Vacuum cleaner recommendations

[marcski]

I think our 10 y.o. Hoover died. I haven't checked it out but the last person to use it, Friday, said it was smelling of smoke. I'm thinking of getting a more environmentally friendly one...I assume most are bagless these days as well. Can anyone recommend a model/brand?

 

[mlctvt]

We've got a Roomba, it vacuums the house by itself! It's not a replacment for a real vaccum cleaner but works great for in between major cleanups whne you'd like to get the floors clean.
Works great on both carpet and hardwood floors. We've got a central vac so I can't recommend and upright or canister vac.

 

[Geoff]

I just subscribed to Consumer Reports since I'm buying a boat load of appliances. I looked it up.

For canisters, Consumer Reports has:
Kenmore Intuition 28014; 73 rating; $600 average retail
Electrolux Oxygen EL6988; 71 rating; $430 average retail
Kenmore Progressive 27514; 70 rating; $300 average retail
Hoover WindTunnel S3670; 68 rating; $300 average retail

The two Kenmores and the Hoover are what CR recommends.


For uprights, the Hoover Tempo Widepath U5140-900 is the best cheap one with superior ratings for carpet, bare floors, pet hair, and emissions. Tool air flow is 'good'. Rating 70. Average retail is $80. It's $68.18 with free shipping on Amazon. Bundled with 2 spare belts and 9 bags, it's $78.14. A no-brainer to me. I need to buy two since my Vermont upright died and I'm using a vintage Electrolux that struggles with the cat hair farm I'm running.

You can also put 3M filtrete HEPA bags on it. A 2 pack at Lowes is $10.84. If you have allergy problems, that's probably your cheapest way into HEPA filtering.

There are Hoover, Kenmore, and Meile uprights with slightly higher ratings but they are all far more expensive.

 

[Dr Skimeister]

Electrolux Epic 8000 here.....15+ yrs old. Still sucks.

More than satisfied with the "lifetime" warranty on it. Had some electrical problems with controls on the hose, replaced no problem.

 

[RootDKJ]

We bought this one in 2008 from Amazon and love it. Got it with free shipping. When I took it out of the box, there was a broken piece on one of the attachment supports. Amazon shipped out a new one that we had in 2 days. Free shipping on the return as well.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015ASJIY/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

It really does a fantastic job getting pet hair out of the rugs and furniture and is easy to use.

 

[marcski]

Geoff...Thanks for looking it up!!

I just looked up that Hoover, I think its the newer version of mine that died. Looks almost identical but mine is green.

Root: I found this site yesterday: http://www.vacuumwizard.com/best-vacuum-cleaner.html they agree with you and found the Eureka the best. Any opinions on bag or bagless? I think you can get HEPA filters for bagless ones too. They also liked the Hoover that CR recommended as per Geoff.

I still need to go look at the old one to see if I could do a fix. I Just got back from a mountain bike ride...figured it was too cold to take the 7 y.o. upto Catamount today to ski especially when the wife made plans for us to be at some friends at 5.

 

[Moe Ghoul]

We have a Hoover Windtunnel, works well, I find it's important to clean out the filter and screen/trap frequently, ie, if the dirt trap is a 1/3 full, empty it out. Take the whole contraption outside, empty the container, remove the filter and tap it against a wall or tree to get all the dust and crap out, clean the screen, lotsa lint/hair gets caught on it (which its designed to do), and then reassemble and vaccuum. I'm always amazed at the amount of dust and crap that accumulates in such a short time and it does a fine job picking it up. I did replace the electrical cord on it because...well, electrical cords just suck, get knotted and kinked, and I haven't found a solution to that yet. Depending on usage, the filters need to be replaced. They can run 20-30$ depending on the type of filter. I usually replace it once a year since I take the time to clean it out frequently.

 

[Geoff]

Any opinions on bag or bagless? I think you can get HEPA filters for bagless ones too.

Bags hold more. Bags are easier to deal with when they're full.

The bagless ones still have filters you need to change. The filters are fairly expensive, particularly if they're HEPA, so you don't quite get the cost advantage that you'd hope to achieve.

I figure a cheap upright vacuum that you toss in the dumpster when it fails beyond replacing the belt is probably better than an expensive canister vacuum that you keep repairing. With Amazon, the replacement shows up in a few days at a discount with no shipping fee and no sales tax.

 

[WakeboardMom]

Bags hold more. Bags are easier to deal with when they're full.

The bagless ones still have filters you need to change. The filters are fairly expensive, particularly if they're HEPA, so you don't quite get the cost advantage that you'd hope to achieve.

I figure a cheap upright vacuum that you toss in the dumpster when it fails beyond replacing the belt is probably better than an expensive canister vacuum that you keep repairing. With Amazon, the replacement shows up in a few days at a discount with no shipping fee and no sales tax.

I don't like an upright for getting into corners, under furniture, on a staircase, etc. We subscribe to CR, but I appreciate Geoff taking the info and boiling it down. Have central vac at home and was sad that we took that out of the budget for the lake house. Thank you for the opinions and information.

I really like that it's men chatting in this thread.

 

[marcski]

Men doing housework turns you on, huh, WBM?

I don't like an upright for getting into corners, under furniture, on a staircase, etc. We subscribe to CR, but I appreciate Geoff taking the info and boiling it down. Have central vac at home and was sad that we took that out of the budget for the lake house. Thank you for the opinions and information.

I really like that it's men chatting in this thread.

 

[Geoff]

Men? If I didn't vacuum, I'd have a foot of cat hair on the carpet in a month.

 

[Johnskiismore]

I need a new vacuum as well. I've been looking at vacuums that you can carry on your back. Figure it will be easier/faster to do the each floor and the stairs. Just started looking and will post some info.

 

[WakeboardMom]

Men doing housework turns you on, huh, WBM?

It really is a little bit interesting. When I was growing up in the sixties I lived in a stereotypical post WWII suburban neighborhood, ala "and they're all made outta ticky-tacky and they all look just the same." Nobody's mother worked. Every mom in that neighborhood was a "housewife" in the strictest sense of the word. There were several who didn't have driver's licenses. The men went to work and the women kept the homefires burning.

My husband's not a ton different. He'll vacuum his office; at the home he has a shopvac for "man projects," but he's not big into housework except cooking. (He's fabulous.)

BUT my kids are a different story. I've always worked and the rule about household chores was "If a kid can do it, I don't do it." So they started out emptying the dishwasher, progressed to vacuuming and folding laundry; and eventually cooking. My boys are fabulous husbands and roommates. : - )

Hmmm...but...a turn-on? Maybe. I guess it depends on what the plans are for when the housework is finished. :wink: