Are canister vacuums in terminal decline?

[electromatik]

As a person who really loves canister machines, I have been surprised when shopping around. It seems many manufacturers are stripping down their lineups and offering fewer features and models than ever before. It is getting harder and harder to find a company that makes machines with all the high-end features. I want the convenience features but they are not offered much anymore.

Some examples include:
*Tacony has discontinued all the full size models and now offers no machine with full handle controls for motor and motor speed.
*Sebo offers no models with headlight, no power nozzle control on handle, and no parking slot for power nozzle.
*Miele offers no parking slot for power nozzle, ludicrous tools, and short hoses/cords.

It seems our choices for true high-end machines are getting slimmer and slimmer.

 

[dysonman1]

Less than 5% of all vacuums sold in the USA are canisters. However, worldwide the number of canisters is more than 90% of all sales. Most of the world has no carpet, or very little.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Yep, definitely. Even more so in the big box brands. Try going into Walmart, Target or Bed Bath and Beyond and find a canister. You might find one, tiny bagless model amidst the uprights.

It's sad, and I know everyone says "Sears is not on my radar anymore, blah blah" but if you want a store where you can find a canister that's not a tiny bagless, and has controls on the handle, Sears is where you will still find it.

 

[gregvacs28]

Most vacuum store


I knew as a child have closed. The ones that are still open don't look the same. They don't have any used vacuums for sale any more. Most stuff they do have is an upright. Their money is made selling bags and belts and a making a slim margin on throw-away vac.

Then there is market saturation.

I wonder though, if central vacuums are taking up some of the canister sales volume.

 

[justjunque]

Honestly, I rarely even look at the new offerings when I go to a store.
I stopped briefly at the Aerus booth at our New England states fair that's currently going on.
Didn't really look at the new ones, although they do look nice.
And I like that there's still brand new models that are nearly identical to my Epic 6500, and Ambassador III.
I chatted briefly with one of the reps about the older machines.
He seemed somewhat amused by the fact that I have four Electroluxes, and asked, jokingly, if I was starting a museum.
He did seem pretty knowledgeable about the timeline of E-lux models.

Since we have no carpet, and only a few area rugs, I use in rotation, one of the three working E-luxes, or the Hoover Portable.
If I'm feeling like a little variety, I'll pull out a Hoover Convertible to use on the area rugs.

I need to make that decision soon actually.
The wife is sick in bed today, so I'm currently in the process of doing a bunch of laundry, and vacuuming needs to happen.
The weather is in the 60s right now, with low humidity, and a breeze.
So the air conditioners are getting a much needed break, and the windows are open.
Perfect cleaning weather!

Barry

 

[n0oxy]

canisters

I'm also a big canister person, I actually don't like uprights. I like to use a pull around canister, central vacuum or backpack.
It's actually surprising that canisters are not more popular here. They are really more flexible than uprights. With a power nozzle canister you can clean your carpets as good as an upright and easily switch over to cleaning hard floors or above the floors. And there are so many attachments that you can add even if they did not come with it. Most uprights simply do not have those capabilities.
I think the reason Tacony discontinued their full sized canisters is because the Prima and Wonder fill the canister market. They are available as a straight suction model or with a few different power nozzles. It's a good thing that the controls are not in the hose, that's just more circuit boards that can fail and it's really not necessary.
If you want a good canister now you would need to consider Tacony, Miele, Sebo, or Aerus. Electrolux also makes the ultra one canisters which are very good. And let's not forget the Numatic line. Good canisters are available but you won't find them in your big box store, you will have to get them on line or through a vacuum dealer.
I'm also a big fan of central vacuums, especially using them free standing without pipes, very powerful, and let's not forget the backpacks, you can clean really fast with those.
Mike

 

[completenutt]

What's old is new again.

I hope canisters to regain their market share here someday, perhaps someday sooner than later. 


 


I work in property management and most all renovations everyone is doing include removing wall to wall carpeting and putting in laminate or wood type planking (it's new, not my favorite as it's a faux wood appearance/textured vinyl).  Wood or wood type flooring is more popular now, and many people believe not only is it easier to keep clean but lowers general toxins in the air.. formaldehyde, etc.


 


So maybe over time people will rediscover the efficiency of using a canister for cleaning both hard and soft surfaces.  I agree that they are more easily used when switching out tools on the fly to keep cleaning furniture, etc. and are less tippy than an upright when doing so.


 


Hopefully production and design will not have regressed so much that we are left with machines that are not even as advanced as today's plasticrap models.. which by the way, I've determined are part of all industries' planned obsolescence to encourage future sales of most appliance types.   It is a shame, but thankfully our beloved vintage vacs will still be going strong for decades to come and we can rely on enjoying those machines!

 

[fan-of-fans]

I think part of it is people don't vacuum as often or thoroughly these days. It's a hassle and they just use Swiffers on those hard floor surfaces instead of getting out a vacuum.

While older canisters boasted full attachment sets to clean floors to furniture, most people today don't clean house like that anymore. They might get out the vacuum to clean under the refrigerator or vacuum a rug, but they aren't going to use it to clean table tops, lampshades, etc. They don't even think about it that way. If they need to dust they use a rag or the Swiffer and spread the dust around instead.

Of course they will still buy one of those bagless uprights as long as it has a bare floor shut off, even if it isn't all that practical to have in a house with all hard floors.

All of the vacuum shops here closed 15+ years ago. There's no where to go to get a Miele or anything like that, I doubt anyone has anything that nice, unless it's a Kirby or maybe an Aerus. If you want a fancier canister you have to go to the appliance store and get an Oreck one or go to Sears and get a Kenmore. That's about all there is. If you go anywhere else you might see a bagless Bissell straight suction and that's all.

 

[dysonman1]

As someone who repairs vacuums for a living (in addition to selling them and demonstrating them), I prefer canisters that do NOT have the controls in the handle. I'm NOT a fan of PC Boards, which are required if you have controls in the handle of the hose. I love the full size attachments on the Riccar Prima. That machine was built to run for a long time.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Our family used uprights, primarily. (Hoovers, of course)

However, a few are canister fans, and own mostly Constellations, Portables, and the like.
Although, my sister is a huge fan of canisters, she still has her first "Dimension". It naturally still works at peak performance. She's never experienced any kind of trouble with her appliance as she, like the rest of us, takes care of her vacuum.
She always liked the power nozzle. It saved her from hoing, scrubbing, etc, freeing her from, say, suffering from carpal tunnel. After she vacuums, she has free time to enjoy the nice weather, say, enjoying her swing, porch or yard.
Of course, she, too, is not one to bash any other makes. She's far too refined for that.

 

[vacuumdevil]

not worldwide.

Canister vacuums dominate the worldwide Market.
Tacony dealers should not be an example of anything the vacuum industry is doing as a whole.
You do not need a parking slot for a powerhead that stays up by itself.

I would agree with you since the 1980a USA canister sales have been in a decline.
But then you see companies like shark repackaging canisters as uprights.

I will tell you canisters bringing a lot of business to Independent retail.

 

[tolivac]

Manufactured or engineered floors can contribute MORE formaldehyde into the home environment than carpet!!So you may be better off with the carpet or solid,REAL wood flooring.Lumber Liquidators is facing lawsuits on the effects of the engineered floors they sell.A bonus with hardwood or other solid wood floors-they can be refinished a few times before needing to be replaced.Synthetic,engineered floors CANNOT be refineshed and end up in the landfill.Carpet can last longer than those,too.

 

[completenutt]

Agreed, Rex! Real wood materials are better for many reasons

Hope you survived Florence okay.  Best wishes.

 

[gregvacs28]

carpet vs vynil or laminate


good points about the petroleum off-gassing.
Carpet and pad is about an 1 1/2" of pure petroleum products woven or glued together. Older stuff may have had asbestos in it.

Laminate or vynil is essentially the same thickness but there is foam underlayment then compressed and glued particle board and on top that is plastic.

If it's vvynil floor there is the particle board or plywood underlayment, then glue, then pure petroleum products with a hard surface.

Even "real" 3/4" t&G oak, maple, walnut, pine, or other wood floor should be sealed. And what is it finished with? It's suggested to use several layers of a petroleum based (and stinky) sealer.

I know it's wrong but I love me some traditional 80s plush carpeting with a dense rebond pad. Also those shiny 12' wide vynil floors of the 90s in a white or off-white pattern. (No, you really can't find them much anymore)
I'm guilty.

This is another reason I love central vacuum. It sucks up the chemical off gassing and pumps the stink outside with the fine dust. People don't see the chemicals and thus don't think about that. They don't realize a vented vacuum can remove that too. A (vented) Central vacuum acts as an exhaust fan.

 

[tolivac]

I and my house survived just fine-think we dodged the bullet on this one-if it hit where it was originally predicted-then I would have had a harder time.
Vinyl flooring isn't so bad since it doesn't outgas as bad as the formadehyde based coverings.The finish for wooden floors isn't considered hazardous after its dry.Keep in mind not all central vacuums are vented.Those that use HEPA style bags and filters typically are not vented since they don't have fine dust in their exhaust.Also the toxic floors emit the gas wether the vacuum cleaner is on or not.Remember a period of time long ago when asbestos tile was removed with a floor sander equipped with like 25-36 grit sanding belts-the bags on those didn't filter the asbestos.Now the tile is scraped up intact with a motorized floor scraper.A floor contractor used one here at work.Was sort of fun to use and safer for the tile removal than a floor sander-grinder.Now floor sanders have truckmounted dust bins and filters so the dust is sucked out of the house or building-a hose goes to the output of the sander.also the inside of the building is then largely dust free-so the contactor doesn't have to remove or cover furniture.The suction fan is run by a PTO from the trucks engine or a separate engine.The giant bag is disposable and taken to the landfill.

 

[n0oxy]

floors

My apartment is all hard wood floors, not sure of the type of wood, it was replaced in 2001, if I was offered the option to have carpet installed I would say no thanks, even though I am well equiped to clean it, I have just about every power nozzle that is available and I use those to clean my area rugs outside the door. I have a variety of hard floor tools that I use with my canisters, backpacks or free standing central vacuum units. To try to clean that with an upright would be difficult at best which is why I much prefer a canister cleaner of some type. The only upright I know of that is well equiped to clean hard floors is the Sebo Felix because you can remove the power nozzle and attach a hard floor brush just like a canister. Other than that, a canister would probably clean circles around an upright on hard floors.
Hey Rex, are you enjoying your Drainvac Atomik? I used mine yesterday, it really is an awesome little machine. I would love to know how they got that strong of a motor in to a vacuum unit of that size. I think Drainvac is the only central vacuum company that uses Domel motors instead of Ametek.
Mike

 

[fan-of-fans]

My house has both tile floors and carpet. I use the uprights on the carpet and the canisters on the tile or carpet if they have power nozzles. I would have to have at least a large area rug in my house so I could put my uprights to use. Otherwise I couldn't use them. I don't like using an upright on tile even if the brush is off because they don't have bristles to sweep up the dust and they seem heavier to push with the brush off.

 

[tolivac]

Mike:The Drainvac is doing fine-filled up one of the bags--just threw it out!Taping the zipper prevents any chance of it opening while the vacuum is running.Will check with them if they have bags that don't have zippers.The machine works WELL with a Volt powernozzle.My most frequently used powernozzle.When you look into the exhaust port on the Dranvac you will see the Domel motor takes up most of the space inside the machine!Just that-like a jet fighter plane-the engine takes up most of the fuselage .

 

[electromatik]

Good convo… It looks like manufacturers focus mostly on uprights these days. Canisters are seemingly withering on the vine.

It seems like we've now reached a time when the dominance of uprights is just about total.