An argument against Bagless

[sebo_fan]

Ironic though that we never really bothered with such things back in the day when the most of the UK were using dirty fan uprights and so forth. Run back to the 1970s and HEPA filters weren't really thought of on vacuums, let alone "high filter" dust bags. We've only become aware of HEPA and such things as a selling point both featured with bagless and bagged vacuums.

Yet at the same time, more children are born now with allergies and those susceptible to dust, through this generation of high filters on vacuums.

 

[eurekaprince]

Wouldn't it be neat to have a modified central vac system for apartment dwellers? It could perhaps exhaust its air through a hose connected to a window plate, kind of like some of those portable air conditioning devices..... Does this possibly exist?

 

[rainbowd4c]

In my opinion any vacuum with the proper care will last forever.  I'm sure that a lot of the old vacuum cleaners in some collections that have been taken care of are all original.  Or not. I'm 36 and one of the Electrolux vacuums that my grandmother had she got long before I was born and I was in my late teens before she upgraded to a new Electrolux.  My Rainbow I got brand new when I was 21 and it still runs like I bought it last week.  It all just depends on how people treat their vacuums.  And that goes with bagless or bagged.  My mom has finally figured this out and has gotten past the two year mark with her  Dyson.  

 

[nycwriter]

Apartment-wide central vac?

"Wouldn't it be neat to have a modified central vac system for apartment dwellers? It could perhaps exhaust its air through a hose connected to a window plate, kind of like some of those portable air conditioning devices..... Does this possibly exist?"

No.

And it never will.

As someone who runs a large (50+ units) apartment building, I can tell you that such a system cannot exist because there's no system with enough suction strength (even single-residence systems tend to be anemic in the farthest reaches of the house).

Also, it would be impossible to maintain, as most apartment dwellers (renters) would abuse the system as to render it damaged beyond repair. Never underestimate the ignorance and stupidity of renters (excuse me if I offend anyone here, but I'm speaking from my own experience as a landlord); they'd be sucking up everything from food leftovers to raw sewage.

 

[eurekaprince]

Matt,

I think you misunderstood: I meant a vac that condo owners or apartment renters could buy on their own, but would be designed to be wheeled over to a window to vent the exhaust. Kind of like the old dishwashers that could be wheeled over to a sink.

Imagine a powerful vac with a 50 foot hose that could be wheeled out of a closet (or maybe is hidden in a nice cabinet near the window), you connect an exhaust hose to the window then connect your 50 foot hose to the device and voila! You have an apartment vac that exhausts to the outside.

Just thinking outside the box here!

 

[mark40511]

Feather Lite?

Is that like Carpet Fresh? I've seen it and always wondered what it was. I know carpet fresh is nasty and gross and bad for a vacuum.

You want something in the bag that kills bacteria and keeps it from growing. I will have to admit bags start to smell stale in NO time and after a week turning a bagged vacuum on doesn't smell that great.......The odor be gone stuff works well and so does the Rainbow air freshener on a cotton ball. Both kill bacteria......

I still don't think anything smells as good as using a Rainbow though.

 

[blackheart]

Apartment central vac.

It could be done pretty easily as long as you find a unit that doesn't consume too much electricity and is fairly quiet. I think a drainvac S1007 would be very suitable due to it's small size high power and 58db rating while using 12.5 amps. The astrovac Sr-12 could also be used though it is a larger unit.

venting could be done with a piece of plywood lined with foam rubber you simply insert a bit of pipe through the wood to allow the air to flow out.

A 50 foot hose would be overkill in an apartment though when at my last apartment i was able to reach nearly everything with a "custom" 16 foot hose. the longer the hose the more airflow you'd lose.

Even a central though cannot keep out all allergens we must keep in mind that no home is completely sealed allergens will enter into the home all the time.

 

[nycwriter]

Apartment central vac ...

Wheeled over to the window to vent out the exhaust??

Here in New York City, I see at least three laws being broken right there alone.

I can't see any municipality allowing something like this.

 

[jade_angel]

That would be unlawful in NYC? Wow, that does somewhat surprise me, but then, I guess it would follow the same rules as dryer vents. Would it still be a problem if it were venting well-filtered air?

 

[thekirbylover]

no offence

but why are you posting this on a vacuum collectors forum, you can put all the facts out there and you can debate as much as you want but your never going to get a collector to change their mind on something

 

[beerad]

I have a solution

Take a Filter Queen , put it in a closet that is central in the apartment unit
Attach a non electric 30 ft hose and there you have your individual central vac.
I had this exact set up with my last two apartments. I found it worked well.
I also had a turbo Nozzel for carpets.

Filter queen does filter well, and it is kept stationary in the closet .
All you do is just pull out what ever length of hose you need for vacuuming, and then return it to the closet warped around the FQ when you are done

Empty the vac container once per month .

There you go!
What do you think of that solution?

 

[super-sweeper]

What do i think?

I think you've discovered an ingenious solution, Sir.

 

[pr-21]

They have a flush mounted vac .....

Garagevac.com has a flush mount that can be mounted in the house. Follow the link below. Can have a wall cut or put into a cabinet. I have the wall mount one in my garage with two 40 foot stretch hoses. They also sell a regular 30 ft central vac hose if you prefer.

When I wanted the two hoses connected, they warned me that it would deminish the suction if extented to 60 to 80 ft. I assured them I only wanted to reach all corners of my garage and would not be stretching the hoses at all. Works well this way and the hoses are easier to wrap around the unit.


PR-21[this post was last edited: 8/19/2013-18:46]

http://www.intervacdesign.com/

 

[eurekaprince]

Matt,

Does that mean you can't connect a portable air conditioner's hose to a window in NYC? There are many portable air conditioners offered now that sit on wheels on the floor and send the hot air out through a hose vented through a special window panel. See the example from Home Depot below.

If New Yorkers are allowed to use these machines, why wouldn't the city allow you to vent the exhaust from a vacuum out the window?

Just curious about the challenges of the concept (Tacony, are you reading this?)

http://m.homedepot.ca/product/productdetails.aspx?ProductId=838806&lang=EN

 

[nycwriter]

Brian ...

Air conditioners are one thing.

Vacuum units are something else. There are just far too many regulatory hurdles. And by the way, extremely few people in NYC have dryers in their apartments to begin with. Even fewer have them vented outside (those few lucky ones with dryers usually have the horribly inefficient non-vented type). Most buildings will not allow individual tenants to just punch holes into exterior walls for venting appliances. And venting a dryer out the kitchen window (the kitchen being the only logical place in NYC apartments for a dryer) is a fire code violation, since most kitchen windows are an egress out to a fire escape.

And by the way, those "portable" air conditioning units aren't very popular in NYC either for two reasons:

1) They are terribly inefficient
2) They are bulky and waste too much precious space

 

[eurekaprince]

Thanks for that response, Matt. I guess I was just trying to think of an innovative way to bring the exhaust benefits of a central vac to those of us living in multi-unit high-rises.....

 

[cb123]

You had better be most grateful that the city of New York has such draconian laws governing building codes. Giving the ineptitude of millions in such close quarters you would have a perfect conflagration which would raise the city to the ground - all mind you within a fortnight. The cost to lives and material would no doubt be staggering. Laundry lent makes good bandages, but it makes even better kindling. They don't mean no ill will, but if you give a moron any latitude they will burn you out every time!

 

[nycwriter]

So many of our laws and regulations ...

... here in New York City (and elsewhere) are intended to save "all" of us from the stupidity of "some" of us.

This is why it's illegal to barbeque on your balcony or do your own electrical wiring.

 

[rootcyclone]

Most people i know empty their bagless vacuum outside in the wheelie bin. With Dyson vacuums however, it's just a push of a button and the trap door at the bottom opens. Just close the lid on the bottom of it on the clean side. No mess, and easy. Clean and hygienic. Dyson started doing it on the DC07 and have been on many uprights, and now recently the cylinders too.

Bagged is ok, but is not as clean and as hygienic as you think to empty, especially if the bag is full up and bursting with dust.

 

[turbomaster1984]

but then Bagless is just as messy EVERYTIME as any burst bag could be once in a while.

clouds of dust as the dirt hits the bins surfaces, not to mention you have to go outside to do it even if its raining.
emptying the canister straight into the bin makes a right mess of the bin which then equals smells.

bagged is best yes.