Help me find the right vacuum cleaner

[Zee]

Grant,

All that you wrote is beautiful...'cept in real life the momentum actually picks up more dirt sand dust and other particles.

And again- even if your Kirby would be picking up more, you wouldn't know because you don't see it. Recently I had a home where the $3000kirby was used and we ran the momentum right after just to see.....yup it did what I expected- filled the dust cup twice from specific areas where they had dust in the carpet. We had no idea about those areas when the Kirby was running over them.

 

[GeeeAus]

Grant,

All that you wrote is beautiful...'cept in real life the momentum actually picks up more dirt sand dust and other particles.

And again- even if your Kirby would be picking up more, you wouldn't know because you don't see it. Recently I had a home where the $3000kirby was used and we ran the momentum right after just to see.....yup it did what I expected- filled the dust cup twice from specific areas where they had dust in the carpet. We had no idea about those areas when the Kirby was running over them.

G'day Zee.

Visuals aren't much use to me, legally speaking I'm blind but I can tell you direct air system vacuums give you plenty of feedback. To get it I use my ears. My machine - talks - to me if you will as I progress through the job. Come into a heavy traffic lane and "shhhhhhhhh" heavy sand particles. Move toward an entrance "shhhhhhhh" "tink, tink tink shhhhhh" more sand, gravel and smaller stones etc. Edge near an entrance "cachink, tink tink clunk" smaller bits of grit, sand and some larger bits of gravel and stones.

Stop cleaning for a moment, pat the bag, yep it's getting heavier now. Continue cleanup. Hmm, hasn't made any noise in a while, there should be soil here, let's change the axis, there we go "shhhhhhh" more sand.

Hmm this carpet isn't shedding soil as I expected,I know it's in there. Put in the fluffier brush and give it a quick groom. Now hit it with the deep cleaning head - holy shit there's a machine gun in here.

And if I want to test my work I can throw the dirt meter on and see what I get. I'll always get something, after all it's a carpet and carpets will shed soil -forever. Not a lot now though, mostly lighter fractions. We're good to wet clean now.

This soil you collected, what did it weigh? That's the real decider.

My record is 4.5 kilos in a single room. Not pounds, kilos.....

Grant

 

[ruff]

My concern about the cheapos that Mike and Zee and Larry are talking about is that the brush is too aggressive.
When I look at what comes out of the cup, most of it is fabric from the carpet (and yes I do adjust the height correctly). Not good. It damages the carpet staple. I want a good vacuum, not a shaver!

Though looking at the positive- I guess the reduction of staple fiber will make it dry a lot faster

 

[NobleCarpetCleaners]

After several years now I'm still glad I went to the Proteam upright. I wish it had a more friendly hose for upholstery but it's a time saver for carpet edges. I use both the 15" and the 12" but prefer the 12" for residential. It's got a few qwerks but I've made friends with them. The pros far outweigh the cons IMOP. You can find them on the net for $320-340 with tools.

 

[jstucky]

Mikey I believe the Lindhaus will meet most of your requirements...Govt loved them so much they bought 400 of them to clean up after 9/11...plus Charcoal filters for extreme filtering...id like to see u test one real world..not ur chimps tho...lol...they can be suseptible to damage with heavy abuse..but normal use with care...it is much more user friendly than the Windsor...get a Hepa Pro..new pretty white ones..or get on Des Moines Craigslist and c if guy in Waterloo would ship his to u...best 200 bucks u ever spent...

 

[hogjowl]

Dyson

You people are retarded.

 

[GeeeAus]

Dyson

You people are retarded.

Harsh criticism to be sure. Would you explain why we are retarded?

Grant

 

[SamIam]

Because he's being funny, and he loves his Dyson duh!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[GeeeAus]

Because he's being funny, and he loves his Dyson duh!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Rights. I think sometimes the tone of discussion differs between peoples of different cultures. His humour went over me head in this instance. Thanks

Grant

 

[Johnny]

What yall think about Riccar? Local vac shop sells a lot of them. Made in the USA a big plus.

 

[GeeeAus]

Their tandem air system looks interesting, These units are not available in Australia.

Grant

 

[hogjowl]

Seriously ... I am sure those vacuums you guys like are wonderful machines. If one of you would send me one for free, I might change my mind about ya'll being retarded.

 

[Mardie]

What yall think about Riccar? Local vac shop sells a lot of them. Made in the USA a big plus.

Ya but the Ricar is a real vacuum cleaner. This thread is for the less than $150 people.

 

[randy]

I'm running Proteam 1500XPs and they are a great vacuum but VERY expensive to maintain. I end up taking the dam thing apart about every other month to dehair the beater bar and clean out the build up through out the whole vacuum. Recently I replaced the hose ($43) ,the tube on the end of the hose ($16) , the Hepa filter and the cover for the filter ($12). That's almost the price of a couple of good throw way vacuums. So what model Bissel is it that is so wonderful ? Maybe I will try one out.

 

[Zee]

I'm running Proteam 1500XPs and they are a great vacuum but VERY expensive to maintain. I end up taking the dam thing apart about every other month to dehair the beater bar and clean out the build up through out the whole vacuum. Recently I replaced the hose ($43) ,the tube on the end of the hose ($16) , the Hepa filter and the cover for the filter ($12). That's almost the price of a couple of good throw way vacuums. So what model Bissel is it that is so wonderful ? Maybe I will try one out.

http://www.frys.com/product/5743592

Many of us do an excellent job with a less than $150 vac cleaner...and we follow it up with $15-25grand truckmounts and not a $1K foamerbrush thing.... So let's not make this a price issue..

 

[GeeeAus]

I don't follow up with a truck mount. I just use the hose length and width vs performance drop to illustrate that all machines that draw air through a network if tubing sustain losses.

Grant

 

[Dolly Llama]

. So what model Bissel is it that is so wonderful ? Maybe I will try one out.

The Momentum that Zee linked.
the Powerforce and Cleanview models are even cheaper and work as well.
However their Achilles heal are the filters need cleaning all the time..like every day, and if on a job with very fine dust/soil, it will lose airflow before you're done

the Bissel Mo doesn't suffer the filter issues


..L.T.A.

 

[Mardie]

http://www.frys.com/product/5743592

Many of us do an excellent job with a less than $150 vac cleaner...and we follow it up with $15-25grand truckmounts and not a $1K foamerbrush thing.... So let's not make this a price issue..

Ron Werner proved beyond a doubt in his demos at Mikeys Fest that even a Vortex cannot compensate for a simple vacuum cleaner. I hear TM guys always mentioning how the image of a TMs compared to other methods is so beneficial to the perceptions of the client. Then on the other hand you have no problem walking into a job with a wallmart vacuum cleaner that the client just may have sitting in their closet which is probally poorly maintained and does not work worth a dam and if you got a bissel they just may be wondering why you don't have a Dyson.LOL Regardless of all the arguments for which vacuum cleaner works the best, I as a professional would not be caught dead walking into a job with an easily identifiable cheap residential grade vacuum cleaner.

 

[Total_Rookie]

Grant.. do you know about that clear canister that replaces the bag on Kirbys?

They are junk Mike, don't even think about it. I bought one and was disappointed. Used it once and it sat on the shelf the rest of its life.

 

[Lefty724]

Agree with Joe here. I also bought one of the Keeler canisters and was very disappointed. It's a great idea but it just plain didn't work IMO.

I sold the vacuum off and now have a 1950'a Kirby with a cloth bag and it's awesome.

 

[NobleCarpetCleaners]

To the post above about ProTeam maintenance maybe I can help. On the beater bar, take some scissors and snip down the length of the bar following the spiral next to a brush row. Make sure you snip it all, hair/string/thread material. Then rotate the bar 180 degrees and do the same. Now at the point you can grab and quickly pull off the debris or what I like to do is turn the machine back on and keep going. I found snipping both sides and then running it allows the build up to fling off, and rapidly.

Inside the machine is another story. When taking the screws out the bottom (to remove the top housing shell) be careful to keep your phillips driver snug on the screw heads. The threads of those screws like to grip the plastic of the molded stand offs snugly. Take care not the strip the screw or break off one of those standoffs (been there sone that). Break a standoff and you'll need a new upper shell ($30-40?). And when you're putting these screws back in I recommend applying some silky smooth type of antisceize to those threads.

The rubber seal around the two shells is kinda critical to keep find dust and dirt from accumulating inside the housing. And I found when the shell is seated properly (screws are snug) I can go 4-6 months before having to pop the upper shell off to clean and service the belt. I put a new cogged belt on every 4-6 months. At vacuum out the whole area quickly before closing it up. Works for me anyhow.

There's another area of build up that's easy to overlook but doesn't need the shells to come apart. All the debris enters a section of that black corrugated black house near the beater bar. The oil part of soil combines with the dry crap and build up on that first section of the hose. It's a fairly straight section but I think the corrugations help it build up. Really hard to get to without removing the beater bar but, ah, very easy to get to by plunging a long bottle brush type gizmo from the top where the quickdraw wand plugs into. Don't remember where I got mine but it's the right length and diameter and I simple plug it into my batt drill and run it down and let it scrub that area real well. I do it when I replace the belt (a reg. interval). Of course when you replace the beater bar (every 10months to 1year for me) you can scrub that tube then as well.

Can't speak about the price of parts in general. I purchase direct from Proteam bags by the case, 1/2 dozen hepa filters at a time (I change when then get pretty dark). I need a new hose right now (got duct tape on my 12" right now) and a few other misc items. Tools certainly cost money and effort to maintain. Vacuum cleaners are certainly a qwerky part of our trade.

Apparently I'm still the only carpet cleaner in California that was made a dealer for the Proteam upright. I sold several to my customers who still really love them. But the constant nasty grams from BOE (board of equalization) for my quarterly sales tax statements really annoyed me. At one time I wanted to sell 30+ units at a time and offer a smoking discount (something like $240 my cost) to sh.. load of my custies and even to members of this board. And even though Proteam will drop ship each one to as many addresses as I want, the project will tire me out. I thought wow, getting 30+ units to cleaners at cost would be cool but as a distributor I'm technically on the hook to supply wear items like bags and even belts. I can see a huge amount of cleaners hounding me for bags at cost!!! But I still think about it and how I could make it happen.

In the meantime I tell folks to snatch them of the net. There's prices wars all the time. If Mikey finds the perfect vacuum cleaner I hope he shares the discovery.

 

[jstucky]

Riccars r good vacuums..my parents sell alot of them...they r more budget friendly...the Tandem air is the cats behind..I just see like Kirbys..alot of fan blades breaking?? Am I not the only one vacuuming nasty frizes in ghetto rentals that have screws and nails buried in the carpet???

 

[jstucky]

Because Tandem air is like Kirby with every thing going thru the fan blade..

 

[Zee]

I as a professional would not be caught dead walking into a job with an easily identifiable cheap residential grade vacuum cleaner.

Yet you wheel in a vonschrader...

And even a $3000 Kirby can easily be found in many many of our customer's closet...but if they don't know how to vacuum properly it doesn't matter what they have or what they can recognise as expensive or inexpensive.
It's not like our customers can't and won't buy any of the so called professional vacuum cleaners....but you can be nearly a 100% sure they will not have a tm..and I find about 10% of our customers actually know how to vacuum (with any kind of vacuum cleaner)

 

[Mardie]

Yet you wheel in a vonschrader...

And even a $3000 Kirby can easily be found in many many of our customer's closet...but if they don't know how to vacuum properly it doesn't matter what they have or what they can recognise as expensive or inexpensive.
It's not like our customers can't and won't buy any of the so called professional vacuum cleaners....but you can be nearly a 100% sure they will not have a tm..and I find about 10% of our customers actually know how to vacuum (with any kind of vacuum cleaner)

How would it make you feel or what would your client think if they had a $3000 Kirby or any high priced commercial grade vacuum cleaner and you walked in with a walmart special.

 

[Zee]

How would it make you feel or what would your client think if they had a $3000 Kirby or any high priced commercial grade vacuum cleaner and you walked in with a walmart special.

It happens all the time... And it makes me feel good, happy, and proud to show them what I can vacuum up after their overpriced so called professional vacuum cleaner.

The conversation usually ends up with me telling them about the price shocker of my vacuum. And Ieave them guessing how much I pay.

Only to reveal what I meant by price shock...99bucks. (they're always guessing several hundreds of $ even a thousand, since it vacuumed up so much after their "real professional wonder")

For a while I actually offered to bring a brand new Momentum to their house for a 150 bucks. I sold at least 25 of them to customers that were shocked how well it did. I probably indirectly sold another 40 where I just told them where to go get it..

 

[Mardie]

And just think what you could have done with a real vacuum cleaner.

 

[Zee]

And just think what you could have done with a real vacuum cleaner.

I could have paid a lot more to purchase it...and I could have spent even more to get parts that break on them with hours of use every single day.

Instead I pick up a brand new one for 89 or 99 bucks and toss the old one... I tell my customers that I go thru them in 7-8 months...but I point it out, that we use them more in a week than they will in 6months, so no worries it will last a lot longer in a household.

 

[Mardie]

I also always bring up the subject of how to properly vacuum a carpet. I get down on the carpet and with my fingers show them how the pile lays and explain to them the importance of the proper direction to run their vacuum. I must say that they are shocked and surprised when I show them this. I also mention to them that if they were to spend even a fraction of the time vacuuming as they do to clean their hardwood floors that their carpet will stay clean much longer. I say a lot more but it is to much to type LOL

 

[hogjowl]

Yeah, I imagine they ARE shocked ...

And probably hoping you stop soon.