Advice Needed - Best Upright for Health Reasons?

[talktotravis]

Lindhaus

This is a tough call--where I went to college, when the contract with Windsor expired they replaced them all with Lindhaus. They are both very solid machines--I give the edge to Lindhaus. I do believe they are more expensive, though.

 

[bigbubbacain]

The Lindhaus is also a very good machine, but their uprights tend to weigh more and have less powerful suction than the Sebo. Their power nozzle is extremely agressive and I suppose that's why they do so well in a commercial setting. Their Valzer HEPA upright is ideal for a household environment. I'm still waiting to see what their parent company (Rotafil) will do to update these 2 motor machines.

 

[dysonman]

Lindhaus/Sebo

A Lindhaus is a good vacuum, but not as good (make that 'powerful') as the Sebo Felix. Both machines filter well, with the Sebo's bags being less expensive (and can trap more fine dust).

Once again, you'll have to excuse Rob Gwisdala's suggestion to buy a Hoover windtunnel. Rob is not a club member and doesn't have extensive experience with cleaners. A Hoover would NOT be a good choice for someone with severe allergies. Plus, the motor is not well-made (made by G.S. electric for Hoover). AND it uses the old rubber slipping belts (Sebo has a lifetime belt).

The only other problem with Lindhaus is the handle weight. They are VERY handle-heavy to use. Plus, with your budget (under $450) to take into consideration, all things considered the Sebo is the best choice for the money. Even if the budget wasn't a factor, the Sebo is still an excellent choice, and will perform as you wish. It's durable and keeps ALL the dirt in the bag.

 

[robgwisdala]

Hello

I recommend the Sanitaire S647 vacuum cleaner...They are $249.
3M Filtrete F&G bags are available for it...3M Filtrete bags keeps 99.97% of dust in the bag and also are HEPA Filtration bags.

 

[bisonian]

Filtrete F&G???

Where can I find those? I have a Kirby 519 with an F&G converter. I'd love to be able to use those.

 

[seamusuk]

Sebo...

Hey People

In my opinion Sebo make THE BEST upright cleaners on the market today (and their cylinder/cannisters are growing on me as well). I myself have both a X1 and a Felix Fun(I was fortunate enough to get the Felix from work as a staff deal . Both are excellent machines, although I prefer the Felix for ease of use and also love its orange/purple colour scheme!. Filtration in both is excellent with the Felix again maybe just having the edge.

If I was to buy another new upright, even if it was at the £230 retail it would be another Felix

Seamus

 

[seamusuk]

Another Felix fact...

I can only speak for the UK versions so maybe Tom could confirm it as a feature of the US versions?. The Felix also comes with an excellent soft bristles floor brush that replaces the powerhead. Its ideal for wood, laminate, tiles etc

 

[dysonman]

Felix floor brush

Yes, the American version DOES come with an extremely good bare floor brush, which replaces the power nozzle when you want to clean bare floors.

As a collector, one of the neat things about the Felix, is that it's just like operating a 1933 Air-Way "Chief" twin motor model (one of my all time favorite vacs). The neck swivels to get under furniture, and the bag is completely sanitary to change. Excellent suction, and filtration, complete a very durable, very easy to use cleaner that anyone with severe allergies would love to have.

While we sell the Felix (at retail) for much less than other shops (about $400), I feel it's a bargain at any price, Especially when you compare it to any other cleaner in that price range.

 

[dysonman]

Filtrete F & G

Bisonion:
You'll have to (yes, again) excuse Rob Gwisdala. I think he means well. But there are not (to my knowledge) any Filtrete bags for the F & G platform machines. There ARE "Filteraire" bags by Eureka, which are just micro filtration paper bags, not the cloth-like Filtrete by 3M.

Sanitaire cleaners might be great for commercial settings, but can you IMAGAINE the nightmare it would be for our lady with the allergies? She didn't want ANY dirt to come out of the bags, and the Sanitaire bags DO leak some dust, plus there is always dust when they are changed (dust by the bag connection). Rolling the spring up and down the bag's throat would NOT be what our lady was wanting. She would also not like the fact that the dirt would have to go through the fan, and the belt was vulnerable to damage from dirt paticles that have the be ground up by the fan (like throwing pennies
down the garbage disposer).

 

[swingette]

i have some *3M* bags for Eureka F&G. im almost sure they are discontinued. they have no dirt tube, simply a cardboard face with an oval opening. the opening is located at the bottom fourth of the bag and seals onto the fill tube with a membrane. i was very hopefull about them when i used one in the *retrovac* in st louis. after the test, i found some dirt had leaked around the membrane and the seams had leaked in more than one spot. maybe thats why they were discontinued? the *Filteraire* bags offered about ten years ago, red package IIRC, were excellent. better than the current ones and the Mirco-lined brand. for me, the 7 amp motor is too strong for the plastic fan and stretch belt.

 

[tommymilan]

another comment

Hello! I own a few Sebo machines in my collection, starting from the very first twin motor upright they produced in 1979.I really love my automatic X3 because it has great suction, single motor design, self adjusting nozzle and on board tools. All you have to do is turn the swithch on and start vacuuming, it does all by itself: It adjust the nozzle at the proper height for any type of carpeting and lowers it for bare floors (there's a rubber seal behind the brushroll thet prevents small objects from being proyected backward by the brushroll) and the on board tools are good enough for cleaning in crevices and upholsteries, or in narrow places in general. Adding the extension hose and another wand you can use it for cleaning almost everything and everywhere. There's also a good mini turbo tool for stairs and upholsteries that works fine, and the dusting tools are excellent in shape and quality.
I own the model x3 because I use it for daily cleaning of a large white-carpeted area, but for average areas the X2 would be the best choice, als because the L shaped nozzle (wider than that on model x1)makes the cleaning job much faster.
I love the way the bags are sealed and replaced. The combined hepa/charcoal filter ensures that only clean air is released.
Grat deal, in my opinion.
Tommy

 

[talktotravis]

Sebo

Tommy in Milan--I would love to see a picture of the 1979 Sebo you have if you get a chance to post it. Probably the earliest one I have seen here in the States was a Windsor back in the early 90's.

 

[tommymilan]

sebo

Hi, Sebo is the name of the earliest twin motor machine designed by mr Stein, a German engineer who had been working for the Vorwerk company and decided to open a firm on its own.
Windsor is the name of the importer of this vacuum cleaner into the USA, not of the factory who produce it.
Sorma and Karcher are two other brands of cleaning equipment whom Stein&co sold machines to in special brand colours but with the same features as the original sebo machines.
tO TALKTOTRAVIS:
i'LL TAKE A PICTURE OF IT AS SOON AS i VISIT MY MTHERS HOUSE WHERE MY COLLECTION IS.
GREETINGS, TOMMY

 

[sudsmaster]

I'm wondering if getting rid of all carpet and going with hard flooring (wood or tile) would be the healthiest all around.

You could still use a vacuum, but this would help eliminate the dust/mites that all carpets harbor, no matter how good the vacuum cleaner.

 

[charmedimsure]

UPDATE!!!!!!!

After all of your wonderful advice, I have great news! Shocking news!

Before contacting this forum, I had already been shopping around: I either looked at or considered the Hoover WindTunnel, Riccar, the Sanitaire (but worried about the cloth bag eventually not being conducive to my health), eliminated the Dyson and Oreck as they were outside of my budget and had never heard of or seen the Sebo in any of the shops I visited.

After so many Sebo Felix recommendations from your responses, I felt inclined to go to Craig's List. I entered the words: UPRIGHT VACUUM in search and only ONE single entry appeared in the entire Puget Sound area of Washington State: A brand new Sebo Felix for $250!

I called the seller, went to his house, VACUUMED around his house with the Sebo and purchased it with warranty, attachments and two boxes of bags. The seller has been selling the Rainbow Vacuums for 20-some years and took the new Sebo in trade - it's a long story.

This Sebo is the best vacuum for carpets I have had thus far, and I have had many. There is one negative: it is heavier than I would prefer, but I purchased it because of its ability to clean, its sturdiness, its lack of detectable exhaust, its ability to manuever so easily, vacuum close to the edges and fit easily under furniture. It "feels" and behaves like a very high-quality machine. For the price, I feel that I could not have done better.

Someday, when I have recovered my health, I will have my own house again and I will have wood floors so that I do not have to have my carpet cleaned every six months.

Thanks again to all who shared!

 

[compactc9]

You stole it!!!!

That is a EXCELLENT price, a very very good deal. And I am glad you are happy with it.

Just out of curiousity, which model/olor did you get?

 

[tommymilan]

Sebo 1979 for Travis

This must be the first sebo upright in the wide track version.
The following versions had an electronic brushroll control with red and green lights while this had a sort of mechanic device that in case of brushroll blockage switched the powernozzle motor off. Absolutely no brush wear control;-)
I love the red/white color scheme!
tommy

 

[tommymilan]

other shot

 

[tommymilan]

side

 

[tommymilan]

bottom