Beginning to wonder.

[brboy2014]

Now I know there are several people out there, who love change, and new designs.

I am young, and I like change, but not... "too much" change.

I'm noticing how Carpet cleaners (bissell) and vacuums, are getting big bulky, and it's like piling plastic up on an old design.

I like traditional vacuums, hoover elites, eureka 1934's, what I was raised around.

Anyone else share this opinion?

 

[electromatik]

To a certain degree I am in agreement. I love change and technology but not just for the sake of it alone. I think technological advancement on a vacuum should be functional and not gimmicky. For example, those "dirt sensors" some are putting on thier machines. That's an example of something useless to me. They don't tell you how clean your carpet is, they tell you whether or not the machine is picking dirt up. Dirt may remain in the carpet even if a vacuum isn't picking it up. I like technologies that allow greater use and easier use. I like making the bag change process simple. I like improved tools that actually make the cleaning process easier and shorter. I like adjustable suction and blower speeds. I like HEPA filtration. Those are examples of advancements that help make vacuuming quicker, easier, and better to me. In thier quest to move with the times, many low cost vacuums are adding "technologies" that aren't doing any of the above, but are rather gimmicks to make you THINK they are higher quality when they are not.

 

[caligula]

Hi brboy2014

I was born in September of 1950, and freely admit to being an old sitck in the mud.

I'm perhaps the last man on earth who has no desire to text, tweet, or go on facebook. I like to read books, not a kindle, you can't write notes on the bottom one of those. My music is from the 40's, 50's and 60's! I plead guilty, I'm a gay man who loves Broadway show tunes. As for my vacuum cleaners, they're from the middle ages. My standard is an Electrolux model LX, and due to it's age, I'm about to retire my Kirby 517 because I found someone in the club with a Kirby Classic 111 that I just can't pass up.

So there you have it a man with his head and heart in the 1950's and happy to be there, so, in answer to your questionis no, I don't like change.

 

[kirbyultimateg]

I love traditional vacuum cleaners such as Sanitaire/Eureka F&G uprights, Hoover Convertible/Decade/Elite/Legacy/Concept/Innovation uprights, Royal All Metal uprights, Kirby uprights!

 

[eurekaprince]

I have to agree with you. The added bulk on many contemporary vacs has a lot to do with the desire to offer bagless machines. To create a bagless vac that uses Dyson-like cyclonic physics to separate dirt from air, you need circular plastic containers that have enough space to allow the physics to do the work. These dirt containers are the primary causes for the increased bulkiness of both bagless canisters and uprights.

Dyson seems to have gone for the "visible guts" aesthetic which puts on show the engineering and the plumbing needed for their bagless vacs. In the history of modern architecture, the famous Pompidou Centre in Paris shocked modern designers by rebelling against the standard modern trend of "hiding" all the mechanics of a building. It was as if the designer turned the building inside-out so that all it's structural and mechanical and electrical systems are visible to those inside and outside the art centre. The Dyson bagless vacs inspired an entire generation of Pompidou Centre bagless vacs - from bulky LG Kompressor to the Eureka Airspeed.

Added to this development in vacuum design was the arrival of the Regina Housekeeper. This vac gave us the first upright with on-board tools. So now most vacmakers wanted a way to store everything but the kitchen sink on board these uprights. The worst culprit of this "carry all" upright (I think) were some of Eureka's bagless uprights that had not only the standard on-board array of tools, but also featured an onboard feather duster with it's own cyclonic bin PLUS an on-board mini turbo tool. I always laugh when I see videoclips of someone pushing around one of these monsters!

Compare these monster vacs with a simple bagged carpet cleaning upright like the Hoover Lightweight Platinum. Or even the sleek multifunctional bagged Miele S7 uprights. I would much rather clean carpets with one of these sleek uprights, than something like the LG Kompressor or that Monster Hoover Z vac!

 

[thermokid]

Caligula (Alex)

I agree with you. I feel exactly the way you feel.. I thought I was older then you, but to my surprise you are older then me.Because of my age It's no wonder I like old stuff and not this plastic want to be a vacuums. Dan

 

[georgect]

I love change...but...

ONLY for the better.
Otherwise, what's the point.
I hate change just for the sake of changing.

Web sites that change unnecessarily get on my nerves.
I wont visit www.wunderground.com any more because I just don't like what they did to it.
The same with www.billboard.com (it's a disaster).

Oh and don't get me stared on Windows 8 and "Surface".
If you are going to make changes...make sure you add MORE features not take some away.

But if you're going to change an appliance then you better add more features (safety and usability).

 

[nycwriter]

Hey Alex!

I'm with you.

I'm a bit younger than you, but as a child of the '70s, my heart remains there.

I feel like I was on the tail end of the "good ole days" before the world pretty much went to shit in the '80s and beyond:

-- U.S. factories closing en masse
-- Consumer products turn from steel to cheap-ass plastic
-- The rise of factory farming and chemicals in our food
-- The corporatization of medicine
-- Reagan's ilk killing the "pension" and inventing its joke of a replacement, the 401(k)
-- The rise of corporate M&A (mergers and acquisitions), leading to the thinning of the American workforce and the critical weakening of unions
-- The start of the vast income redistribution from the Middle Class to the top 1%
-- The rise of conspicuous consuption
-- The rise of economic Darwinism and the Me Generation's "greed is good" mantra
-- The slow death of the middle class, and the ability for middle class families to exist on ONE income.
-- The death of color and style in everything from clothes to consumer products like vacuums and cars.
-- Tecnology enabling Big Brother to go digital and encroach into every aspect of our lives, ranging from monitoring our financial transactions (and establishing a biased and skewed rating system that even dictates whether we can secure employment!) to monitoring our comings and goings, including being able to remotely control our automobiles

Just to name a few things.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

A child of the 1960s and 70s here too

I'm noticing that a lot of the "newer than new' vacuums weigh as much as the metal ones. They are also very bulky. But, a cleaner that'll meet the curb is a terrible waste.


  Just look at blenders, irons, toasters, etc with "reputable" names.  So much of it is garbage. When we consider how hard people worked in the factories that made all the vintage stuff...... the pride that went into it all.  It's a shame, indeed.

 

[kirbyultimateg]

IMHO, I wish big box stores would sell dirty fan uprights just like they did years ago! I am tired of big box stores selling clean fan uprights! Nothing beats a dirty fan upright for cleaning carpets/rugs! I am off of my soapbox!

 

[sebo_fan]

Actually, despite the extra bulk that modern uprights (and canisters infact when I think about it) bring, they're actually lighter than the classic vacuums. Now, its a double edged sword having a ligher upright because we all know that the classics are built to last, even though vintage ones seldom have the extra hose attachments built on.

I'm not sure in the U.S but the U.K certainly seems to be seeing a lot of smaller Chinese built uprights from Vax /Dirt Devil U.S rather than the opposite. The largest, bulkiest modern uprights I've seen come from Bissell and Samsung - but when I lift them in the shops they're not that heavy.

 

[stricklybojack]

Let us put a face on what we're talking about...

aaah there we go...& let me add i bet this monster weighs vastly more than one of my Royal all metals. Sanitaires too are not that heavy compared to some of these plastic monsters.

 

[eurekaprince]

Haha!!! Good one, Robert!!! . That would have scared the living daylights out of me had I encountered it at 4 years old!

The best way to illustrate the bulkiness of the newer bagless vacs is looking at them from the side. Then compare it to a side view of an Oreck or a Miele S7 or even a Dial-a-Matic or a 1980's Eureka Ultra Upright.

When you see these promo pics of a svelt young female model pushing one these bulky bagless monster vacs, you have to laugh....

 

[aeoliandave]

These new ones don't even go to the trouble of having an internal cordwinder even though there is ample room in the carcass for one.


 


The reason, of course, is the cheap stiff vinyl jacketed power cord which does not coil easily...until is warms up while running the vacuum on high amps - a little easier to re-wrap in the cord hooks when warm but then it cools and sets in great stiff loops. (that's why contemporary uprights have a 'unlocking' swivel upper guide to allow the stiff coils to fall off the vacuum hook.


 


Check out the relative softness and flexibility on a current quality Kenmore canister, for instance.


 


Oh for the return of rubber or neoprene coated power cords...


Even manual wind cords from the 50s and 60s were supple enough to coil effortlessly and tangle-free. These new cheap cords fight you every step of the way...


 


Dave

 

[sebo_fan]

At least power cords now are lighter though and slimmer so that they don't get stuck under doors - usually. Miele and SEBO add thicker cords for better durability and they often get stuck, annoyingly.

I would disagree as far as suggesting the mechanics of an upright running hot all the time twists up cables - not with every brand. I had a Dirt Devil compact upright (which is still in the UK) that came with an auto cord rewind. You could see the round bezel at the back that carried the cord. Trouble is the cord was too short - but I did appreciate the idea at the time.

Vax have a few uprights with cord rewinds now (TTi).

Also the swivel upright hook is one function that I have on my 1970's Hoover Junior Deluxe/Compact. It isn't a hot running upright but it makes it easier to unravel the cord in a hurry.

 

[jmurray01]

I hate change - simple as that.

That isn't to say I don't like contemporary vacuums or am not glad they were made, but I would love it for Hoover to bring back a domestic upright in either Senior or Junior style.

Easy to use and little to go wrong.

 

[nycwriter]

Agreed, Jamie, but ...

... the cat's out of the bag.

Now that America is used to uprights with the "direct air" design rather than the Hoover Convertible's "dirty fan" design, I'm afraid there's just no going back.

Yes, they are still superior RUG cleaners. But the suction in the attachment hoses are downright anemic, and very few consumers are willing to pay good money for not one but TWO vacuums: one for good performance on the rugs, the other for good performance with the hose attachments.

People want to pay no more than about $300, and they want it in ONE vacuum, regardless of whether it's a cheap, bulky, screaming plastic nightmare.

 

[kirbyultimateg]

Honestly, I wish the market would go back to what it was in 1990. They had about 80% dirty fan uprights and had about 20% clean fan uprights. Dirty fan uprights clean carpets/rugs much better than clean fan uprights/PN canisters. Nothing beats a dirty fan upright for cleaning carpets/rugs!

 

[sebo_fan]

Sadly I wish the UK was like the US. I wish we had at least the opportunity to buy the classic uprights and canisters/cylinders that the US have, let alone far more modern products that we don't get a chance to have.

As a coffee drinker and ex-barista I was amazed that the US domestic market have filter coffee machines that can GRIND the beans at the same time as well produce a hot cup. We have simpler filter coffee machines where you have to use mass brand coffee powder and make do with a useless thermostatic fixed low temperature drip plate that makes filter coffee lukewarm.

Oh I do have a grinder that works extremely well, but then having to go through the bother of then grinding it down to powder, then transferring it to a filter coffee maker - its a bit of a faff as well as being a bit of a mess.

However, sometimes there are products that appear that don't do anything different to brands and products we already have.

For example, Kitchenaid finally arrived in the UK in the late 1990s; now everyone has a Kitchenaid mixer instead of Kenwood. Kenwood got so upset that they released their own copy version, the K-Mix range and Patisserie range.

I still prefer my Chef - its a far lighter appliance than the Kitchenaid mixers and at half the price with more power, more attachments and better performance. Everyone loves the retro look of the Kitchenaid mixers and without a doubt I'd agree, but when it comes to function, it has to be Kenwood all the way for me. It is the best cost effective answer, but a lot of product reviews from KA mixer buyers tend to just buy them for the looks and very little use.