Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Vacuum shopping

CR tested three Shark models. Models NV350-356 were only "Fair" on pet hair. Model NV22L was "Excellent" at that.

All I can say is I'm gonna cry when my hoover dies. 25 years and it still sucks (like new).

He is spot on on his assessment. Also keep in mind that this is from a sellers perspective. He is NOT trying to sell you what will net him the highest margins (which Dysons certainly are). Support his business!

I have also found Dysons are more marketing hype than anything else and the build quality is not good enough to pay that premium.

I currently have a Kenmore from sears that's 2 or 3 years old. It has been an excellent machine and I think it only cost around $120.

Another thumbs up for Kenmore canister. After 10 years ours is still doing well, although that flood back in 2002 got fine materials into the engine and it runs alot louder than it did when it was new.
But it's still running.

We also have central vac but the accessories are terrible (no power brush for the carpets) so it gets relegated to hard surface floor duty only. Even then the wide floor attachment is so wide that it doesn't have much suction near the edges. I had to trim the bristles on it as well since there were no 'openings' to actually suck in the particles. It used to just broom stuff around the room like a Swiffer until i lifted the attachment off the floor to suck up the pile.
A terrible design (Eureka brand).

On a related topic, anyone have any experience with carpets cleaners?
We have used Bissells for some time, seem to have the occasional issues with suction, replacing gaskets and so forth, but we've had 2 in 8 years now with the first lasting 5 years and paying itself off many times.
Now we're contemplating this:
http://www.bissell.com/Big-Green-Deep-Cleaning-Machine/

Apparently Lowes and Rona now rents them out.
This market was traditionally held by Rugdoctor machines which were in every grocery store and Home Depot:
http://www.rugdoctor.com/

I like the Bissell carpet cleaners. It paid for itself after a few uses. The one we have has attachments for cleaning hard surfaces like ceramic tile. So it gets a lot of use.

This is the machine that really makes your carpets look nice, especially good at getting rid of any stains and picks up all the dirt and especially hair that a vacuum doesn't get. A must have to complement the vacuum.

We recently got a Shark and so far we're happy with it.

I agree with Bluey about Dyson. We found a $400 LG (Consumer Rep liked it) on line for $260, ship incl.

I wouldn't ever pay $400 for a vacuum cleaner, and neither should anyone else.

Driving by the local Jr. High last Saturday, I noticed their handmade fundraising sign: "$8 CAR WASH and VACUME. Go, North Junior High! You Go!

What's the best little canister vacuum for going around the house and sucking up cat hair?

I have an upright with a hose attachment with mostly hardwood floors. Kinda sucks for picking up cat hair. What I need is something that sucks for picking up cat hair. Also to easily vacuum furniture. Right now, the best way to get cat hair off of furniture seems to be with a damp rag or paper towel.

I realize that exterminating the cat would be some people's preferred method, but that seems a little extreme. I'd miss the hairballs that get coughed up in the (according to the cat) best places.

Brian, next time you can stop at a Pet Supply warehouse store, check it out. They have a whole section of products for just that need. A lot of them actually work,

When I had multiple dogs, my favorite for furniture was a B & D handheld electric with a powered beater bar. They don't make it anymore, but the design of a handheld-elec-w/pw'd-brush is great, if anyone out ther makes one.

Otherwise, you need a canister whose wand has an attached cable that runs power to beater bar. W/o it, the beater is pwd by suction, which sucks because it doesn't. Unfortunately, unless you find a deal, good canisters don't come cheap.

My first choice, without any reviewing, is this Dyson for animal hair