Ideal Vacuum Design

[jayelux]

So, if I were to design the ideal vacuum....

The following features are a must:

1. Quiet--I like to be able to talk on the phone while vacuuming
2. Cord reel--wrapping a cord around and around is so, well, 20th century. And make the cord very long! 35 feet minimum. Stopping to find another outlet is a nuisance.
3. Headlight--I appreciate Kenmore's light mounted on the wand--allowing not just light for the power nozzle but for hard floor cleaning as well.
4. Onboard storage of tools--I've been known to bungee cord everything to the canister.
5. Bags or bagless where I never have to see the dirt. Electrolux self-sealing bags were a good idea. If Dyson could get the dirt out of the plastic bin without it becoming airborne, it would be a nice next step.
6. Natural bristles that don't scratch while dusting.
7. Power nozzles that are easy on my carpets but still get the dirt. I fear my new Dyson will have me replacing my carpeting much sooner than I had planned because it will strip out the fibers if I use it too much. And I will.
8. Lightweight wands. The new plastic ones seem to have added weight and bulkiness.
9. No stretch hoses--I vacuumed a friend's car with his Dyson and felt my workout wasn't in cleaning the car but in fighting against the suction to extend the hose for long periods of time.
10. Dyson seems to have revolutionized the no-loss of suction phenomenon, so I'd incorporate all that.
11. Powerful of course.
12. What am I forgetting?

 

[thevacuumman]

13. Made out of Polished Metal

 

[gottahaveahoove]

How about a suped up

retro HOOVER C O N V E R T I B L E ?? Do we all remember those?

 

[rainbowkid107]

good ideas!

 

[joe22]

8. lightweight METAL wands, and good tools, not these little crappy plastic things that hoovers/dirtdevils etc have. proper dusting brushes like lux and kirby, wide floor bursh. hose for canisters at least 8 feet. convenient switch, brush roll turn off.

 

[sireluxomatic]

Vacuum Design Ideas

Those are some good ideas. How about:

1. a trigger hose handle or on/off switch in the hose handle
2. multi-position height adjustment electric telescopic wand
3. direct connect electric hose (on both ends), with swivel on both ends

 

[kenkart]

ABSOLUTELY NO!!!

Pistol grips!!!

 

[sireluxomatic]

No pistol grips?

What's wrong with pistol grip handles?

 

[eurekaprince]

Pistol grips are too bulky.....

I want a vac hose handle that can easily be squeezed into tight places like between my microwave oven and the wall, or that can be dropped down behind my stove, or slithered under a car seat, or behind a dresser. The pistol grips are all too cumbersome for these "gymnastics," and are only really needed if you use a power nozzle with a canister. Since I think carpets should be cleaned with an upright, not a canister, the canister really does not need a pistol grip.

 

[eurekaprince]

My ideal vac would be a two-vac team similar to what Oreck a

but I would upgrade the canister to a real canister on wheels with on-board tools like a Miele. The innovation I would want is to be able to store the canister on top of the upright's power head - so that the team does not take up too much floor space in a cupboard. Imagine a little Miele S4 seated comfortably on its rear on a the powerhead of an upright like the Hoover Tempo or Windtunnel. There could be a clip on the upright to hang the hose of the canister when stored in the closet. You could wheel both machines out of the closet at the same time using the handle of the upright. Kind of a more elaborate Bissel Lift-Off, but with two real full-size vacs forming a canister+upright team.

 

[vinvac]

I would agree with pistol grips...

Electrolux had the best design in later years...small, gets into tight spaces and comfortable to use. The new replacement vinyl hoses for lux make using the machine a joy.

Morgan

 

[sireluxomatic]

Pistol grips

I'm with you all the way, Morgan, but of course its true that the newer Renaissance style pistol-shaped handle is cumbersome and makes anything other than straight carpet cleaning an unpleasant task. The older style was great; easy connection, easy grip, 360 degree swivel, good fit in most small places.

Another idea for the "perfect vacuum" would be twist-on or friction fit attachments. I'm not crazy about attachments that latch or lock on the wands/handle. Of course, twist-on attachments have been known to fall off

 

[dualsanitronic]

I loath pistol grips eternally,especially Filter Queen's.

 

[countryguy]

My new FQ has the pistol grip and I prefer it over the Electrolux version. If I had my choice however I would go back to the older style lux handle with the trigger on/off - so much more convenient to use for above the floor cleaning.

Gary

 

[sireluxomatic]

I'm "trigger-happy" as well, and I like the slider suction reducer on the Canadian Electrolux hose handles, or the Model G type; I never really liked the knob on the American direct connect handles.

On-board tools were mentioned above, and I think its a practical idea, but strangely enough, I've never liked on-board tools. I think it ruins the looks of the vacuum. I don't really mind a small clip for a dusting brush, but otherwise a portable attachment caddy is a good idea.

This is quite a fun thread.

 

[eurekaprince]

Pistol Grips vs Gas Pump Handles

I was just thinking about the above comments we have all made about hose handles, and I think we are using the wrong name for the bulky electrified "D"-shaped hose handle some of us don't like - including me. The term I remember Hoover using on it's Dimension 1000 canister was "gas pump" handle, which more accurately describes the bulkier handles.

I actually don't mind a sleaker pistol grip hose handle with electrical wiring like the old Canadian Electrolux had. But currently, the only maker of power-nozzle canisters that offer a sleek, "non-gas-pump" handle for its electrified hose and wands is Miele (as far as I know). This kind of handle can be snuck into tight spots and narrow passages. The Miele Direct Connect red canister below is a good example....

http://miele.com/usa/vacuums/produc...l=385&series=97&nav=30&snav=24&tnav=26&oT=184

 

[sireluxomatic]

Pistol vs. Gas-pump

True enough...the newer Lux style is a gas pump, although it still retains its basic shape under the handle. Here's a comparison picture of Electrolux hose handles from approximately the late 50's onward that I think represents almost every style they had, at least in Canada.

 

[eurekaprince]

Great comparison pic, Bob! Yes...that's exactly what I mean.

The only electrified hose these days which offers a sleek handle is the Miele SES series (I think SES 115 to SES 125). It seems narrow enough to sneak into nooks and crannies without having a bulky "D" handle get in the way.....

 

[countryguy]

I have the original Lux '89 hose (4th from the left) and it is the best hose I've ever used. Now if Lux would just use that same type of handle with the current hose which is much more flexible than the braided cloth type, I might go back to using the current Lux's. And bring back the telescopic wand instead of those ridiculous bulky plastic wands.

Gary

 

[sireluxomatic]

I totally agree, Brian. A bulky handle on a canister hose is a design flaw, I think. I'm not sure about trends in other areas, but in my neck of the woods, many people are opting for "carpet-less" houses...a lot of hardwood, laminate, and tile. In this case, a bulky hose handle, wands, and power nozzle become irrelevant. Also, weren't canisters expressly designed for above floor tasks in the first place? Any canister that doesn't have easy to use and easy to connect tools, hose, and wands is flawed.

Gary, I'm with you all the way. My Epic 6500 is almost unused, as I prefer to break out one of the older Luxes. They're just infinitely more pleasant to use in every way, and I really think they do as good or better at cleaning.

Bob

P.S. The second hose from the left is probably the worst hose Electrolux ever had. The handle is fine, even though I'm not crazy about the knob suction reducer, but that big collar at the handle reduces what must already be the shortest hose they ever made to truly ridiculous proportions. It almost defeats the purpose of vacuuming in the first place.

 

[countryguy]

I agree that the 2nd hose from the left is bad. That is the one that was on my AP280. I also hated the big collar and the suction reducer knob. I had an Epic 6500 and a 9000 and got rid of them both because I hated the hose, wands and the noise! Since I had 2 original '89 hoses I cut the machine end connection with the pigtail off of it and connected it to a current style replacement hose. It works great and improves the suction but the hose is gray instead of green so it doesn't match.

Gary

 

[sireluxomatic]

Ah yes, noise. Jay mentioned it as the first point, and I agree. I don't have knowledge of a wide variety of brands, but the 80's/90's Electrolux motors are just headache inducing, and I'm sure some other brands are more or less the same. What are manufacturers thinking when they design these jet engines?

That reminds me of another idea for a perfect vacuum cleaner...longevity. I think its great to see decades old vacuums still doing exactly what they were built for with hardly a fuss or bother, and probably doing it better than their younger siblings.

 

[eurekaprince]

A requirement I would want on the ideal upright......

would be an easy way to install and remove the cardboard collar of the disposable dust bag. I find that the Hoover upright "Y" bag is very difficult to install because you basically are blinded by the bag as you try to squeeze the cardboard collar onto the plastic "air port" in the back of the compartment. I have torn many a bag just trying to make sure the empty bag is seated fully onto the plastic throat.

Much prefer the bags that are slid into a holder and then rotated into place, or a bag that has dirt falling into it from the top, where you can easily see what you are doing when you change the bag.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

A nice convenient switch would be nice

I hate the "side" switch on our HOOVER elites. "Fingertip" was so much easier.

 

[kenkart]

I like!!!

The straight short end used on Royal ,Filter Queen, Airway ETC, I recently bought a like new Rennisance Elux at the Goodwill, not a scratch on it for 30 .00 used it once to clean my car out and traded it so fast it would make your head spin...ABSOLUTELY the most awkward thing I ever used!

 

[a1945]

One built out of stainless steel, no plastic, built just like the old ones

 

[kenkart]

All you have to do IS!!!

Buy the old Air Way dies, change the swivel top so that it swivels 360 with a elecrical connection, so when you plug in the hose it connects and swivels, a 10 foot lightweight hose with a straight end, curved wands,and Royals old metal center belt power nozzle,and all the old Air Way tools with lightweight aluminum s wands and the old Air Way bag,to me how could you improve on that!