General vac help and Miele s5/s6/s8 canister blower?

[cue003]

Is there a way to get the miele canisters in the s6 or s8 lineup to utilize a blower connection like I have read was available on the older units?

I am interested in looking heavily into the following:

S8 Marin with 236 or 217 PN with long flexible crevice tool (SFD20) and universal brush (SUB20)
S5 Earth or Leo with 236 or 217 PN with long flexible crevice tool (SFD20) and universal brush (SUB20)
S6 Topaz with 236 or 217 PN with long flexible crevice tool (SFD20) and universal brush (SUB20)

I am not even sure if a PN will be needed and maybe I should be looking at the suction only models or another brand all together. I want a great bare floor tool/brush. I don't want to vacuum the floor and then turn around and have to break out the broom and dustpan type of deal. I will use the vacuum probably 2 times a week (maybe more in the kitchen (natural slate). No animals in the house at this time.

I am interested in above the floor cleaning as much as floor cleaning. I want to use whatever i get in a dusting capacity as well as cleaning ceiling fans (bith sides of blades), crown molding, chair rails etc. would also like a unit that can change with our family if we go to a different house with other needs like more or different rugs/carpet etc.

House is 2 story and mainly all wood and real natural slate (non smooth) with (4) 8x10 area rugs. Rugs types are ....

Handcrafted jute and wool 8x10
Asian 8x10
Sisal 8x10
Long fiber "string shag" 8x10 --- stands are 2 inches long

I can upload snapshots of the rugs if necessary.

I am interested in the blower to get the dust bunnies out of the areas I simple cannot get to with suction etc (under heavy couch, in car)

Any assistance is appreciated. As a point of reference both wife and I grew up in heavy Kirby households so neither one of us want to go down that path. Nothing wrong with them just not conducive for the style of cleaning we are looking for with quick changes from vacuuming to dusting and back again type of approach. We currently have a Kenmore Hepa bagless upright that we are not fond of at all but it has been working for rug duty and that is it. A canister purchase will be our first.

Thanks

 

[cue003]

Anyone?

 

[eurekaprince]

Before you go spending lots of money to clean your bare floors, invest $40 in this wonderful rechargeable Swiffer Sweeper Vac - my 85 year old mother swears by it! It's a combination Swiffer Mop and Dustbuster on a stick and is soooooo convenient to use for daily sweeping of all bare floors. The suction channel on the front edge picks up all large litter and hairs, while the Swiffer pad gets rid of all the finer electrostatic dust that clings to the floors:

Very few modern vacs offer a blower option - I think the Eureka Mighty Mites without the Hepa filter allow you to attach the hose to the exhaust.

Here's is the Swiffer Vac's website:



http://www.swiffer.com/products/swiffer-sweepervac-cordless-vacuum-sweeper

 

[eurekaprince]

Your best bet on a basic, tried and true canister with a power nozzle is this basic Panasonic canister. It's available for around $300 and does every job very well, while keeping noise and exhaust levels down to a minimum. It's highly rated by Consumer Reports as a good alternative to more high end vacs that cost twice as much....



http://shop.panasonic.com/shop/model/MC-CG902

 

[durango159]

Slow Saturday

I'm surprised you've had very few replies about this. Not sure why this Saturday is a slow one.

I'm inexperienced with Miele but I have heard great things about them. You'll love the 4 swivel casters for gliding easily over your hardwood floors. The Miele parquet tool with felt stripss should do an excellent job of dusting and removing any dirt off floors, I believe Miele also has a horsehair bristle equipped bare floor brush. Both would do quite well. Definitely get the power nozzle. Rugs need the agitation. For delicate rugs you could turn off the agitator and run the head over rugs with just suction but on other ones the power head will keep them looking sharp. The 236 is a much better bet over the 217 for your 2" threaded and all rugs in general. The open agitator channel and manual height adjuster I think will be prove much better. It's also a much better power head compared to 217 which is a very lightweight lesser powered head.

EurekaPrince did recommend the Panasonic MCCG902. I have no idea what your budget is that can be purchased online for less than $200 on a few different websites. The Panasonic is great full featured machined with lots of power. However you won't be happy with the bare floor brush that comes standard with the Panasonic. This is not a big issue because the Panasonic has universal sized wands and for about $13 at your local vac shop or online you could find yourself a very nice generic horse hair equipped bare floor brush that would do a terrific dusting job on floors. Now as a warning to try, I believe the wheels on the MCCG902 are not rubber coated, not sure how smoothly they'll glide over your wood floors, there is no blower function, and Panasonic has gone cheaper on motors. You may only get about 5 years out of unit until suction motor gives out. Still at only paying $190 that's still pretty decent considering the package in general. I've posted a link to a reliable site in case it interests you.

I recommend checking out your local vacuum dealer as well. Most likely they have some Mieles in stock to look out and find out about blower as I didn't see anything on their website for it. I would also look at the Royal Lexon SR30020, it has 4 swivel caster wheels, all wheels on power head and canister are rubber coated, great suction, and horsehair bare floor brush. Also look at Simplicity Verve, Moxie, Riccar Immaculate and many other units from Riccar or Simplicity. Terrific full featured vacs.

***I recommend removing any wheels that may come on any bare floor brush that you purchase. It will eliminate any chance of scratching or marking that could occur, along allowing brushes to better sweep and dust floor.

I've never tried the Swifter vacuum sweeper. It's probably worth looking into as well as a very quick way for quick cleanups. However if you want thorough and a deep cleaner with tools for above the floor cleaning like you mentioned and a good all around vac then definitely look at Riccar, Simplicity, Miele, Royal, Panasonic.

Best of luck and feel free to contact me personally through my profile for more info. I love canister vacs and professionally clean houses for a living. I've used many many vacuums, from models I didn't like at all to some that I love. But there is a different one for each household.



http://www.vcdiscounter.com/mccg902.html

 

[durango159]

I should mention that I've never used a blower on any vacuum ever for indoor use. I reach everywhere with crevice tools, dust mops and the new thin telescoping wand Swifter dusters. In desperate situations you can also wrap a glass cleaner or wet substanced rag or paper towel around yard stick or thin pole and clean dust out of those hard to reach areas.

The blower idea to me, would the dirt more airborne and not cleaned up.

For outdoor use work, I have a Kawasaki gas leaf blower that I love for blowing off anything from a dust layer on the car to leaves and debris on porches, etc. and even a little garage cleanout blowing everything out the open garage door!!

Hope this helps.

 

[pr-21]

Blower Port.....

I have had all the Miele's you listed above. I currently have the Marin  and gave a friend of mine the Topaz, and my cousin the Earth. They do not have a blower port like the older models did. I was not impressed with the blower port on the Miele's. You had to take out the hepa filter and leave the lid up. When you moved the hose you had the chance of breaking the door off. If you need the blower port, look at the Aerus website. Their machines have the blower port. I like all the above vacuums you named, the Marin has the Auto Setting which adjusts the suction according to the surface you are vacuuming. Very nice feature. The new Aerus Guardian Platinum has the Auto Setting as well.


 


As far as power nozzles, the Miele 217 may be better for your more delicate rugs, but it would not work on the shag. The 236 adjusts to 5 different heights. The Aerus power nozzle is a floating power nozzle that self adjusts. Still not sure if you could vacuum a 2 inch shag???? I have seen shag tools that attach to a canister cleaner, but the Miele is German made and has a different size hose and wand, which are not the standard 1 1/4" fit that American cleaners have. You can get an adapter to use some 1 1/4" tools.


 


Sincerely,


 


Bud Mattingly


PR-21

 

[cue003]

@eurekaprince, I will look into the Panasonic. I tried the swiffer vac in a past and it really hadn't crossed my mind to possibly revisit it in this property.

@durango159, the budget around $1K, however I do know there really is a point of diminishing returns at some point so $1K budget doesn't mean I need to spend $975.... Especially if a much cheaper solution can delivery the capabilities/flexibility and longevity that I am after.

Also is Royal and Hoover the same? I went to their website and some items look identical to hoover.

And Riccar and simplicity the same as well? Maybe they look slightly different outside and ergonomics might be different but same internals?

@pr-21, I will keep that adapter in mind to potentially use other manufactures tools on the miele. Are there any specific tools you use on your miele with the adapter?

How would you compare the Marin to the Earth? Did you upgrade because you wanted the newer model?

--------

As a side note for my search, this will be the main cleaning tool for quite sometime. Maybe augment with a stick vac (corded) for quick pickups. The wife has already veto'd any idea of collecting so ...... There can be only one ... Maybe two.

Thanks

 

[pr-21]

I upgraded......

cue003,


 


I upgraded mostly because I am a collector. There is nothing wrong with the Earth, however it only has 3 Settings. Min, Auto, Turbo. I like the Marin as it has the 6 settings, plus the auto. It also is quieter, the tool storage area has a better less flimsy door, and a slightly longer cord with a quick rewind feature. I also like the color of the Marin.


 


I have used the adapter to be able to use the Electrolux flip over tool and the combo tool.


 


 


Sincerely,


 


Bud Mattingly


PR-21

 

[eurekaprince]

Hey Rob,

Indeed, my parents inherited my Kenmore Elegance (Progressive) 27210 which is a slightly more deluxe version of the red Panasonic 902. I actually found a universal bare floor brush in our dumpster area behind my building and I cleaned it up for use with the Kenmore. It fits perfectly and is nice and wide and has the softest horsehair bristles I have ever seen.

Best part is: these vacs use a parking set-up that connects the lower wand to the canister, not the power nozzle. So you can actually store the vac with any tool attached to the wand!

 

[durango159]

Brian you are correct!

The parking dock for the Panasonic is on the wands so you can stand canister on end and have wands parked on canister with universal bare floor brush attached. Just remember to still disconnect hose during storage, you don't want the hose to gain extra stress in that handle upright position while its not in use.

Curtis: Riccar and Simplicity are both just about mirrored images of each other, with exception of color. You won't wind both lines at any one dealer. They will carry one or the other. Both are produced by Tacony and are proven well built, quality, powerful machines. Some models have 3 year warranty and many have a 5 year warranty.

Hoover, Royal, and Dirt Devil are owned by TTI Floorcare. Dirt Devil is the budget brand, Hoover is mid scale and Royal is their Full featured line. TTI has merged a few machines between the 3 brands with a Hoover Windtunnel upright being badged as Royal and a Dirt Devil Platinum Force carpet shampooer being badged as a Royal as well. The Hoover Windtunnel bagged canister S3670 and Royal Lexon SR30020 have a few similarities with suction unit. However, hose, wands and power nozzle are completely different. Those 3 are significantly better improved over the Hoover. The Royal has a headlight on the wands with extremely low profile powernozzle with push pedal handle release, push pedal height adjuster, rubber coated wheels on metal axles, chevron brush roll, serpentine belt with belt protection system, the hose has an extremely comfortable grip with nice hose and 5 variable suction speeds. The Royal and Hoover both accept the same bag and are sealed HEPA units. The Hoover power nozzle is their original Windtunnel design. A great cleaner that is excellent to use and powerful but the overall quality of plastic on some parts and wheels are poor designs from when Hoover was owned by Maytag and was looking to cheapen everything!! Hoover has a 3 year warranty and Royal has a 4 year warranty. Attachments on both are the same and have universal size hose ends to fit attachments from several other manufacturers to include Riccar, Panasonic, Kenmore, some Eureka stuff, and many generic.

Personally I am not a buyer for a vacuum at the $1000 level I think there's lots of decent stuffed priced well below that. Riccar and Simplicity list many machines on their website at around $1200 MSRP. I've seen machines in my local vac shop for far less!! There's a point to where definitely diminishing return does exist and you're not recieving value. My sister currently has a Hoover canister vacuum running very strong it is 15 years old, being bought in 1997 for around $200. The quality of the plastic and other things you would not expect a machine to last that long but it has with only things being replaced due to abuse. Have never had any motor or electrical issues from it and it cleans terrificly! With your budget I probably jump past the potential motor issues that Panasonic has and land yourself either a Royal, Simplicity, Riccar, or Miele. I'm not sure how well an Aerus head would adjust to your shag.

I'd also recommend an Electrolux Ultra One but there bags are small and I think you mentioned you have pets.

 

[eurekaprince]

Hey Rob....I still think the red Panasonic is a worthwhile purchase. I think it is the only canister on the market that stores 4 separate full-size attachments "under the hood" and not in the way on the wand or the hose. Five years after buying our Kenmore, the motor indeed blew. But it only cost me CAD$140 to replace it with a brand new Panasonic motor that has now lasted 7 years with no problem. The original vac was bought from Sears in 2001, and the motor was replaced in 2006 and has yet to cause us any problems. So I still think it is money well spent!

You can also upgrade the Panasonic dusting brush to a Kenmore version with really soft horsehair bristles and this one will also fit inside the on-board tool compartment.... Also, the Panasonic has a nice long 24 foot cord. A Kenmore Power-Mate Junior will also plug onto the Panasonic's hose handle which is a nice extra to have for pet hair.

 

[cue003]

I see the weight listed for the Panasonic on a website at 25lbs. Is that accurate?

I looked at some videos of the Royal S20 on YouTube and the power head seems to be pretty beefy while keeping a low profile. I will have to see if I can find a dealer in my area to see one in person.
I saw one used for about $350. Is that a good used price point for the S20?

Thanks

 

[eurekaprince]

That's incorrect Curtis....it weighs 23 pounds with the power nozzle. This is about average for a power nozzle canister. It's a bit heavier than the Aerus Lux Guardian, but lighter than the Miele Callisto with power nozzle. The extra weight comes from steel wands and from 4 tools stored on-board. The dust bag compartment is comparitively large and so the body is a little larger than other vacs.

 

[durango159]

$350 is a great price for the Royal. The power head on that Royal is no joke. It's powerful. There' videos of it making mince meat out of pet hair clumps, hardware, sand, etc. I like the 9 minute Govacuum review of it on Facebook.

I imagine you've seen this but here's a link incase you haven't.

 

[cue003]

@Durango, after going back to check the price on that Royal it seems like the price has been raised. .

Oh well, my search continues and now the Lux Guardian Premium is coming into view. Looks interesting. Considering the Sebo D4 as well.

So choices are going to be Miele S8 Marin with 236, Sebo D4 Premium with 12 inch power head, Aerus Lux Guardian Platinum

I just need to track down an Aerus dealer in my area and go visit them.

 

[cue003]

Went to my Aerus dealer and I was not impressed. I called them first to verify they had it then when I show up they have no idea which vacuum I am talking about and insisted they had the latest and greatest in the store. I had to pull up a picture on my phone for them to understand. Very frustrating. They seemed totally useless. So never got to see it. will track down another dealer.

 

[durango159]

Some people have good experience with Sebo and some don't. I for one have tried a few of their machines including the D4 and am quite unimpressed. One of my latest client is in the fad of buying rugs that are long threaded. The Sebo won't clean any of them, the circuit board just shuts off the power head. There are a whole book of issues I've experienced with this model that make my job much harder than it needs to be cleaning this clients house. On the other hand, another member on this site just bought himself a D4 and is doing well with it. Certains vacuums do better in certain households and machine has to be good to user.

The Panasonic MCCG902 is one of the only machines on the market with 4 piece full size tools stored on board. The Panasonic MCCG917, pictured below, has a slightly different tool set and does include an air turbine nozzle. I recommended this machine to a friend a year ago, she bought it and loves it. The Panasonics are decent featured and clean well at a value price tag. You could buy 4 of these Panasonic canisters for the price of one Sebo D4. It's my belief that the Panasonics would clean better, be easier to use and compatible for all your floor needs. The Panasonic will handle the long threaded rugs too, with height adjuster and suction set appropriately.

Even if the Royal is at $450 or so I would still say that is good buy. Every once in a while I see one on eBay at $300 and get excited. $350 is robbery on this item considering MSRP of $600. I would be ecstatic to have one of these Royals.

Mieles are great machines, quality is said to have dropped some but they are still very decent built machines. Most any brand on the market to include Aerus has seen decreased quality. The economy isn't helping anything. The old saying: "Things are built like they used to be" reigns true.