Good all-around vacuum cleaners

[DerbyDad03]

As do I. Do you also bag the dust/hair/dander from the bagless vac? If you do, that solves the "all up in my face" issue, but if I'm going to bag the stuff from a bagless vac, I'd rather just start with the bag in the vac.

I don't want to go through the hassle of grabbing a bag, going outside, dumping the vac canister into the bag, dealing with the dust, tieing it off and tossing it in the can. Heck, I don't even like emptying my shop vac if it contains anything other than sawdust because of the dust it throws around! Again, that's just me. Again, I fault no one that doesn't mind doing that.

Again, if that works for you, that's great. It's just not for me. My shop floor has the sawdust while my garage is more for storage, an entrance into my side door and the occasional larger scale project if I need more room.

I don't recall "pretending" anything. However, I'm pretty sure that we can agree that changing bags is considerably less messy than dumping an open canister into a bag and/or a can. I haven't done the requisite testing, but I'm pretty sure the air quality in the general vicinity of a bagless vs. a bagged unit after a change/dump would vary considerably.

As I said before, I've tried both and I don't want to deal with a bagless. The rest of the world is free to make their own choices with absolutely no pushback from me. I'm not defending nor denegrating either type of vac. I'm simply talking about what I prefer.

[HeyBub]

Don't laugh.

A wet-dry shop-vac, with the proper attachements, will out-perform most "regular" vacuum cleaners.

I've got a Rigid that I bought on Black Friday. That sumbitch sucks better that the French Horn player I dated in college.

Aside: I recently scored a Roomba from Craigslist (for $25.00!). After replacing the battery, it works swell. Of course it only "sweeps," not vacuums, but it gathers an amazing amount of debris.

I hate to admit it, but it's somewhat entertaining to watch the gizmo scurry around a room like a drunk trying to navigate the mirrored-maze at the circus midway. When it encounters the fringe on a rug, it goes as nutty as the third monkey on Noah's gangplank. Most of the time, after a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, and twitching and turning, and beeping and honking, it manages to disentangle itself from the rug and continue on with its mission.

[DerbyDad03]

on.- Hide quoted text -

You have a Roomba, but do you have any pets?

[Ed Pawlowski]

Matte is fine, but it should not look like it was coated with something. The original finish should be clean and bright, just like new. Looks like the cleaner leaves a residue.

[Steve B]

"DerbyDad03" wrote

As I said before, I've tried both and I don't want to deal with a bagless. The rest of the world is free to make their own choices with absolutely no pushback from me. I'm not defending nor denegrating either type of vac. I'm simply talking about what I prefer.

I have about six vacuums. I PREFER one or the other depending on what it is that I am doing, as no one vacuum performs all the functions.

When I want to vacuum up a lot of drywall or concrete dust or waste, I use my shop vac. I toss the canister contents, then toss the filter up in the air, letting it hit the ground three or four times, then take a stick to it to knock all the stuff off that's clogged in the folds. It is a messy dusty thing.

I have a good Riccar that does floors, but doesn't do floors very well. It says it does, but it doesn't. It does do carpet well, though. It has a hose and attachments, and it is good in some places.

I have a Mighty Mite that I use a lot, you just can't fit much in it as it has a small bag. I took the 1" x 4" head and put velcro around the edges, and that works fine for cleaning my pool table.

When I see the prices for some of the new bagless types, and read about people who don't like them, I figure I'll continue using what I have, or buy a yard sale replacement, and for the difference, I can go on a vacation. Most vacuums are overpriced and underperform.

Steve

[DerbyDad03]

True dat. I think that the discussion of bagless vs. bagged is more about the vac we might use for regular vacuuming like the living room, kitchen, bedrooms, etc. At least that's what I'm talking about.

I go one step farther and either use my Mighty Mite to vacuum the folds after tossing and banging the filter - when the filter is dry - or I'll hose off the folds with a my garden hose nozzle set on Jet if it's (and I'm) already wet and muddy.

Did you ever notice how long it takes for drywall dust to disappear from an asphalt driveway after having the filter land on it a few times? :-)

BTW...If you take the Y fitting out of the inside of the shop vac, it's great for getting the leaves out from under the Holly bushes or any other plant where you don't want to stick your hand or take the leaves out 1 by 1. The Y fitting makes it clog up too often.

I do my wife's gardens with the shop vac every spring.

I love my Mighty Mite for the cars, stairs, insides of big projects, etc. I'm still using the one I bought back in the early 80's. I know that they make more powerful ones now, but that old workhorse won't quit. I'm not gentle with it either. It's fallen down stairs, been dragged by a car, etc. One might say I'm *trying* to break it so I can buy a new one, but it just won't die.The only repairs I've done is replace the switch and one of the big back wheels. I actually ran it with a homemade wooden wheel for years until the switch went bad and I ordered both parts at the same time.

I've found that I have to be careful with the bags though and stick to quality ones, like the original Eureka bags. I tried some cheap ones from the interweb and they were so thick that the machine lost suction way before the bags were full. I was going through so many bags it wasn't worth the savings.

I also have adaptor for my shop vac to fit the Mighy Mite's hose so I can use all of the MM's attachments but with the power of the shop vac.

[Steve B]

True dat. I think that the discussion of bagless vs. bagged is more about the vac we might use for regular vacuuming like the living room, kitchen, bedrooms, etc. At least that's what I'm talking about.

I go one step farther and either use my Mighty Mite to vacuum the folds after tossing and banging the filter - when the filter is dry - or I'll hose off the folds with a my garden hose nozzle set on Jet if it's (and I'm) already wet and muddy.

Did you ever notice how long it takes for drywall dust to disappear from an asphalt driveway after having the filter land on it a few times? :-)

BTW...If you take the Y fitting out of the inside of the shop vac, it's great for getting the leaves out from under the Holly bushes or any other plant where you don't want to stick your hand or take the leaves out 1 by 1. The Y fitting makes it clog up too often.

I do my wife's gardens with the shop vac every spring.

I love my Mighty Mite for the cars, stairs, insides of big projects, etc. I'm still using the one I bought back in the early 80's. I know that they make more powerful ones now, but that old workhorse won't quit. I'm not gentle with it either. It's fallen down stairs, been dragged by a car, etc. One might say I'm *trying* to break it so I can buy a new one, but it just won't die.The only repairs I've done is replace the switch and one of the big back wheels. I actually ran it with a homemade wooden wheel for years until the switch went bad and I ordered both parts at the same time.

I've found that I have to be careful with the bags though and stick to quality ones, like the original Eureka bags. I tried some cheap ones from the interweb and they were so thick that the machine lost suction way before the bags were full. I was going through so many bags it wasn't worth the savings.

I also have adaptor for my shop vac to fit the Mighy Mite's hose so I can use all of the MM's attachments but with the power of the shop vac.

I'm looking for yet another vacuum at yard sales, something in the 3" to 4" range for leaves.

A guy can't have too many vacuums.

Steve

[DerbyDad03]

As I mentioned above, I use my shop vac.

Why can't you use yours?

For the most part, if it clogs, it clogs right at the business end of the hose and I just have to "rearrange" the clump with my hand and it goes *pop* into the hose.

If it clogs anywhere else (rare) I remove the hose from the vac inlet and stick it on the blower outlet. *pow* out goes the clump.

[krw]

Sure, just open one of the bags in the garbage bin and dump the vac in it.

You're making things far too complicated, just to make your point.

I don't have a shop, yet (working on it this week, but it'll be at least another year).

No, we don't agree.

You don't have to justify your preferences to us!

[krw]

We have five vacuums, two uprights and three shop vacs (a regular 20gal can type, a smaller hand-held, and an 18V Dewalt), plus two dust collectors.

I replace filters, particularly if they're full of drywall dust.

[HeyBub]

That was hilarious.

Years ago I heard some meowing in a strange voice. Investigating, I found a wee feral kitten who had wandered in through the open door looking for the never-empty food bowl. He found it, but ...

His tail was a mess; no fur, black, necrotic...

Scooped him up and off to the vet.

"Yep," said the vet. "Tail's gotta go."

That's how the kitten got his name.

Fast forward to yesterday. Bob (the cat) watched the Roomba do its thing with some curiosity. He finally got tired of the silliness and pulled an Elvis by leaving the bedroom.

I don't hold much hope for him riding on it.

[Steve B]

As I mentioned above, I use my shop vac.

Why can't you use yours?

reply: Mine just clogs up. It has 1 7/8 hose, but I guess my leaves are just too big. They clog up at various places. At times I can get them to pop through by popping my palm on and off the suction head, but sometimes I have to take a 10' piece of PVC to get the stubborn ones. It's a Ridgid. The place just inside where there's a diffuser to keep the crud from slapping against the filter also clogs there.

Steve

[DerbyDad03]

The diffuser is the Y fitting that I remove before I do my leaves. 3 screws I believe.

[DerbyDad03]

Please explain. Are you saying that removing the bag and placing it in a garbage can/bag causes as big a mess as emptying the container from a bagless unit?

[krw]

Perhaps not "as big as", but a mess nonetheless. Taking the canister out to the garage is a *lot* cleaner than pulling the bag out of the vacuum.

[DerbyDad03]

So you're saying that the mess caused by removing the bag and placing it in the garbage bag/can does not make as big a mess as emptying the container, but at the same time taking the canister to garbage is a lot cleaner than pulling the bag?

How can both of those be true, unless of course you're not including actually *dumping* the canister?

Let's make make sure were comparing dust bunnies to dust bunnies. Let's look at the end to end process.

I have a full bag in one machine and I have a full canister in another. A few minutes later, when both machines are put back together and ready to be used again - a new bag has been installed in one and the canister and filter have been emptied/cleaned and put back in the other - which machine caused a bigger mess? BTW I assume you are aware that many of the newer bags have a flap that seals the bag as you remove it and that hepa-filtered lined bags keep the dust in the bag, right?

[aemeijers]

The paper filters are so damn expensive, though. No wonder most of the garage sale vacs I see only have the washable-but-not-very-effective sponge filters on them. And the paper filters clog up so quickly, to boot. I burned up a 5-buck garage sale foam-filter vac sucking up drywall and concrete dust, because I didn't know the modern shop-vac filter kits were backward-compatible with the old steel-can ones. I assumed they were all like the sponge-and-cloth-bag craftsman shop vacs I used as a kid. Naturally, the garage sale supply line dried up when I killed the old one, so I actually had to buy a new one at the big-box, and was happily surprised that all my old parts still fit. I'm trying to take better care of it, so if I need to suck up drywall, I'll spring for some of the paper wrappers to put over the foam filter I have in there now for upstairs use. I'll only use the paper filters when pollen season starts, and I need to seal up the house for the summer. If I trip across another 5-buck one at the garage sales come spring, I'll probably buy it for a spare, for dirty work- there is some more drywall repair headed my way.

My favorite vac, that I used through the apartment years, was an old canister vac with a tight-mesh cloth bag. When it quit sucking, just carry the bag out to the dumpster, reach one arm inside, and bang it till the dust cloud died down. Really not sure what happened to it- don't remember throwing it out, or it dying.

[aemeijers]

I've been keeping my eyes open at the thrift stores and yard sales for an early-model Roomba at the gag-gift price point, to leave at my sister's house to exercise and amuse the cat while they are both gone ten hours a day. (rescue cat, already declawed when they got it, so outside is not an option.) Roomba doesn't even have to suck any more, just wander around. Cat was a skinny little thing when they got it, but it is starting to pork up now, living the easy life.

[Lee B]

I have two Shelties, so I can relate to the shedding issue! My current vacuum is a Bissell "lift off" that I got at Target several years ago. (I mention that because I think the models vary depending on which store it is). The box specifically mentioned pets. So far I'm really happy with it - that thing sucks up an amazing amount of dog hair! (I'll admit, my dogs' hair blends in with the carpet so I don't always notice it, and can go too long between vacuum sessions). It fills that canister right up. I have not had any problems with emptying the canister, probably in part because the dog hair sticks to itself and comes out in "clumps", rather than as dust. The only real maintenance problem I've had is that occasionally the hair can manage to tangle itself around the brush, and I have to free it up so it can turn.

I've always wanted a Dyson, but not the price. For me this does a good enough job and it was a much more reasonable price. I want to say around $130 on sale a few years ago.

As an aside, have you ever tried a rubber "rake" for cleaning up the shedding? I bought one years ago at a dog show and it is great for picking up hair and other small bits of stuff, like pieces of paper. It looks somewhat like:

(that's not the brand that I have (I cannot find that brand anywhere) and I am not familiar with this company; it's just an example). The only drawback is that it's all manual, but probably a good workout.

[HeyBub]

Have you looked on Ebay or Craigslist. I've seen several (and even bought one) that the owners said were kaput when all each needed is a new battery.

If you can find one with a "scheduler," so much the better. You can program it to come on a couple of hours after you leave, further freaking-out the cat.

P.S. I'm a firm believer that God put Aggies* and kitty-cats on earth so the rest of us would have something to torment.

------

• Graduate of Texas A&M University.

Aside: A&M may not win all their football games, but they always win the half-time! Here's an example of the world's largest (400+) military band. The band begins and ends each show with the "Aggie War Hym" which accounts for the cheering at the beginning and end of the performance):