Future of Vacuums/Vacuuming?

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mixman

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Feb 18, 2017
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Trying to think what the future of vacuuming will be in about 10, 20yrs?

I think the robotic vacuums will become more popular as the technology gets better and prices go lower. I also think the higher end companies like Miele, Sebo Aerus, Kirby and Tacony will have to innovate to stay relevant to the Sharks and Dysons. I think there still will be high end companies, but the market will be smaller, more of a niche market and some companies may not survive.

What do you think of the vacuum world future?
 
Mike

I agree with you. I can totally see how robotic vacuums will become more popular as the technology improves. The only thing really holding them back is they cannot clean as well as a regular upright, they can only be used for "maintenance" in between regular vacuuming. That will have to change if they want people to part with hundreds of dollars for convenience.

What I can see, though, is vacuums becoming more computerized & more digital. The innovation of dirt sensors & speed control is just the start. I am betting you will start to see sensors that will monitor optimize & help maintain consistent performance, warn the person operating the vacuum of the need to change bags, filters, belts, or indicating repairs or maintenance work is needed. It's also possible that the vacuum could even have sensors to monitor the condition of your carpets & indicate at certain intervals when carpet shampooing is needed, or even warn when your carpets are due to be removed & replaced & they are at the end of their lifespan.

Some things we will definitely see, though, is the expanded use of Switched Reluctance (S R) motors. That's a technology that is definitely overdue & has only been used on a couple of brands so far, notably Rainbow. Eliminating carbon dust emissions, making motors more reliable & extending the service life of exhaust HEPA Filters will be huge for the industry. I can also see HEPA Cloth bags will have improvements in filtration technology, as well as possibly seeing improvements to washable HEPA Filters.

Rob
 
Rob

I do agree that things will become more electronic with more sensors in the vacuums for maintenance, cleaning and optimal performance. This along with better cleaning heads for both bare floors and carpets. I think these changes will start with the high end vacuums and work their way down to the less expensive models over time. May even get Hepa sensors in vacuums too. I think the motors will have to change also. Not sure if it's the same thing but brushless motors have revolutionized the cordless tool industry, hopefully they can do the same for the vacuum industry too.
 
I think it will still be much the same as today to be honest. Shark and Dyson have been around now for over 10 years and have not killed off Miele, Sebo, Tacony, etc. Dyson's success in the U.S. has slackened and is not selling at such lofty levels anymore. Miele and the rest are innovating. Filtration, quality engineering, and quiet operation have become their primary engineering focus and marketing niche. As vacuums have become commodity items over the years, they have had to market themselves to those who demand a higher standard and those with higher incomes to remain relevant in the face of $99 vacuums at Walmart. Keeping in mind that Dysons and Sharks still cannot match those others in noise level and still don't have many of the features that people like (such as variable speed motors) they still have a market. Shark and Dyson are also decidedly not cheap either. Shark's prices have crept upward at an astonishing rate-the newest top of the line is $429.99. I also feel there will be a reverse on bagless as people recognize how much easier it is to throw away a bag and less messy it is.

I feel that the biggest challenge will be robots. If someone can come up with a robot that will actually vacuum like a full sized machine and also do it quietly, it might present a problem. However, I don't really see a robot being able to dust your TV, lampshades, blinds, coffee table, and vacuum your mattresses anytime soon-that would be truly an amazing engineering accomplishment, but would be prohibitively expensive. (And I actually hope this doesn't happen, because for people who love vacuums, this would take all the fun out of it.)
 
Like all appliances that we use a lot, trends are dictated by convenience and a price point. The plastic fantastic vacuums we have today new are a direct result of the mass population thinking vacs need to be cheap and light. Origin of manufacture is now a key element too. Until companies can figure out how to make China accountable for bad/indifferent quality products with no parts structure, you're going to continue to see more of the same. Even cheap vacs though once established will push their prices up....even if they are basically junk. Just a marketing ploy.


 


I think there will always be high-end vacs, but it's becoming a niche market....look at their advertising campaign and who they are marketing towards. Like expensive cars, wait till they are a bit used and buy for less than half of what they cost new.


 


Kevin
 
Yes, I do think Miele, Sebo and Tacony will still be around as there will always be a market for premium vacuums. The only question is.....if they do not innovate can they still sell well enough to not become niche brands in the vacuum world? I think among the premium brands Miele has the best shot at innovating because they have the most money for the r & d. As for Shark's pricing well I think they would love to get a shot at that premium market to start making higher margins.

Not sure about the world turning away from bagless is going to happen anytime soon. Remember Miele is actually selling a bagless canister now in Europe. I am sure they are watching the sales on this to determine if they will sell more models of bagless vacs. Also, remember that only those companies that are selling bagless do any advertising. So the general public only gets the bagless message. The bagged companies do not advertise enough to get out their message that having a bag in their vacuums means cleaner air in your home.

The robotic category would most benefit a company like Dyson most, where they will be able to offer not only the robot for the floor but they already have the V series that can be used for above floor and as time goes on the cordless stick vacuums will only get more powerful and run longer times in between charges.
 
Good points Mixman. Here's my take.

The "premium" brands are already niche brands. All have such tiny market share (at least in the U.S.) that they hardly register. They move into higher value-added products to maintain success. This pushes the prices higher and they don't need to sell as many units to succeed. Shark would love to be high-end.

I'm not sure I would say that bagged don't get the message out. There are literally hundreds of shops and people on YouTube and other social media are doing just that and showing people the real truth. Bagless will still sell because some people don't care whether it holds dirt or not just so long as it's easy.

The V-series and stick vacs are not robotic. They are cordless-a good innovation also. Robotic means the vacuum moves around and does it for you with no effort. There will not be a machine that can vacuum above the floor by itself for some time yet. There isn't one that can vacuum the fan blades on the ceiling yet.
 
One thing is for sure

They like everything else will be made cheaper and cheaper, True quality is gone as we once knew it, the days of a metal machine that would last 25 or 30 years are gone., I think more and more silly useless computerized gadgets will be added so that no one can work on any machine without specialized equipment, much like todays Rainbow, and of course more cheap plastic will be used, Sad to see what has become of quality.
 
I think the more expensive door to door vacuums like Rainbow, Electrolux, Kirby may dwindle a bit because to me it seemed like their key market was to the older population. As they pass on, I think the younger generations who grew up with cheap plastic vacuums will not have any recollection of those brands and will not want to pay the price for a quality machine, or realize that other types even exist.

I think Walmart will gain more of the market for vacuums as it's possible stores like Sears may go away. Sears being one of the bigger markets for bagged vacuums may see the independent stores selling Sebo, Miele and such gain customers who are looking for a bagged or canister vacuum.

It still seems to be the trend from what I can see that the big box stores continue to focus on bagless uprights and stick vacs, while they have little to none in the categories of bagged and canister vacs. Whether this is because those types of vacuums sell better, or because they are cheap, I don't know.

It seems the younger population must want bagless uprights regardless of the flooring they have. I've probably said it before, that today people use a Swiffer or duster to do the dusting rather than a vacuum. To them a vacuum is just to clean the floor, or maybe behind the refrigerator and isn't really usable for anywhere else.

Although the general trend I'm seeing looking at real estate, is a cheap bagless upright for inside the house, and a cheap wet/dry vacuum in the garage for cars or spills.
 
It used

to be a rite or passage when one left home to be given a vacuum for your first apt or you went to a vac shop/dept store and bought one. I think now, most millennials just go down to a box store like Walmart and buy something plastic fantastic. I don't think there's a lot of thought put into it anymore. And their friends are doing the same thing. They're not getting their carpets really cleaned either.  Agree with the comment about a Swiffer type mop on hard floors.


 


I think it's doubtful we'll be able to repopulate the world with good quality metal vacs again...lol. Convenience...pricepoint. Enjoy what you have...pass them on/out to people who really appreciate them.


 


Kevin
 
While Robotic vacuums may become more popular I really don't think they will take over to the extent that their manufacturers are hoping. I remember their was a program on tv in the 90's called beyond 2000 , a look at what life would be like after year 2000 and you know what, it looks much the same as it did in the 80's We may like to think we are very innovative but in reality its a slow process, Cars still don't fly.

What I do see is the move to battery power, Their are also enough people out their to sustain the high end company's for a long time coming. No offence to any Kirby lovers out their but viewing a Kirby as a normal consumer and not a collector logic tells us that a Kirby should not sell now, They are antiquated, They are heavy difficult to use, fitting the attachments far more difficult than it should be , its a vacuum that is designed for wall to wall carpets, something that went out of fashion in the 90's and yet they still sell, still sell enough to keep the brand going strong

But on the subject of technology, once the battery power has caught on like bagless vacuums did I think it will be a while before anything truly shakes up the vacuum market again Like dyson did in the 90's
 
@real1shep

That's basically the point I was trying to make... The cheap manufacturers have succeeded in turning vacuum cleaners into commodity items-something you use for a while then throw away when it wears out. In the mid-20th century, home ownership exploded and were a source of pride and accomplishment. Vacuum cleaners were in the same category as hot water heaters and refrigerators. People expected them to last many years so they were built accordingly. It used to be that way with all appliances-even toasters and blenders. And it all used to be made in the country one lived in also. Globalization and lowering costs for manufacture meant converting almost all household appliances into temporary commodities. This change happened without anyone really knowing it or thinking about it. Just like the decline of the butcher shops and the rise of supermarkets, people just steered into new ideas. These days people hardly think of a vacuum as being any different than a coffee pot. I've had many people say to me that they would never pay $1,000 for a vacuum cleaner-it seems insane to them when Walmart sells $100 units. The common average Joe's don't understand that a vacuum is not a vacuum and some are better. What happened to the vacuum industry is a lot more serious than metal vs plastic. It's the fact that nothing is intended to last-the lower costs prohibit it. I don't know if it's even possible to get a Dirt Devil to last more than 5 years at most, let alone more than 20 years.

Just like Chevy sells more cars than Bentley, there will be more Walmart vacuums sold from now on. But just as Bentley stays in business for people who want more, the high-end vacuums will sell to those people.
 
Christopher....

I couldn't disagree with any of that. But what's driven us into this mess has always been about convenience and price point. The masses expect 'a deal' and they want their fair share of 'deals' as they see their friends, relatives and loved ones obtain. We (as a population) pretty much let ourselves get into this mess....always demanding the lowest prices and the best bargains out there. 'Stepping over dollars to pick up pennies' as one of my friends puts it. And there's no turning back now...it's an indentured mindset.  


 


I never thought I'd live long enough to see disposable appliances as THE choice for new...but here we are.  You could spend a LOT of money on a new dishwasher, fridge and washer dryer set only to have them fail just out of warranty. So in those instances, spending a lot of money doesn't buy you anything but grief. But conversely, from what people say in here about the high-end vacs out there, you DO get a reliable product again that cleans exceptionally well. 


 


Kevin
 
Just last week I visited an old friend, 60s smart lady who moved to retirement apartment from her huge 80s home. There I had given her a Lux canister ages ago. In the small space she had a Shark Rocket, I showed her how to clean it all out a few times a year, again smart lady, but movement issues, like me. I said be careful, NO parts for this. Her reply" Oh I just expected it was a throw away item not fix it. That's fine it was under $200." I was of course thinking what I could get used for that. I just said enjoy!
 
Lol.....

great example. For $200, you get any number of used stellar vacs from the glory days that would last forever with a little bit of TLC. What did she do with the Elux canister?


 


Kevin
 
@kevin

That's what I say too! When they complain, I tell them that they did it to themselves. They forced the market to build accordingly. That left only the higher end companies to cater to the people who want better.

As an aside, the higher end companies have higher market-share than people realize. The door-to-door figures are not always tabulated in some of those figures. One realizes that people buy Rainbow, Aerus, Tri-Star, Kirby, etc. every day throughout the nation. Many of them won't buy another for many years after that. The same goes for the vacuum shop brands like Riccar, Simplicity, etc. One also realizes that many of those sales of cheap machines are simply replacement machines by the same people over and over every few years. All while the homes with Rainbow, Kirby, and Tacony, etc. machines continue on and on with the same unit.
 
Christopher....

that's so true. Consumer markets are driven by what people want, NOT necessarily by what people need. By and large most consumers wanting vacs are willing to take a gamble on cheaply made products of dubious longevity, to get their 'bargain price'. But then as I stated above, a lot of consumers will pay serious money for major appliances that will fail right out of, or during the warranty.  You buy a top line LG or Samsung front loading washer with all the bells & whistles for almost $2,000 and you'll be lucky to see it last more than five yrs. That kinda stuff drives me crazy....and the mindset behind it. And immediately into the negotiations on the said major appliance....they are trying to sell you an extended warranty. But all that does is help you get through the first five yrs or so......madness.


 


Kevin
 
If I was a billionare...LOL

I would build a new Air Way...EXACTLY like a 88,the only changes I would make would be to redesign the swivel top with a direct connect feature,I would build the old metal tools and design a metal power head, and most of all, I would have a new paper making machine built to make the original AirWay bags.Oh yes, it would have a vinyl direct connect hose for the power nozzle, but a braided 10 foot hose for non electric attachments...That would mean building a plant just for hose making, and the reproduction of vintage hoses..All this would cost TONS of money...but wouldn't it be fun to really build something quality EXACTLY like it was built years ago.
 
What I wish for......

I think future innovation needs to come from the premium market in order for them to not only do well but for many like us to have future machines to look forward to and look back fondly at our older vacuums. I would like improved tech, so we do not have to worry about the electronics in a vacuum breaking down, better airflow. Longer hoses, with increased airflow in canisters that have even better filtration. Uprights that are lighter weight with maneuverability and have better above floor ease of use. Also, in general, more quiet vacuums, that still have the ability to clean well.

Am I asking for too much with the above? Maybe.
 
Kevin, not sure what she did with the Lux, was NOT my favorite of theirs as it had a bit of trouble, plastic bodied, Diplomat maybe? 3 motors! Probably it burned out again and went in the trash? I would have liked to have the powerhead
 
Electronics.......

have been in cars/trucks now for decades. They KNOW how to make electronics bulletproof in hostile environs if they want to. However, that's the last place in a vac you'd want to appease the bean counters by keeping things cheap. It might be great for the service tech to just throw in another PCB for $$$, but that doesn't help the average lay person using the vac and what happens when they decide to quit making the PCB's for that model? 


 


Kevin
 
Kevin

There will always be basic vacuums out there for those who want them. Electronics will be the way to add convenience to vacuuming for those that want and are willing to pay extra for it. Many of these features already exist, but can be improved on like dirt sensors and filter sensors that tell when it's time to change the filter. Even better rechargeable power nozzles like the Volt so there will not as much of a need for the flimsy wired hoses on canisters.

Mike
 
Mike...

I'm not condemning electronics in vacs at all. I think certain features are novel and worthwhile.....although vacuuming shouldn't have to become a complicated enterprise...lol. I'm just saying that the electronics should be BULLETPROOF and that can be done. But you can't let the bean counters scrimp there and let the techs figure out how to deal with it in the field. This is what I see more often than not....repair techs shaking their heads at poorly executed electronic designs. 


 


I think using the Volt on these old canisters is kick a**!


 


Kevin
 
I've said it many times before and I'll say it again. Electronic circuit boards in most appliances are little more than de facto self-destruct mechanisms that cause otherwise durable appliances to fail predictably and expensively enough to cause customers to accept them as disposable so manufacturers can push us into a continuous replacement and 'upgrade' cycle. I buy good, metal, 'old school' appliances whenever I can. I have no use whatsoever for plasticrap.
 
If you want an excellent reliable durable vacuum that will last for decades get a Kirby or a Royal. These machines are powerful but simple and will run a long, long time if simple maintenance is done periodically.


 


 
 
Yes, I've got three G-series Kirby vacuums and I love them. I've also got four metal Electrolux canisters and a Filter Queen. There's not a circuit board to be found in any of them so I'm sure they'll all outlive me.
 


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