Vacuum Recomendations--

Time for a new vacuum... Went through the An Oreck, lasted sufficiently, about 6 years.
( Note-- my house is to vaccums what the Abrahms A1A Main Battle Tank is to the Iraqi Republican guard... very tough!. I have 7 kids, they bang, beat, vacuum up anything on the floor, from quarters to fishing line. They don't care.*)
Am considering a new Oreck, last one is just worn out, but we liked it. See those ads for Dyson, that claim they are the second coming of vacuums, anyone used one? are they good? Do they appear to be durable?
Guy at the vacuum store raves about Royal commercial, says it has the major advantage of not trying be everything to everybody, does not have the pull-out hose attachments that most home units have now, (requiring the motor to suck up dirt, propel it 3 feet up the hose, then have it fall down into the bag,) The Royal seems to have an old school-low tech but built like a tank approach -- it just sucks up and puts it in the bag. Vac Salesman also says the "mouth" going into the bag is very large, so as the kids vacuum up legos they will go right into the bag, not get caught as it has to travel through 4 feet of hose. (I don't care about not having hose option, kids use a shopvac for edges and stairs)
Any Thoughts out there... cost is not really the issue, I will pay whatever it takes to get a really good, durable, powerful vacuum... I just want to pay for value, not hype.
Would love recomendations, thoughts, web resources----

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Cool New Cleaning Machines
Good Housekeeping' Rates Vacuums
Oct. 21, 2004 - It's not your mother's cleaning closet. Gone are the old brooms and dust pans. A new breed of high-tech vacuums are sweeping the nation now.
Ellen Levine, editor in chief of "Good Housekeeping," revealed the results of the magazine's latest vacuum tests on "Good Morning America."
The Good Housekeeping Institute recently tested 11 new upright vacuum cleaners, including the new Dyson model and two new robot vacuums.
The upright vacuums were tested for performance, suction, airflow, safety and ease of use. The robot vacuums were tested for pickup performance on low pile carpeting, safety and ease of use.
Roomba Discovery from IRobot: $249 Good Housekeeping Institute overall view: Roombas are best suited for bare floors and low pile carpeting and for maintenance cleaning of surface soil between regular deep cleanings. They can clean places where traditional upright vacuums often cannot, like under furniture and beds. The Roomba has the "Good Housekeeping" seal of approval.
Dyson DCO7: $399 Good Housekeeping Institute overall view: The Dyson had the best pull of all the uprights in the tests. A good vacuum, but you don't have to spend $400 to get a top upright vacuum.
Eureka Boss: $129.99 (A "Good Housekeeping" Best Value) A bagless model that's a good cleaner at a great price. The institute liked that the vacuum didn't tip over when hose was stretched tight -- a problem with some other vacuums tested.
Hoover Savvy: $279.99 (A "Good Housekeeping" Best Overall) Can be used with a bag (especially good for allergy sufferers) or bagless. Top performer in our carpet cleaning tests, devouring ground-in sugar, oatmeal and sand. Also has great features: You can use the vacuum with or without a bag. Sleek nozzle slips underneath furniture easily. Hand tool with rotating brush is great for upholstery. A brush-roll shutoff button to help avoid accidents with children nearby
Getting the Most Out of Your Vacuum
Change the bag: If your upright vacuum has bags, replace the bag when it looks about two-thirds full. Empty the dirt container. If you have a bagless upright vacuum, empty the dirt container after every two uses.
Clean your filter: For a bagless vacuum, remove the filter from the dust cup once a month and tap it clean, or rinse it, if possible. For bagless and bag vacuums, check any other filters once or twice a year. Pay attention. Don't let a vacuum sit idly in one spot while the brush roll is spinning. This can ruin your carpet.
Upright vacuums make up about 75 percent of the vacuum market. Canister models make up most of the remainder, with a small percentage going to robot vacuums. Uprights are especially good for carpets. Vacuums are confusing to purchase, since they often look alike and seem to be similar. That's why vacuums are one of the requested topics for information by callers to "Good Housekeeping" and by visitors to the Good Housekeeping Web site (www.goodhousekeeping.com).
Copyright � 2004 ABC News Internet Ventures

Don't even think about anything except a Dyson, DC07. They use centrifugal force to spin particles out of the air, hence there is no bag to clog because there is no active filter. It has better ultimate suction and does not loose suction. It's always there and no bags to change means it pays back over time-we used to pay $3.50 each for our bags!
Hoover has a copycat model, which costs just as much and doesn't work as well. Hoover lost a patent suit, so they had to pull their multi centrifuge model from the market, but they sell a 'cyclone' based on the same technology....but it is very inferior.
Regards,
Art
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<Albert> wrote in message
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If your looking for something "bagless" and don't mind a canister you might consider a Filter Queen. Filter Queen perfected the "Cyclonic action" over 75 years ago I think. They are like Kirby's, you have to buy them from a salesman and they are hella expensive(way overpriced new). I have a relative who has had only Filter Queens for 50 years and got me hooked on them. Over my adult life I have bought two, both were used and around $200-300 bucks. You can find them very affordable on EBay also. They have more suction than anything I have ever used. They use a sort of "coffee filter" looking cone to keep the small particles out of the air. They don't use a bag. When you empty the darn thing the dirt/hair/junk is in a ring in the bottom of the container. Really cool. They are relatively quiet too. I used to swear by uprights but got tired of not being able to get under funiture and the FQ has good wheels so it seldom falls over. Good luck in your search!!! John

Albert wrote:
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[...]
Second the Dyson recommendation. It's a joy to use, and it works very well.

You might want to check Consumer Reports at the library for their ratings. I would stay away from their Best Buy GE power nozzle unit though. It works great and is very cheap but it has several annoyances the do not make up for the low price if you do a lot of vaccuuming.
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rotation slim wrote:
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I suggest you take a look at "Consumer Reports" They regularly take a look at them. Read the whole story, not just the ratings.
Personally I like a central unit. More power, less noise, very large capacity, light weight hose, not motors to move around, except the one on the rug attachment. I have had two (I moved). I have used them about ten years each and neither showed any sign of a problem. One was a filer type and the other used a cyclone effect without a main filter. Both work very well and I clean the thing out about every three months. Fine dust is pumped outside with the exhaust, which helps with my allergies.
The Oreck appears to be lightly constructed which is why it did not last all that long, but then it is lighter than most non-central units. There are a couple of high end (read that as EXPENSIVE) units like Rainbow that you may consider. They are very nice, but they are also generally heavy and you can buy several Orecks for the price on one.

Ive blown out two older Eurekas because the turbine was plastic and string clogged it and it spun on the shaft. Also full motor-shaft bearings are not used in cheaper models. What ever you buy talk about construction, some expensive models just are not built to last. It used to be you fixed a switch or motor brushes wear out, now it seems to be cheap design cheap parts. A whole house unit would be best.

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Dumb questions here but.....
I live in an apartment an cant install a central unit
What abt buying one of these? see link
http://tinyurl.com/6tjnd
Id then install a mounts OUTSIDE on the front doorstep and hang the unit out there WHEN I wanted to use it. This way the unit would be expelling al that damn noise and dust outside. Then when done id unhook it from outside mount and store in closet till next use.
Kind of a poor mans "central vac"
What think?

snipped-for-privacy@privacy.net wrote:
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It looks like a low end central unit. It would likely work, BUT consider the length of the hose and the distance from where it is to the furthest part of your apartment.

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Yeah.... I was wondering if man handling that hose at such distances would be a pain.
Actually one of my co-workers got this vac for Christmas and says the thing is built like a tank. Has crushproof hose and will suck paint off bowling ball.
I need to get over to his house and take a look at it
I was just wanting to bounce my idea of someone else to see if making it a poor mans :central vac: makes any sense.

Get a "commercial" vacuum cleaner... (Made to be used quite a bit.)
Link... Also check local janitorial supplies or search google.com for commercial vacuum... http://www.sewserg.com/products/abc0600.html

<snip>
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We bought a Dyson a year ago and absolutely love it. My wife has a home daycare and vacuums every day. It is powerful, easy to maintain, and is better than any other brand we have ever used.

Rotation Slim:
RS> Time for a new vacuum... Went through the An Oreck, lasted RS> sufficiently, about 6 years. RS> RS> ( Note-- my house is to vaccums what the Abrahms A1A Main Battle Tank RS> is to the Iraqi Republican guard... very tough!. I have 7 kids, they RS> bang, beat, vacuum up anything on the floor, from quarters to fishing RS> line. They don't care.*)
My suggestion it to be sure to get a "filter first" vacuum. The other type is "fan first". With the "fan first" anything sucked up will hit the fan blades, which will break off as the quarter/Lego goes whizzing by. The broken blade will cause imbalance and vibration, but more importantly loss of suction (blade broken/missing). With a "filter first" the quarter/Lego goes into the bag first; the suction-producing blades are protected.
- � barry.martin�AT�thesafebbs.zeppole.com �
* HE: Is this seat empty? SHE: Yes, and this one will be if you sit down.

Consumer reports: #1 Hoover wind tunnel ultra self propelled.
Dyson a distant #9.
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