My Search & Rescue Vacuum Notes
Mar 25 '00
It is embarrassing to admit but I have one of each type of vacuum at the moment. Some are phenomenal and some are not worthy of the space they take up in the closet. Right now I have the following:
• Upright -Hoover’s Windtunnel and Eureka (an older model)
• Canister – Rainbow
• Stick Broom – Eureka Superbroom
• Hand Held – Dirt Devil
• Shopvac
Each vacuum has a place in our home except the Dirt Devil and the Eureka upright these two are destined for our yard sale pile. The Eureka upright was the reason for our Windtunnel purchase and so the story goes….
My Eureka upright was on its last legs, the motor was sputtering, the dirt was backfiring and a faint smell was coming from below. This vacuum has been my trusty friend since October of 1986 and was on its last legs. Because it is very hard for me to go even one day without my cleaning partner, I was in desperate need of a quick solution. But what to get, what did I really, really want? Knowing that the repairs to my cheapie Eureka model would cost more than a new one, I went shopping for a new one.
My Rainbow canister is by far the best cleaning vacuum I have ever owned. My mother-in-law gave it to my husband before we were married and she had owned it for years herself. This thing is unbelievable, water suction, plenty of quality attachments, long hoses, long cord but it is extremely heavy and cumbersome. The wheeled base is long gone and hauling it from room to room without scratching the wood floors is a real pain. If I want my house to be completely dirt and dust ball free, I turn to my Rainbow. But I have to be prepared to do all of the extra work of filling the tank, emptying the tank, and insuring the tank doesn’t topple down the stairs when I turn my back. I have had cases where it has toppled backwards down the stairs creating a bigger mess than when I started.
So, what to get? The stick broom by Eureka was for quick pickups like hair in the bathroom or crumbs under the kitchen table not for deep cleaning. That leaves a stick broom out of the running. Our Shopvac is used for the basement, garage and cleaning out the cars, only.
So now, I’m down to the decision of a canister or an upright. I have the Rainbow but do I want something lighter, one for the upstairs only? My decision was no. I needed another upright because an upright offers convenience and speed in getting the job done. The advantage to the upright is that I was not hauling a few parts along with me I only needed to worry about the cord and making sure it remained behind me and out of the way. I also needed a vacuum that was good on carpets as half of our house is carpeted. The upright is better for carpets.
Now that I knew the upright was the way to go, how did I go about choosing the brand and model that I wanted? I went first to the latest articles on vacuum cleaners from Consumer Reports. At the time there was a Hoover model offered but it was being discontinued, I found one left at the warehouse club but it had already been returned by someone and had hair all over the brush. Refused that one quickly and went back to the drawing board. Hoover Windtunnel was mentioned but I couldn't nail down the model #. In remembering the features that I liked and knowing that I wanted this machine to do a lot more for me than my basic Eureka, I went to Sears and did some research. I pulled and prodded and vacuumed my way through the models, I talked to their salespeople and I read all of the stuff I could find. I put together my list of priorities:
• Brand – I knew I wanted a brand or manufacturer that was going to be here ten years from now. I wanted at least a one-year warranty for parts and I wanted a good dealer services network. I didn’t want to have to hunt down a huge box to send back to the manufacturer, I wanted reputable repair facilities.
• Price - I came to a conclusion on how much I could afford and did not want to spend more than $300.
• Tools - This time around I wanted tools, I wanted accessories, I wanted anything that was going to make my life easier and get the job done faster. That meant getting the following:
• Hose extension with extra coil-this is critical if you want to do stairs without lugging the vacuum up the steps as you go or you are trying to get cobwebs in the ceiling corners without getting onto a step stool.
• Upholstery Brushes
• Crevice Tool
• Round brush
• Stair tool
I wanted these to be attached to the vacuum in an enclosed tool caddy so that I wasn’t constantly hunting down a piece, this was decadent for me, and I wanted everything “on board”.
• Filters- With allergies becoming a problem in our family, I wanted to have a vacuum cleaner that had a filter that would capture any pollen particles, etc. Decide if you even want a filter and if so, do you want a micron filter which is not as stong as a HEPA.
• Power- Decide what kind of power you want. The higher the amps level the greater the power. The range can be from 3.6-12.
• Dust Bags or No Dust BagsSome models don’t have the dust bag and the particles and dirt flow into a clear, plastic compartment. I prefer the bags for a small additional cost and the added security that the dirt is contained. With a bag, I don’t need to dump everything out after each vacuum, which is what I would feel compelled to do.
• Brush Agitators and Edge Cleaners These are a must for me, anything that is going to make the whole job complete. Brush agitator to roll up the dirt embedded in the carpet and the switch to turn it off for use on hardwoods or linoleum. The edge cleaner means it is going to suck up the most dirt against the exteriors of your room. That part of the carpet that will turn grayish if you have a cream colored carpet.
• Vacuum Weightfor some people a vacuum’s weight is a big issue. Check the overall weight and make sure you can handle lugging it up and down stairs without a problem. Oreck has a lightweight model. You may give up motor power with the lighter models.
I settled on the Hoover Windtunnel for my upright and for further details on that model you can access the review here:
http://www.epinions.com/hmgd-review-747F-C29D314-380A4817-bd1
And for a quick picker upper but not a deep cleaner by any means you can access my review on the Eureka Superbroom here:
http://www.epinions.com/hmgd-review-7458-4F196D0-38177C10-bd3
Good luck with your shopping!
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