This Vacuum Sucks , And Thats A Good Thing - GE Bagless Upright
Written: Feb 06 '04
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
| Ease of Cleaning: |
|
|
| Style: |
|
|
|
Pros: It sucks. Contractible Extendo Hose.
Cons: Dusty when emptying canister.
The Bottom Line: All-in-all, the GE Bagless Upright is the easiest vacuum to use and has the right accessories to complete the job.
|
|
|
| shippo225's Full Review: General Electric 106585 Upright Vacuum |
A Vacuum That Sucks:
.....If there's one thing that affects the rating of a vacuum, it’s the sucking power. Well, this one cuts it. I have seen other vacuums that couldn’t suck if the world depended on it. My stepmother just bought a Kirby vacuum kit for over a thousand dollars. I used it to sweep her house, and I must say that it didn’t pick up anything. I would go over something three or for times in order to pick it up. And you had to take the whole thing apart just to use the hose. Way too much just to vacuum a house. That’s why I like this one. The hose is connected and can be used without disassembling the whole thing.
…..My mom bought this vacuum about four years ago when we lived in PA. It was, I say, about $120. She got it at Wal-mart. Much cheaper, and preferably better, than the one-grand Kirby that my stepmother had. My overall rating would be a five outta five.
Lookin’ Good
…..The main color of the vacuum is dark forest green. There are gray striping and handle. The dirt canister is a black transparent color. The hose is a tannish color with black rings on the outer-more part. The rest of the body in the back is gray.
…..The unit is forty-five inches high, fifteen inches wide, and about twelve inches deep. The hose goes up and around the back and connects to the bottom when not in use. The power cord winds up in the back.
Take Action:
…..This vacuum sucks, it really does. Good thing. I enjoy using the GE Bagless Upright. It is easy to maneuver across our carpet and linoleum kitchen. The wider path allows for fewer sweeps across the floor. The upright goes around corners well and gets right up close to the baseboards for close cleaning. It doesn't have a power drive as some vacuums, but I find that it moves quite easily backwards and forwards with one hand. Even elderly would have a simple time with this particular vacuum. The power cord can be attached to the handle on the cord clip, which helps keep control of the cord. I find it also easy to use both right and left-handedly, for I'm a lefty. There is a wheel level on the front of the base to adjust height. I keep it at the lowest for our caret. It goes high for those shaggy rugs, too. There are seven levels if I recall.
…..When there are places that the vacuum itself cannot fit amidst. For this, we are blessed with the ever-handy accessories: a hose, another hose, hose extensions, brush upholstery piece, and an all-famous crevice tool. All the attachments connect to the extendo hose on the vacuum without disassembling the whole thing. That was one problem I couldn't deal with when using the Kirby vacuum. There's no point in having to disconnect the base to use the hose, kind of silly.
…..With the vacuum and the attachments, this unit completes the job from head to toe. My only problem is that when I go to vacuum around the base of the couch, the coffee table has to be moved in order to fit it back there. I find this a little problem (only because our table is made of cheap, processed wood that weighs practically nothing).
The All-Mighty Hose:
…..The hose of the GE Bagless Upright travels from one side of the base, up around the top and back down into the base. It is very compact and will contract when not fully stretched. I like this hose, as opposed to others, because it is short but stretches farther than it looks. I have a small bathroom in our apartment and I like to leave to upright at the door while I use the hose to get the floor clean. I would use the vacuum, but there are too many tight spots. It easily reaches behind the toilet to get hair and stuff and around doors and under the counter area, all the while the vacuum is outside the door. I'd guess the hose is about five feet fully contracted and ten stretched, give or take a few feet. It also reaches up high if you have cobwebs on the ceiling or high curtains.
…..The hose is great, all but the fact that it will weigh down the vacuum when you get so far away from it. It causes the vacuum to tip over when too much hose gets stretched, so I just put it up against a wall or something that won't let it tip over.
…..If the hose ever gets a clog, deeper than the top of the hose, you can take the hose off. If you take off the cord on the back, there is a clear window where the hose goes in. with a turn of the plastic screw, it comes off. Just fix the clog and put it back on, making sure the gasket it fitted properly for maximum suckage.
Cleaning The Bin:
…..Cleaning the bin is a little messy. It beats using bags, but can be a dirty job. You should clean the bin once the dirt level reaches the filter in the top of it. I also recommend doing it outside, into a garbage can or something.
…..To empty, first turn the gray handle at the top of the bin until it stops. The bin will pop out. Using the handle, carry the bin to the garbage to dispense contents. You need to take out the filter in the top half of the bin. It is a red thing that you can grip and pull out. If you want, you can pull the layer of dirt sticking to it off and clean that. Then, dump the contents of the bin into the trash. If you must, you can rinse out the bin in the sink. When you're done, all you have to do is put the filter into the bin snugly and pop it back into the vacuum. Turn the lever to the locked position and you're ready to go.
Attachments:
--Hose Extensions:
…..There is an 18 inch hose clinging to the side of the vacuum on the left side. It is actually two separate hoses, one inside the other. To use the full length, pull out the inner hose, turn it around and connect it to the outer hose. This inturn connects to the hose. This gives you the reach to get high up curtains of tight spots on the floor. Any of the other attachments can either connect directly to the end of the hose or to the end of the extensions.
--Upholstery Brush:
…..This small brush works for furniture or curtains. I couldn't tell any other uses for this because I have never used it. It has about one-inch soft bristles around the end of the piece for scuff-free using.
--The Crevice Tool:
…..And what would a vacuum be without the good old crevice tool? It is very narroy and flat and makes cleaning corners easy It also lets you get behind a heating thing that some people have in rooms. It gets under low items that can't get cleaned any other way.
*All the attachments and pieces that come with the GE Bagless Upright have a place on the vacuum for access wherever you are.
Cord:
…..The GE Bagless Upright comes with a 30-foot cord. It is longer than most models in the vacuum line. A longer line means more vacuuming on one outlet. Or in my case, my whole apartment from one outlet. It is made of the thick material that keeps the vacuum from sucking it up and clogging it up. It winds up on the back and clips to itself to store. The top hook that holds it rotates 360 degrees to let the cord go in one shot.
HEPA Filter:
…..I can't tell you much about HEPA filters, but I do know that this vacuum has one. It lays along the right side of the unit. The filter cleans all the air that the vacuum sucks up and spits out. According to dictionary.com, HEPA means high-efficiency-particulate air, in case you wanted to know. I never have changed a filter on a vacuum, but it doesn't look too black since we had it, five years ago.
…..Replacing the filter is easy. The HEPA filter is housed with a cover. At the top of this cover is a button. Just push it down and the housing comes off. The filter will fall out then. Just place the new one in it's place and put on the housing case.
Oh Yeah….:
…..Oh yeah, this thing has a headlight, too. Nothing new though. It allows you to see in those dark places. I never had any help from it. I never noticed it really. Just wanted to add it.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 100
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
shippo225
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Location: Left @ Albuquerque
Reviews written: 99
Trusted by: 99 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.