only sell reconditioned vacs. Most come with a 30 day warranty. At least this way, you can experiment and find out which style would be right for you.

As with every purchase, it's a matter of personal preference. Just thought I'd add our 2cents from experience.

Charleen (and Joe, too)

-- Charleen in WNY (harperhill@eznet.net), January 07, 2002.


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