Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

No area rugs, carpet what so ever. Just wood floors... What would you suggest?

Hi Acerone,

The "best" solution to this issue is a simple -- any reasonably priced canister with a good bare floor tool.  Of course my next suggestion is go to Sears and look for a Kenmore  canister with the standard bare floor tool in its attachment set. 

Why?

Because, first, you'll probably come across some sale items that may place a slightly better than simple vacuum at a good price because of a markdown.  Next, I am a tool fanatic and I especially like the way the Kenmore standard bare floor tool is made because instead of of a brush strip all around its perimeter it has a single row of bristles that runs across the width of the tool plus a couple of shot strips at front and back.  Just about now someone is thinking, "He's got to be kidding."  I'm not.  My test for this came about while I was trying to loosen peeling paint on the ceiling just at the entry of my apartment.

The design of the Kenmore bare floor tool allows grit to be directly sucked up -- not pushed about before it's sucked up on forward and back passes.  Avoiding pushing grit around is the reason we vacuum bare floors instead of using a plain old broom.  The fussy feel the like spares the finish on wood flooring from additional wear while cleaning. In any event because I have so much junk around to mess with, I tried an Electrolux flip tool and also an old GE nozzle to loosen paint long ago applied to acoustic tile.  Both left me under a continuous shower of paint flakes as I tried to clean away the peeling before applying primer .  The Kenmore bare floor allowed the flaking paint to be easily sucked in to my vacuum with minimal fallout as I moved it back and forth overhead.

However, to be super practical -- which is best to do in this instance -- find any affordable canister you like that offers good service above the floor and go to your local vac shop to buy a bare floor tool that is to your liking.  You'll find standard and wide width tools to suit your needs for not a lot of money.

Expensive niche brands like, Miele, FQ, etc., provide lots of optional specialized tools that cost an arm and a leg but that are no more beneficial than a tool you can find at vacuum shop for a quarter of the price.

Best,

Venson

A central vacuum with no inlet valves,just vacpans......................

 mole

mole wrote:

Good friend Mole,

Most respectfully, vacpansdefeat the purpose of vacuum cleaning.  The broom sets dust to flying.  The vacuum, central or otherwise with a nozzle for the task is meant to pull whatever you go after into the system thus ridding the potential of rasing dust.  The centtral vacuum is meant to excel in that it not only sucks up stuff but also but also rids the home environment of very fine particulate matter that might be released during use of a portable vacuum.

I have never understood the vacpan.  Oh yeah, it might be useful for the quick removal of debris fallen nearby but why go through the expense if all that is to be is to fling dirt all through the house toward a hole in the wall?

The central vac as a dumpster would better serve us if developed to remove perishable waste -- flour, husks, etc. -- from counter areas.

Venson

If strictly for floors and no attachments needed for above the floor cleaning, I'd use an Oreck Classic XL for $200. On the floors the vacuum goes by itself. By the time you get the cann out and set it up, the Oreck has the job done.

If area rugs are added in the future, ORECK works great without adjustments and brush turn offs.

Carmine D.

I like the Miele 300 floor brush especially the way it swivels. You need only use your wrist instead of your whole arm and shoulders. It can get into really tight spaces. Unfortunately, if you haven't tried one you can't appreciate how it moves. You might need an adaptor depending on which Vac you purchase. They have also come out with a longer version (Which I have not yet seen).

Lucky1 wrote:

Hi Lucky1,

I've seen ti too and it's cool but Miele is asking $65.50.  It's better to put that kind of money in your piggy bank and save up for a whole new vacuum cleaner.

Following is a link to Miele's accessory page -- http://www.miele.com/products/accessories.asp?cat=1&subcat=1&menu_id=5&nav=21&oT=27

The price on the 236 power nozzle is considerably lower than I'd imagined but lesser items especially the air-powered nozzles and minor tools are way out of proportion.  Miele can get away with this simply because it's Miele.

Venson

Lucky1:

You shot the top of the line Miele made brush for $65 and the customer [Ace] says no way.  What's your fall back position to make the part sale and keep the customer?

Carmine D.

Any straight-suction canister would do well here.   Interesting that a few of you mentioned Miele as well, I was thinking the same thing.  Miele offers the straight-suction Naturell (same design as the S251 Plus except it's light yellow and only 1 speed) which would work great in this situation where the extra features wouldn't be necessary.  It ranges from $199 to $249 depending on the dealer, and has a 7 year warranty on the Vortex motor, great filtration, and is a fantastic machine overall for the price.  You just can't get any better.  The S4 Galaxy series would also be a good choice, but would be more expensive than the Naturell.  The Naturell isn't on the Miele website as it is the least expensive model, however, any dealer should have them. 

The Miele Naturell is the same price as an Oreck upright, except that unlike the Oreck it is actually *suited* to cleaning bare floors (I don't think throwing the dirt back at your feet can be considered cleaning, which I experienced with my Oreck on many occasions).  It's just a simple canister you can't go wrong with, and will last a lifetime. 

-MH

Motorhead wrote:

MH:

I've never experienced that problem with my Oreck, although I have with many other vacuums.  Generally when a vacuum has negative suction [throws the dirt back], it needs maintenance.  I do my own [bag, belt, etc] so my Oreck works as it should.  

Do you maintain/service your Oreck and/or bring it into the dealer for service?

The October 2007 Consumer Reports, the last to include Oreck in the vacuum ratings, gives Oreck and Miele the same rating for bare floors: Excellent.  I would agree that both are excellent.  Being an upright person myself, I prefer the Oreck.

Are you partial to uprights and/or tanks and canns?

While it is unorthodox based on conventional wisdom to use an upright on bare floors, Oreck goes against the grain of conventional wisdom.  Why? Two reasons come to mind.  The wheels [4, 2 back and 2 front] are rubber coated.  No scuff marks.  Bare floor tools [like the Miele without wheels] have brush hair that constantly get full of dirt and debris.  Have to be cleaned.  Like old fashioned brooms, these tools push alot of the dirt around before picking it up.  In the process getting alot caught up in the hair of the floor brush.  Obviously the push and pull on the hair wears it down and out in shape and function.  What does that cost to replace on a Miele?  The Oreck brush roll on barefloors will last forever and never need to be cleaned.  Just a belt change every 6-9 months [couple of bucks if you do it yourself] to keep the debris going into the vacuum and not out.

Carmine D.

I've always found that it's less about the vacuum you're using and more about the attachment on the end of the wand.  As mentioned earlier, the Kenmore tool works much nicer than most all bristle brushes simply because the brushes are moved to the center of the tool allowing all the debris to be picked up before hitting the brush.  Similar can be said for the Oreck and the Riccar Superlites.  My choice of tools is this Euro Combo which I think is made by Wessel Werk but I could be wrong. No brushes to mess up, runs on four non marking wheels and sucks straight to the edge of the wall.