Well, I am going to take the plunge and buy a new vacuum cleaner (shiver). I haven't bought a NEW one in years, always a used one, the last one I bought at a yard sale 6 years ago for 10 dollars. It has finally died, and my DH says he is not fixing this one again. Can anyone give me some good advice, or any recommendations on a new one? It would need to stand up to some heavy use, we live on a dirt road and the wind and dirt are blowing every day right now. I am flexible on the price, since I do have some money saved just for this kind of thing. Thanks!!

-- Gina NM (inhock@pvtnetworks.net), March 19, 2002

Answers

Hi Gina, I DEFINETLY recommend a Dirt devil vision. Around 158 dollars at walmart, and I tell you what, we live on a dirt road and I have never been so happy with a vacum, I actually like to vacum now. It never needs bags, and the filters only have to be replaced once a year. ( they are about 10 dollars for the filters...) It is the best thing I ever bought.... My mother in law had one of those cheap 40 dollar vacums and when we moved in I couldnt bear to put mine in storage so I brought it. The first time I vacumed her carpet, I filled the dirtcup ( holds about the amount of a walmart bag) TWICE!! Her house is only about 900 sq ft. She was shocked and a little embarrased, but she is getting one now...

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), March 19, 2002.

I just bought the same thing Kristean, got mine at Lowe's for $99.00. I love it. I only have 1 rug in the house and I think it had an inch of dirt after cleaning just that one rug...

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), March 20, 2002.

just took mine in yesterday,,the repairman says about 60 bucks to fix,, well worth it,, since hoover is still selling this one for over 250 new

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.com), March 20, 2002.

I just bought a Oreck. My gosh, do I love it! Through the years I must have had 15 vacuums. I could never find one I really liked. I have had cheap ones and expensive ones. I paid almost $300 for this one but is worth every single penny. I can lift it with 2 fingers and picks up better than the Rainbow or Eletrolux I had. Although a steep price, it has the best warranty and it came with a free full size iron (like the Rowenta) and a free hand vac (like the one in the commercial that picks up the bowling ball) and believe me...you CAN pick up a bowling ball with that little thing. What power! Anyway, the Oreck is so lightwieght that you never get tired while vacumming. After years of vacuums, let me tell you, you think the heavier ones are better or that you can live with the wieght for the cleaning power...well, it gets way too much of a burden!

-- Karen (mountains_mama2@hotmail.com), March 20, 2002.

I prefer a Rainbow. Wonderful machines. No bags to contend with. Don't put any dirt back into the air. Remarkable cleaning power.

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), March 20, 2002.

Hello Gina,

We bought an upright Dirt Devil at the Dollar Store a couple of years ago for about $69.00. It was the same one we saw at Walmart at that same time for $189.00. It has served us well but, don't try to suck up crayons, spilled cereal and milk and stuff like that with it. If you need a machine for those kind of things, I would suggest a Shop Vac but, not a Craftsman type shop vac.

Sincerely,

Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), March 20, 2002.

I have an Oreck too, and I like it for the reasons Karen mentioned, but warranty service is a nightmare. Very much something to consider!

Our dealer moved, didn't tell us (How nice to drive all the way out there (over 20 miles) and not be able to get your free service done!), and we are trying to get them to reimburse any servicing under warranty done at a place (not Oreck, but they say they do them) closer to home.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), March 20, 2002.

We use a shopvac. With all the woodchips from the wood stove and sand, dirt etc--it works great and no bags to buy. Also works on wet jobs. $30 dollars has lasted 4 years so far and being used daily.

-- (stephanie.wilkerson@experian.com), March 20, 2002.

My, I love this place! I'm not alone - other people DO use shop vacs to clean their houses, oh JOY!!

We've used a Shop Vac for several years for same reasons above - dirt road, sandy boots, dirty dogs & granchildren, etc.

Just had nice rugs and bedroom carpeting installed recently, and bought first vacuum in over 10 years. Eureka Upright, $157.00 at Walmart, bagless, onboard tools, HEPA filtration system & 30ft cord. Absolute delight to use, but discovered that the belts break if you look at them cross-eyed, so we stocked up at WallyWorld.

Just as info, we also purchased the Bissell Steamcleaner as well. Oh wow, what a Huge Blessing that thing is. Lightweight, easy to use, $79.00 at Walmart, and cleans like crazy!

I love a clean house, always, 24/7/365, and these two tools have made my work MUCH easier.

Have a Praise-Filled Day.

-- Michaela (flhomestead@hotmail.com), March 20, 2002.

Thanks, everyone, I feel like I am in no-man's land trying to figure out the best vacuum purchase for the money. It sure does help to know what other people use and recommend. Ernest, I will also remember your advice, also, LOL^).

-- Gina NM (inhock@pvtnetworks.net), March 20, 2002.

Just to update everyone on what happened getting my Oreck serviced (dealer moved, see my earlier post above), I asked customer service to send me the cost in tune-ups (that I would now have to do locally and pay for), in vacuum supplies (bags, etc.) instead and they did, so as far as I am concerned, they "did right by me" and I am happy.

Like I said above, Orecks are very nice, lightweight vacuums, and the bags keep the dirt from going back into the air (I wish they made a reuseable bag, but I do the fold and staple, and use the bag at least twice before tossing--have never had a problem), but do be sure you live close to a dealer to get your tune-ups, although other places will service them as well, so you're not stuck shipping it out somewhere.

Also, if you don't want to use a shopvac, another option is those little carpet sweepers like they use in restaurants, provided your carpet is not too deep and plushy, and then vacuum to get the deep stuff, particularly before you shampoo. It is much easier to clean the hair out of the sweeper than out of the vacuum(!), plus it does not use electricity.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), April 11, 2002.

That is a great idea about stapling and reusing the bags. Now I can't believe I've never even considered that. Thanks!

-- Dave (multiplierx9@hotmail.com), April 11, 2002.

I hate the bags, and I won't buy a new sweeper that uses them. I like the sweeper that just has the canister, and I just dump it outside over the fence. You can very quickly spend as much on bags as you did on the sweeper to begin with!!!!

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), April 12, 2002.

Melissa, lucky you don't have neighbors! If my neighbors did that I would not be very happy about it, lol.

Dave, only thing to consider is that when you fold up and staple, be extra careful about not exceeding your "fill line" (our bags have them), because naturally, you're shortening the bag a tad bit. The Tightwad Gazette book had an entire article on the subject. I would love to have a reuseable bag, but am not sure what they're made of-- also would want to wait until the vacuum was past warranty.....lol.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), April 12, 2002.

Actually I also have one of those canister type. An Eureka Whirlwind. I haven't gotten around to to cleaning it out and buying new filters for it. I got it for free. It was used once and was going to be tossed out if you can imagine that.

I did some remodling work a while back for a woman, spray textured/orange peel walls and ceiling in a fancy condo. Before I did my work, she had people come in and scrape the old style popcorn ceiling away and sand it down. She did the clean up of all the debris and dust herself by going out and buying that vacuum instead of a shopvac. It clogged up the filters and she decided it wasn't any good so she said I could take it out to the trash. I tried to explain it just needed cleaned out and new filters(they were clogged beyond saving)but she said oh well I'll just buy another. Some people have money to burn, or even if they don't have it, they go into debt and don't mind doing it.

-- Dave (multiplierx9@hotmail.com), April 12, 2002.

Dave, I was wondering about that (the cost of bags vs. the cost of the filters)--I was under the impression (from reading reviews and so forth) that it was kind of a wash (even if not accounting for reusing the bag once or twice), and in the end you were either a person who minded handling the dirt (perhaps allergies, so you would want a closed bag to toss) or you didn't mind it, in which case you might want a canister. But I know the filters can be expensive too, depending upon the vacuum.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), April 12, 2002.

The one I had just had a cloth bag that you could wash out and reuse. It lasted for 4 years and I paid 20 for it. Now I have a new one and it says you can just wash the filter, new ones are about $10 for it.

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), April 12, 2002.

yup GT, I'd say it's about the same too, maybe even more expensive to use the hepa type. This Eureka has a Hepa filter and a few other sponge type filters in it. They are not cheap. For the price of that hepa filter, I could buy a few dozen bags. That's part of the reason I haven't been compelled to mess with it to replace the cheap Bissel upright I'm using. I don't have much to vacuum either, the place I'm living in now is small and shoes come off at the door(i've been influenced by some japanese friends ; )

I did try washing the filters, the sponge type looked like it came out ok but it was a futile effort to wash out that hepa filter. The drywall dust in the entire vacuum was like a coating of cement. It's awfully bulky for a vacuum too. I think if I was going to spend money on a new one, I'd get one of those Orecks or one of those little hand carry type with the floor attachments.

Although I'll always need to vacuum no matter what, I'm hoping this is the last place I have with wall to wall carpet. I miss having wood floors and really dislike carpet, especially when I spill a cup of coffee. Nothing but a big dust/dirt magnet.

-- Dave (multiplierx9@hotmail.com), April 12, 2002.

p.s. I don't make every guest that shows up here take off their shoes, it's optional. Just me, the kids, and a few friends that do it in their homes also. Just thought I'd clarify that so nobody thinks I'm that nit-picky about things...

-- Dave (multiplierx9@hotmail.com), April 12, 2002.

I paid $20 for the sweeper!!! Not the cloth bag.... I am so glad I live where I don't even have to think about whether the dust will blow on the neighbors!!!!

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), April 12, 2002.

Dave, another option would be buying some of those booties (they look like shower caps to me:-) for guests to put on over their shoes, and friends could leave a pair of slippers to wear.

I was always brought up to wear shoes in the house, not only in case you stepped on something (small plastic toy, a spill, broken glass), but in case something heavy falls on your foot, so I really dislike taking off my shoes, even at home. The booties would be a nice compromise--they are often used in computer clean rooms, for example, and I am sure they must be fairly sturdy, as people are wearing them for full shifts. Or, you could take some old bedsheets/ other fabric, cut into circles that would cover the largest (in the family/friends group) shoes, sew a casing and run a drawstring through. Toss in the washer every so often. If you live in a muddy area, maybe some type of coated fabric would work better to keep the mud/wet from seeping through onto the carpet.

Melissa, a lot of what people vacuum is stuff other than dust--in other words, paper and other trash, so that is what would bother me more, but if it were just dust, I would dump it away from my house, but on my side of the fence :-) (I guess in my mind I was also substituting "used motor oil" for dust as an example, and that was even a worse thought, lol).

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), April 12, 2002.

I see what you mean. But when I say over the fence, I own both sides of the fence!!! And usually all I vaccuum up is dust, lint, ladybugs, and some bird seed from our inside birds. I only have an area rug in one room, the rest of the house is tile, so it is not much anyways...

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), April 12, 2002.

GT, that sounds like a good idea but some of my friends would never let me live that down if I handed them booties to put on their shoes. They might even disown me ; )

I don't have enough guests here to make an issue of it anyway. The last few years I've been somewhat of a hermit when it comes to socializing. Once in a great while I have visitors and a few times have had friends from out of state stay for a few days.

I only started taking off the shoes when I moved here. When I moved out here the only locals I knew were japanese, so between spending time at their houses and them coming here, I got into the habit. Alot of the japanese people I know have house-slippers. It also doesn't get cold enough to bother me to go without shoes here. It sure saves me cleaning from cleaning up stuff tracked in by my kids.

-- Dave (multiplierx9@hotmail.com), April 12, 2002.

Oreck is the best!!!!!

-- MAGGE (MAGGEMORYC@REALTOR.COM), September 06, 2002.

the filterqueen indoor air quality system is the best it's not considered a vacum though......... it is an air filter with cleaning attachements, it uses cyclonic action mainly because it's not suction that pics up dirt and dust it's actually air flow. since it is an air filter it doesn't blow dirt and dust back into the air it filters it out, it uses hi tech filters better than hepa wich is the industry standard at 99.97% filterqueen removes the pollution at 99.98%. as for rainbow wich mainly uses water "rainbow is what i used to have" water is the cheapest most abundant resource on the planet if it really filtered the air they would have them on top of factories and on car exhaust's........( on way to check to see if your rainbow filters is take a black rag and wipe it inside of your exhaust then you can see what kind of filth is blowing back out into your air. in my opinion filterqueen is the best on the market simply because according to the FDA it is a Class II medical device. Phil OH

-- Phil Speck (angelsdad22@yahoo.com), September 07, 2002.

p.s. you can check out the filterqueen web site at www.filterqueen.com

-- Phil (angelsdad22@yahoo.com), September 07, 2002.