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hooverlux

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I was just wondering what everyone's view on this is.

Why are American vacuum cleaners so big and over the top, full of needless gismos and gadgets, but also heavy, clunky and inconvenient.

I notice that our vacuums in the UK are designed somewhat simpler, easier to use and are not as big and heavy, making it easier to manoeuvre and use.

So my question to American collectors here: Do you enjoy using vacuums that are big, heavy, loud and cumbersome to use? I just think it seems rather strange.

A. ;)
 
american vacuums

Actually, I think some of the best vacuums come frm Germany and Italy, from Miele, Sebo and Lindhaus. Tacony does make the Riccar and Simplicity vacuums here, at least the uprights, and they are not that loud. On the other hand, there are certain brands I avoid, namely Hoover, Eureka, Dirt Devil, etc. At oone time these brands were very good quality, but in recent years, the quality off these brands is average at best.
 
Just compare almost any vacuum of the upright variety to a British or European upright, you will see what I mean, I do know of American vacs and have used many myself and own a number of American machine.

My question wasn't supposed to be insulting but rather curious, and it goes without saying that they are either REALLY tall or REALLY wide...Kirby, Oreck, Hoover, Sanitare, Royal, Eureka. Many of the uprights in these categories fit thag description.

Now we do have some large cleaners in the UK such as Miele and some Dyson uprights but most are just your average size, 12"width lightish weight cleaners that are generally easier to use.

Also the amount of soft bag vacs in the US in this day and age still astounds me, I love them, but they are rather outdated for todays market.
 
American homes are larger than European homes, with much different types of carpets. There certainly needs to be a somewhat larger capacity to a vacuum to compensate for the larger quantity of dirt we have. American vacuums, like Kirby for example, are designed to clean a LOT of carpet at once, one reason they are so wide.

Performance is another thing that American brands like Rainbow and Maytag and Simplity (as well as Aerus Electrolux) bring to the table. These machines also have high quality (as well as large size) dusting tools.
 
I guess you are not one to over generalize, but "heavier, Needless gizmos"  I am not sure if this was genuine curiosity, or a means to say "We're better than you"  in any case you may have your facts of limited knowledge misinterpreted.


 


Example:


How heavy is one of those British Dysons?  Amazon.com list weight as 27.1 LBS.  and an American Made Kirby Avilar 23.5lbs. 


 


Neumatic Henry w/o power nozzle 25.4


Filter Queen 360 w/power nozzle 30.0


 


 


When you say Gizmo, are you meaning attachments, electronic controls, lights?   Define. 


 


 


Loud?  Traditionally soft bag direct air machines have a higher noise level than a sealed system, but there are some sealed systems that are pretty roaring as well.  Define?


 


Simple, easier to use.  Dude, just read the instructions, or watch the video. 


 


Marcus/Paul is this you again? 

[this post was last edited: 3/11/2016-12:06]
 
Most Americans enjoy the high quality American made upright and canister vacuums that are available to them. Most of our upright vacuums are slightly larger because the typical American home is larger and more spacious than the typical European home, therefore our floor nozzles are wider so that it will take less time to clean those larger and more spacious rooms. This also tends to make the vacuum somewhat heavier.


 


Soft bags are typically used on our 'Direct Air" or "Fan First" vacuums because the dirt is blown into the bag instead of being sucked into it. It is a well known fact that Direct Air vacuums are much better Deep Cleaners than Bypass Air cleaners because they have a lot more Airflow. <span style="font-size: 12pt;">The external soft bags on these machines  may look outdated, but the fact is that they are much better cleaners.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Americans typically have thicker, more plush carpets than in Britain or Europe so there is a greater need for these more powerful Direct Air vacuums. </span>


 


Many Americans prefer a well built quality machine such as the Riccar, Royal or Kirby vacuums and are willing to pay more to get one. Kirby is heavy because it is made of high quality aircraft grade Aluminum but with Tech Drive 90% of the effort needed to push and pull the machine is eliminated. A 23 lb. Kirby with Tech Drive is significantly easier to push and pull than the 8 lb. Oreck vacuum.


 


 
 
Umm

<span style="font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">I agree the way the question was put across was quite blunt. And could come across to some as stirring trouble...</span>


 


<span style="font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">Quite a few vacs we've had in the UK arn't exactly light and small. The Vax Mach 5/6/7 was big,bulky, In fact quite a few of their machines was bulky. So was a LG upright(I forget the model), The Bissell lift off and Electrolux's the power of red was big bulky and heavy. Not to metion the DC07. The Hoover Turbomaster was big, bulky and on the loud side as well and yet collector's over here in the UK love them on the whole and they sold in reasonable numbers at the time. I'm sure I could think of other examples.
</span>


 


<span style="font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">Of course allot of the US canisters cleaners look bulkier than the one over here in the UK as allot of the time they have power heads and electrified hoses where over here in the UK we tend not too.
</span>


 


<span style="font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">Also how people see weight and size are personal as well. I sold a new Sebo Felix to a lady the other month and she had it 3/4 week and tried to return it because she found it to heavy to use. She wasn't old mid to late 50s for a guess.</span>


 


<span style="font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">Seeing soft bagged vacuums as "outdated" is more a marketing/image thing than based in fact.</span>


<span style="font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">People see tv adverts and magazines a believe what ever their told. The next thing to be made to be seen as out dated will be the electrical cord. Not that it is... but that's the way companies like G tech etc are selling the idea.</span>


 


<span style="font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">James
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They are classics

from a time when steel was used more than plastic.
Like our classic cars, they are bulky, heavy, and inefficient, but they sure look nice all shiny and restored.
Personally, I miss my first large car. A used 1975 Chevy Impala custom coupe.
If you made a turn at over 12 mph, your passenger would be almost in your lap, and the front seat sat three in plenty of comfort.
It was an especially usefull feature on a date.
 
Hi

<span style="font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">Stan, Very true. I wasn't saying they are any where near the level of a corded vacuum cleaner.</span>


<span style="font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">I was just making the point that the tv adverts for them imly otherwise and plants the idea to the general public that the cord is a "issue" and "outdated" even though it isn't really.
</span>


 


<span style="font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">James
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Re heavy vacs

I agree somewhat, in the 50s and early 60s Royals and Kirbys were light and easy to handle,My 1958 Royal 601 is IMHO far better than the new Royals, it cleans fine and doesent need to dim the lights, A Kirby since 1969 has been WAYYY to big and bulky for my use, The self propelled ones are easy to use, but you still have to lift them out of the closet and carry them up and down stairs, Same for most canisters and tanks, a new Rainbow is a marvel of engineering,but its big, bulky and heavy,Tacony is building some very trim compact vacuums these days, but I wish someone would sell Henry vacs over here, I think I might like one, but I must admit also, I don't own a new vacuum, the newest thing I have is a Constellation made about 9 or so years ago, Then the next machines that would be newer would be a Silverado and a 84 Filter Queen, these I consider too new..LOL
 
I question the " REALLY tall" comment from Reply 3 and needless gizmos and gadgets from the introduction.

A very common feature on canister vacuums in the USA is the use of telescopic wands. Some uprights have the feature as well and it is nice. There is a big difference in a users ability to use a machine if you compare a 4 foot tall 10 year old compared to 6' 3" tall gentleman. I'm only 5' 7" myself and wouldn't mind being a little taller but even when using a standard set of non telescoping wands on a Kenmore canister vacuum with the bare floor brush I have found myself bending over unnecessarily due to the wand being so short and the angle of the included bare floor brush of that model being a little awkward compared to some other bare floor brushes on the market. That said a tall vacuum is good! I have not had an issue with uprights I've used or at least if I have, none currently come to mind.

As far as needless gizmos and gadgets-- I feel that most vacuums of today are stripped down from what they were years ago!! I miss a standard 4 piece attachment set that was stored on board the machine!! Now most vacuums have a combo tool! For some current model Hoovers it's a 3 in 1!! The dusting brush looks slightly larger than a tooth brush and I really can't imagine how long it would take to vacuum a vehicles dashboard, cieling fan blades or even do a simple baseboard quickly with that joke size of a tool!!!

Same deal with upholstery nozzles!! Many of the current upholstery nozzles are about 3" wide and have ZERO means of bristles, rubber fingers or otherwise that help to groom and remove pet hair or other lint from a surface. My older Hoover canister vacuum upholstery nozzles measure a 5" cleaning path. A significant difference in time to clean my 80" long reclining cloth upholstered sofa with a 5" tool that has rubber fingers for agitation compared to a 2.5" or 3" tool that almost looks like it's part of kids play set!!! Yes I know there are the mini turbine heads, but there are several upholstered surface or small woven door mats that do much better with straight suction upholstery tool that is compact and cleans the entire area without a thick housing impeding up to every edge and without a spinning brush grabbing a button or corner of sofa the wrong way.

In terms of cleaning width, I'll admit that the U.S. market has gone a little nutty with the number of 15" wide nozzle machines. Yes homes are bigger, and for many they're probably too big-- but that's another issue!! Regardless my preferred nozzle width is about 13.5". There are times when a 12" seems so small for certain areas and times when that 15" is just a few hairs too wide for space that I want to maneuver it into. My Hoover Quadraflex Powermatic nozzles and my newest Simplicity Verve nozzle both measure about 13.75" wide and to me that's like a perfect width. I do prefer a T shaped nozzle and perhaps in time Tacony's next power nozzle will feature that!

I do think it is unfortunate that the UK doesn't have much selection of power nozzle equipped canister vacuums. I've read comments in former threads of various UK members wishing there was greater selection of that. I don't care how low profile or thick a carpet is, my preferred method of cleaning it will always be with a rotating brush power nozzle. I have found that it cleans better, grooms it nice and the brush roll on a power nozzle creates that self propelled like feel that tremendously reduces the effort of pushing and pulling. The nozzles are wheeled and of a reasonable enough length and width, that my hand doesn't even have to be on the hose handle and that power nozzle will always maintain it's proper position with the rug-- granted certain models have issues of release pedal lifting the nozzle slightly off the floor when the handle is completely on the floor but you get my drift. With a good system the hand is more of a guide for steering and doesn't actually have to exert any pressure to properly balance and secure a nozzle to the rug like would be the case with a straight suction.

Cloth bag uprights have greatly dwindled. Aside from Oreck, Kirby, a couple models of Royal there are minimmal in the residential market. The commercial market still uses several for the fact of having shake out bags allowing a cleaning service or business to have a decent cleaning vacuum but not spend money on vacuum bags and not lose performance quick as with a small dirt cup machine that has a small filter. A small filter means small surface area so dust will clog off a machine significantly sooner. Likewise it will take a long time to clog pores on the large surface bag area of a Sanitaire SC886. Also with HEPA replacement bags, some enjoy that too so models like the Sanitaire SC888 come with that option rather than the shake out bag. Businesses don't get into detail often with crevices and it's rare to clean any sort of upholstered furniture so they just bother with a basic carpet performance machine. A spring suspended cloth bag can be bashed into filing cabinets better than a plastic case hard bag machine cause you know janitorial staff is always the most cautious and never in a hurry!! 
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[this post was last edited: 3/11/2016-13:44]
 
Well, what I guess I mean is, most look displeasing to the eye I suppose, like on many, nothing looks flush and well designed, just looks stook on as an after thought, lots of sticky out parts making the machine bulky.

I think American cleaners tend to be very good machines, just over sized.

When I say needless gizmos...Dirtfinder, self propelled, headlights and especially Kirbys, come with a whole host of tools that are somewhat useless in my opinion, but as an upright and suction cleaner, they are brilliant.

Even if I had lots of open carpet, a vacuum with a 15" nozzel would just be a chore to push and pull and make cleaning slower as it is not as nimble.

Yes, granted they are not all loud, that was a little exaggerated.

I see a lot of people have taken offence here, that wasn't the intention at all, I just wanted to get your views, do you find them too cumbersome in most cases even with a larger space?

A.
 
just a few "ideas"

I suppose they're bigger because houses are bigger. And soft bags are cheaper to produce?

I could slip in something else ere' that might get peoples knickers in a twist and quite honestly, I'm not in the mood to be faffing around with arguments again.
 
You call a headlight a gizmo? 


Let me tell you as a visually impaired person, a headlight is a lifesaver. 


 


Dirt finder could be a gizmo.  Just don't buy a vacuum with one, that is your privilege as a consumer.


 


Maybe you should eat better and work out so the chore of pushing a vacuum wouldn't be so taxing.  Maybe us Americans are just stronger, I don't know.


Lawrence Welk used to advertise Geritol for Iron Poor Blood, not sure if you can still get it, but you could talk to a doctor about something that might help.
 
Americans love their headlights, I just feel it is a rather pointless and gimmicky feature, it does not help you see better, who vacuums in the dark? Half the time a headlight is either not bright enough or doesn't even shine on the floor when the machine laid further back to the reclined position.

Nice to know I feel welcome btw!
 
Manuevering a 15" head is still a breeze.  Just covers more surface area at one time.  You have to make sure that the manufacturer of that machine produces sufficient air flow to properly cover the 15" width.     A standard walk behind lawn mower is 20 - 22" wide weighing in at around 90 pounds.  Compare to that to being able to maneuver a vacuum cleaner.  Some being 9 pounds, others around 25 pounds.  Consumers have the right to test and choose of various models from various manufacturers at various price ranges. 


 


Personally I love a headlight!!  I tend to vacuum more at night time after class or after work and not much during the day time.  I can shine enough light into the room or hallway to navigate a fair bit until I find the light switch or lamp for that room.  I can see under a bed when I vacuuming with a headlight or into a dark closet!


 


Dirt finders are an option.  Only a few select machines have them.  It's a marketing strategy.


 


Self Propelled is an option.  A standard Hoover Windtunnel Supreme upright with 15" cleaning path is not a hard machine to use at all!!!   But I guess if someone wants a machine that will provide the full backward stroke and forward stroke for them then there is a Self Propelled Windtunnel series. 


 


No vacuum is created equal or the same.  Over the years I've primarily liked Hoover but I would not buy every Hoover machine.  They've made plenty that didn't suit my interests in performance, function or design. 


 


Honestly the bulkiest household machine to me is a Dyson.  Several have a circumference of around 26"  They're not a flush design at all with various clips and disconnects all over them because they expect it to clog and jam, etc.  They're not American made and haven't been in the U.S. too long if you think about it!


 


You could probably say too that consumers are fussy!!  Some want no attachments on board and the machine lighter weight, some would rather attachments be on the back of the machine so that the sides are skinnier.  Some would prefer side mounted attachments so that the machine is a thinner complex for storage.  Some want attachment mounted on the wands or hose handle of the canister so they don't have to bend down to the covered tool storage and possibly have a smaller suction unit.  Consumers got tired of  manually winding cords and didn't mind the extra weight so cord winders are now found on more vacuums.  Some prefer a finger tip switch, some prefer a foot switch.  Manufacturers each almost have something of every variable taken into consideration...... 


 


Really it's just like ice cream.  While many prefer chocolate, I avoid it and would rather have Orange Swirl or Black Raspberry!!


 


If you want to talk about maneuver a bulky, wide area machine, you could do that too.  Just take on this commercial unit!  28" wide Hoover Conquest posted below for cleaning commercial areas. 


 


As far as American machine with all sorts of stuff that sticks out and isn't smooth, I'll just post a few vacuums below.  Please point out what you mean on them! 


-- Red Panasonic canister has a quick release system built into the wand so all the consumer has to do is step on the pedal with their foot and the power nozzle is detached, no wires to touch!  On the rear of that wand is the storage bracket to hang the wand set onto the canister bottom once canister is standing up. 


-- My 2 Hoover PowerMax canisters have a Hoover version of that wand storage bracket on the rear of their canister wands.  


-- My Simplicity Verve has an additional dusting brush combination tool attached to the back of the wand ad there is a different styled one under the tool lid.  I could remove this if I wanted to and just store the brush in the closet!!  I don't need to worry about the brush being on the rear of the wand due to the swivel design of the elbow on the power nozzle. 


-- Black Hoover Windtunnel Turbo Power 4200 upright has a carry handle built in above the bag door and the wands are side mounted for easy access and a slimmer front to rear build.

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Alex you really don't do yourself any favours.

Do you really need enlightening as to why American vacuums are larger? American homes are larger, as were their cars at one point.

Don't forget the Hoover Senior was originally the Convertible. A big seller in the UK, second to the smaller Hoover Junior, Lark in the U.S

By the way for those wondering, HooverLux is the new name for Alexhoovers94.
 
Nice to know I feel welcome btw!

You are welcome, it is just poor form to attack an entire nation over an opinion in which you express limited knowledge of.


 


For the record:


I appreciate the headlight on a vacuum--it doesn't illuminate the night but it will show a penny laying on the floor.


 


I also love my dishwasher, my electric dryer, my SUV, my self-cleaning oven, my microwave, my .38 special.  I enjoy a quarter pounder with cheese, and ketchup on my fries please.  I like my beer cold, my fish warm, and my coffee black.


 


 


 
 

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