A great vacuum for the price!
Written: Aug 12 '04
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Pros: Price, suction, quiet, soft wheels, good on carpet and hard floors, attachments, long hose.
Cons: A little heavy, brush housing keeps you from getting under some furniture, a little wide.
The Bottom Line: Buy this vac - you'll be happy you did. It may be a while before I reconsider making the investment for an Oreck.
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| mikeinkansas's Full Review: Kenmore Progressive 31912 Bagged Upright Vacuum |
The Setting: A 3500 square foot house with hardwood floors, vinyl flooring, berber carpet, plush carpet, and two flights of carpeted steps. Three kids (9, 7, and 3) who are constantly in and out, eating where they're not supposed to be, and bringing dirt with them wherever they go. Prior vacuum was a bagless Fantom that was on its last legs. Was 10 minutes away from purchasing the new Oreck XL Ultra ($500 spread over 14 months) as I had researched it heavily on this site and had always been intrigued by their pitch. Had also seriously considered a Hoover WindTunnel (we have the Hoover V2 hot water carpet cleaner which we love) when I decided last minute to look at Consumer Reports. The 7/04 vacuum recommendations had a WindTunnel model at #1, this Kenmore model at #2, and the Oreck at #11 or so. Came back here and saw that most people were highly satisfied at purchasing the Kenmore at $250 - $300. Quickly went to Sears.com and found it on clearance for $200 and decided to give it a try. Got it that day and have used it a few times since.
Set-Up: Couldn't be easier. One screw and the handle was on.
Overall Feel: Although most of the vacuum is plastic, it still feels solid and doesn't rattle, flex, or bend. It's already taken some shots into baseboards and dressers and has made out fine. Feels well built and substantial. The front brush housing is a little bulky and prohibits you from getting under some furniture. In tight areas where you have to raise the handle the brushes may stop rotating, but overall not a problem.
Features: The loop handle is very handy in pulling this vacuum back to you, as the brushes literally pull it across the floor. Changing the height is very easy via a slider adjuster and you can 'fine tune' the pull that way and still get good dirt pick-up. The on/off switch located on the handle is very convenient and easy to use. The handle extends back well, and then can go to the floor if you hold the handle release lever when you lower it all the way down.
The tri-hook cord winder makes it easy to wind the cord up without bending down too far. The attachments are held very securely into the back, but also come out easily when you want to use them. The hose for the attachments detaches from the rear side of the brush housing and is a bit short, but the additional hose that comes with it is plenty long to easily do a full flight of steps. The hose connects to the attachments with a simple peg/twist-lock feature, and keeps them securely on. The telescoping wand is an excellent feature. It's very easy to re-attach the hose to the brush housing.
The brush stop feature is VERY handy. When you return the handle back into the upright position, the brushes stop rotating but the suction continues. This is great for when you use attachments, as I had messed up the pile on a section of carpet with a vacuum we had in our previous house. It left a black mark where the belt and beater wore into the carpet while I was cleaning the baseboards. No chance of that here.
The manual brush kill switch is also convenient when doing hard floors, but I've found that even when using the brushes it still picks up just about everything without flinging it around. If you look on the underside of the vac, there is a thin plastic lip that is screwed onto the housing just behind the pick-up slot. That lip comes in contact with the floor and keeps dirt from being shot out the back of the vac. This lip is not integral to the housing, so you can replace it if it becomes worn or damaged.
The little brushes on the sides of the brush housing that claim to be put on there to clean stuff from the baseboards don't seem to work well in our house. They don't extend past the bumper, so they never really come in contact with the baseboards. Time will tell if they actually do anything.
All the wheels have soft contact surfaces, even the small ones used for height adjustment. This keeps the vac very quiet when going over hard surfaces and also minimizes the risk of scratching the surface.
The access door to replace the bag is very easy to open and close. I opted for the 3M Filtrete cloth replacement bags ($8 for 2), as our younger son has allergies; it's dusty out here in Kansas City in the middle of a hot summer! I'll try the paper bags in the winter. But even at $4/bag, that's still cheap if you only replace them every 6 months. The HEPA filter is also easy to replace.
The beltless feature is great, as my biggest complaint with our old Fantom was that is would throw belts at the slightest jam, and you had to remove screws and open up the housing to put it back on. Granted, there is now an additional motor to go bad, so we'll have to see how long that lasts.
The dirt sensor is OK; I wouldn't use it as the only guide to tell if my floors are clean, but it DOES make me go back over the high traffic areas where is takes longer to stay green. You can also easily spot where your kids may have been eating in their rooms! The clog/full bag sensor is also nice, even though it does come on when you use the baseboard wand attachment. However, I guess that is to be expected as that wand really throttles down the flow! If it keeps me from overfilling and exploding a bag (which I've had happen in previous bagged vacuums) it will be a useful feature.
The air-powered brush attachment takes a little getting used to. It bogs down when applying too much pressure, but after using it for 10 minutes you easily get the hang of it and it works very well on steps.
Final Thoughts: After owning a bagless vacuum for 5+ years, I can't see ever owning one again. They are messy when you empty the cup, and I'm not entirely sure that they really get all of the dust/dirt out of the air. I had replaced the HEPA filter 3 times in 5 years (and should have done it probably more than that) on the Fantom, as it continually clogged with 'macro' particles versus the 'micro' particles it's designed to filter out. At $30 a pop, you can buy a lot of bags!
I'm sure that as long as the brush motor holds up, I'll be a strong convert to the 'beltless' movement.
Overall, I'm thrilled with my purchase and am amazed at how much vacuums have advanced in 5 years. Purchasing this model prompted me to sign up for Epinions as I heavily relied on the consumer feedback here and wanted to do my part for the next potential purchaser.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 200.00
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Epinions.com ID:
mikeinkansas
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Member: Mike
Location: Olathe, KS United States
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
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