Vacuum cleaners

[mangyhyena]

I've bought 3 vacuum cleaners in the last 2 years. I know how to take them apart and clear or fix them, to an extent, but the darn things simply do not last. I've bought them for $70.00 and I've bought them for as much as $165.00. Neither lasts worth a darn. They are all plastic and fixing them is almost impossible unless it's a broken belt or clogged tube. And I'm sick to death of buying them periodically. The darn things are designed to break down, IMHO.

So, I happen to work as a janitor overnight for my second job. We have a vacuum that cost the company almost $500 new. But that vacuum is used extensively every night and it is almost 5 years old. It is still going strong. We can replace anything that breaks down on it, including the motor if need be.

I'm thinking seriously about buying one for our home. It is a lot more money but I know we'll never need to buy another as I know how to take it apart and fix or replace anything it needs. I will look for a used one if possible but if my only option is to buy new then I'd still consider it so as to stop wasting money on new vacuums.

BTW, the brand name is Royal.

Would you all call this frugal or a waste of good money?

[JakeLeg]

if the cash is available, we always invest in a higher quality product that will project to last longer than the lower quality product that will have to be repaired/replaced more often.

i agree w/ the cheap vacuum cleaners sucking - or rather NOT sucking. we bought a GE cannister one that cost a bit more but had decent reviews, and have not had a problem for over 2 years. wife and i both have long hair, so taking the rotating brush out to clean hair out of the roller and bearings is an important maintenance issue. we have a lot of wood floors, so the bare floor attachment is used most frequently, with the carpet attachment used on a few area rugs. at our old place, which was all hard surface floors, we'd sweep everything to the edges of the rooms, and use a shop vac to just get the room edges.

making a 500 dollar investment on a vacuum might be a bitter pill to swallow but if it will help alleviate having to buy new machines and cut down on downtime, it's probably worth it.

[CarolAnn]

It might be a good investment, but before I shucked out that kind of cash, I'd check with a repair shop that sells refurbished ones. You might even be able to get a refurbished one from the manufacturer on the internet.

When it's a good machine, even a used one would be a good buy, especially if it comes with any kind of warranty!

My first used vac was a Kirby - a really expensive, dust-blowing piece of junk. But it DID last a long time! ::)

Since then, I've been more careful to buy a machine that has a disposable dust bag - lots less dust returned to the air with those!

[DM]

In another life i use to have a janitorial business, and believe it or not, i also repaired vacuums!!

Here's the "short" of it... (even if it's NOT short)

The big all metal Royals lasted the longest and took the most abuse!!! They didn't vacuum the absolute best, but they vacuumed pretty good. I owned 5 of them....

The vacuum that was a very good vac and picked up best by far was the Electrolux upright industrial... It picks up the best, because it has the best beaterbar. (best of any vac i ever used) The industrial is cheaper than the homeowner model they would rather sell you, because it doesn't have a lot of accessories you don't need anyway... It also has a longer cord that i like...

About so called plastic vacs... Many look the same, but aren't! (some are nylon) Panasonic made a pretty good vac that held up quite good and was less money than the Electrolux or the Royal... It was made of Nylon and the only reason it wasn't industrial rated is because when you vacuumed for hours on end, the motor would get hot and start melting the mounts. In a house, it held up VERY good.

I fixed hundreds of vacs, and i'm not kidding... hundreds!!! In the end i bought a Electrolux and still have it today.... It's still my choise for a good home~owner vac....

Vac's that i wouldn't own.... cheap Dirt Devels, Rainbow, Kirbys, Sears vac's, and most any of the cheapo vac's....

I'm NOT saying they are all junk, i am saying they aren't a vac i'd own because after fixing them, maybe they cost too much to fix, or have design problems, or too many hard to get parts... or some other reason.

One last thing i learned to make any vac last MUCH longer.... Pick up before vacuuming!! Don't vac things you can pickup by hand like marbles, pennys, paper clips ect... Use good quality bags, (OEM are best!!!) Change the bag often!!!! Don't wait untill they are heavy, or full.... Hair ect.. cuts the airflow, and that kills a vac!! If you do those 3 things, your vac will last a LOT longer!!!

BTW, another vac that's pretty good but doesn't have the best powernozle/beater bar is a Filterqueen canister...

DM

[tufhelp]

;D Our all metal Royal is still doing its job, about 18 years now. Same beater bar, it has 3 adjustment positions to lower it as the brushes wear, and one light bulb – that is it! To paraphrase the old Timex advertising slogan “It takes a lickin’ and keeps on suckin’…” We have to clean the beater bar/brush regularly as the dog hair (rough border collie) wraps around it and lessens the belt life, but outside of that, worry free.

BTW We now "rake" our carpet with a curry brush that I attached to the end of a broom stick. The dog hair seems to want to stick to the carpet and this brush picks up a good 90% of it. It is fast and easy to do and makes vacuuming a breeze.

[daphodil]

I had problems with my upright vacuum (a Eureka) but I think it was because I would vacuum our kitchen rugs and the ends with ties would get stuck in there and then the belt would get ruined.

I got tired of this, so dh bought me a little shop vac. *He never put the wheels on it; I just carry it where I want it. *

I clean the filter out myself and am able to reuse it many times over. *If I suck up small things, they don't ruin it. *

It works well enough for the price. *

I'd rather spend $500 somewhere else. *I'd really love to just get rid of the carpets and have hardwood floors with rugs that I can shake. *

If something were to happen where electricity was not available for me, I like knowing I haven't put a lot into electrical appliances.

[mangyhyena]

Well, it's good to know that Royal vacuums worked well for those of you who have used them, so the one we use at work isn't a fluke that just happened to work well. ;D

Thanks for the input. And I'll take a look at that Electrolux as well.

[bookwormom]

I had an industrial vacuum, used it in my carpet cleaning business and also at home, I had it twenty years and when we moved away I gave it to my sister in law because it was still going strong. I had to replace the hose once. Now I have a cheapo dirt devil (70 budks) and it is not worth beans. I do not have wall to wall carpet and do not want it. My rugs I sweep off with a strawbroom, works better than the vacuum.

[nuke]

Mang
If you are handy with tools think about a central vac system. There are many styles and price ranges. Usually good quality motors that are easy to work on should you need to. The carpet sweeper can be electric or suction powered. I installed one of these 2 years ago when redoing an older home that I live in. No problems and you only have a hose to carry around since the unit can be put in the garage, attic, closet or any place that you see fit. Since you need to vent it to the outside, the dust that is not trapped in the vac is sent out the exhaust. Plus low level noise b/c of where you place the unit. Search the internet and get a coupon with one of the manufacturers.. I saved a bunch and installed myself.. Good luck

[mangyhyena]

Thanks, nuke. I'll look at it.

[LaunchPad]

Wife insisted on a Rainbow. $2000.00!! It really does work- a lot better than the other 6 we had around here including a kerby- but i am still wondering if i need a second mortgage to pay for it!

[leera]

OK,I have to say it..........I absolutely hate ELECTROLUX vacuums!

I use one every night at work,and the darn things clog up so easy that I spend more time than I should have to cleaning them out. My vac we have at home picks up better and doesn't clog up nearly as much.

On a different type of flooring they might work better....but we have camel hair carpet,and they do not do a very good job at all on it.

Just my two cents...............

[DonnaKay]

My Mom worked for a cleaning company and now she and a friend clean houses on their own. The best vac they ever had was called a Big Vac. They bought it from a cleaning supply place. It works really well and is about $500. I thing they also carry a smaller version. Its a canister vac, lightweight plastic case but everything is replaceable.

http://www.thecleanteam.com/productdetail.cfm?id=3003

I personally own a Kirby (hubby is a sucker for anything with bells and whistles ::) ) It does work very well but it's to heavy and takes to much effort to change out attatchments. I've used the rainbow several times and again it works really well but I found it to be a chore to deal with. I like something that you can grab easily and switch out attatchments quickly. I now use a $160 canister vac...LG model I think. I bought it here in Germany and it works great...of course we don't have carpet so I don't know how it would stand up to that.

Donna