Is the new Hyla GST as good as the newest Rainbow?

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redgeminipa

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Joined
Apr 7, 2020
Messages
6
Location
Altoona, PA
Hello all. We've been eyeing up the newest Rainbow for a while, but they're just not in the budget. So, we've started looking into the new Hyla GST, which isn't fetching nearly as much money on the slightly used eBay market. It seems to be very comparable, and has a great power nozzle, from what I've read. Does anyone own one of these, or this and a new Rainbow for comparison?

With my respiratory problems, we desperately need a good air purification-type machine. After running the Rainbow overnight, I noticed a big difference in the air quality the next morning. Especially after running it on high for an hour or so. Is the Hyla's low speed more effective than the Rainbow's? That's the real complaint with the new Rainbow. Low is too low...

Please don't come back saying water filtration machines are a pain, and you hate dealing with the water. We don't mind it at all, as we use my aunt's new Rainbow on occasion.

Thanks,
Ron

redgeminipa++12-25-2011-07-35-52.jpg
 
Increase the moisture!!!!!

If you are breathing better with this machine running at night it is most likely because it is increasing the relative humidity,not cleaning the air.My humble advice that I am basing this on is 12yrs. of working on vacuums including the Rainbow. Any respiratory therapist will advise you to keep your air humidity level at 50%.You can achieve this by using a good cool mist humidifier for about $40.00.I have taken appart many rainbow type machines over the years and they are by far the dirtiest machines I have ever worked on "THEY DON'T CLEAN AIR".

Richard
new2youvacuums eBay top rated power seller.
 
I will have to

respectfully disagree with Richard . You are some what right because 75% of Rainbow owners don`t know how to use a Rainbow and it all boils down to changing the water as frequent as possible. I own a D4 SE since brand new and there is no dust or dirt inside my machine . I now own the New E Series Onyx and using a Rainbow in my home I have to dust very little when I use my Sentria w/ HEPA cloth bags or any other bagged/bagless vacuum I always have more dust in my house . How is that possible if it doesn`t clean or clean the air ?
 
Hyla

I changed my water a lot and still had to dust . Of course its a kirby they make your house dustier . My advice by a central vac there they only vacuum that makes your home less dusty ! No rainbow can do that they sell you lies
 
Well

I would bet a lot of people now of days would not buy a high end vacuum. And a Lot of owners arent gonna empty the there rainbow or water filteration vacuuum every 2 sec only the thermax does there consumers to emty them when water becomes spratic . I dont use mine it sets in the storge room outstide i want to get rid of it was a pain.
 
Dan, the reason your Rainbow removes the dust from the air is simple....It has a HEPA filter!!! Go into back issues of Consumer Reports, & they state the Rainbow D4 was HORRIBLE for cleaning the air, yet their opinion of the Rainbow changed in 1998 when the E series came out & the HEPA filter was added....then they stated the Rainbow was excellent at cleaning the air! And of course everyone here knows of the study that was done by a major university in the early 1990's that proved that a Panasonic upright with a micro-filter bag drastically outfiltered the Rainbow D4.

I also have personally taken apart a Rainbow for repairs....I sold a Rainbow D4 years ago to a dentist who was going to use it to clean his office, & he insisted on buying a Rainbow, as he was fanatical about them. When it came back in to be serviced 3 years later to have new carbons installed in the motor, the motor compartment was FILTHY!!! TONS of dust in there! And this Rainbow showed no signs of abuse, & according to the dentist, was used once a week to clean their office by himself personally.

So, if your REALLY think your Rainbow D4 is clean inside & out, I would dare you to open up your Rainbow, take pics & post them here. Something tells me the pics will show a less than spotless Rainbow.

Rob
 
The Consumer Reports tests were COMPLETELY FLAWED! The Rainbow instruction book clearly stated theat non water soluble materials such as sawdust, talcum powder and plaster dust should not be vacuumed up with the Rainbow. There was a small foam filter to put on the exhaust if you did have to use it that way. CR ignored those instructions and tested the Rainbow on carpets with TALCUM POWDER to simulate dust,and sand for the deep down dirt. Oh, this gets better! The emissions test consisted of sucking up VERY FINE SAWDUST and measuring the exhaust in a chamber. When Rexair balked, CR then said they took it to a staffer's home where it didn't fare much better! Ha! Give us the test results, I said to myself when I read that! Who knows if the staffer had tons of Carpet Fresh in the carpets or what. Or if CR just said that to avoid a lawsuit, not giving ANY DETAILS ABOUT THE SO CALLED AFTER TEST! I have a Rainbow as my daily driver now from 1989 with no HEPA filter on it, and my apartment is MUCH cleaner than having the Kirby Sentria with cloth HEPA bag that I sold on eBAY! My nose unclogged the day I was given that Rainbow. CR has never, ever liked Rainbows,and have a very definite bias agaist them. Back in the mid 1970s, they rated The Eureka 1255 Roto Matic power team canister number 1 and excellent on deep cleaning carpets! But shortly thereafter, The Rainbow D2 WITH THE EXACT SAME EUREKA POWER NOZZLE on it, and similar air flow was rated, as the said DEAD LAST in their carpet cleaning tests. And as for the Panasonic with micro bags in it. Just remove the cover and look in the bag chamber, then we'll talk!
 
Well

My rainbow didnt my home cleaner and i have no animals. Just me . Theres no way a rainbow can remove all the dust or make a home cleaner a cental vac does that
 
Well,it has. The amount of sand and hair in the water was astonishig! The water was very,very dirty at 1st and now is much lighter,so yes it is REALLY doing its job!
 
I have been working on

Vacuums since the age of 5 , I am now 44 that`s 39 years of vacuum knowledge plus I own every high end machine here in the USA plus a ton other vacuums over 300 to be exact . I owned a vacuum shop for some years, managed Oreck, Kirby, plus Rainbow shops . We have a large Rainbow dealer who sells a ton here . I used to repair many Rainbows and when they came into my store I would find about 75% had a ton of filth in them . The small group about 25% had very little dust in the machines.I always asked each customer that had the clean Rainbow did they use it and how often they emptied and cleaned the seperators all said every day /weekly & emptied after every room which you should do with any water vacuum . The dust was less in my home without the HEPA filter and with as there is none in the D4 SE . It is still dust free because I use many water vacuums . I use a Hyla GST no hepa , A Pro Aqua no hepa , an Aura Robo clean with no hepa and an Ocean blue also no hepa . I am not a child and don`t have to prove anything if you can`t take my word then thats your decision there will always be a machine that someone will never like and some that others will like . If you know anything about Consumer Reports true Vacuum collectors know you can`t rely on everything they say try researching the type of material they use to pick up it is not real world house dust and dirt . It is mainly a non wetable wood pulp/talc do most Rainbow owners vacuum that up ? Did you ever stop to think that maybe because I live on the Beach in a beach town we might have a little less dust do to our sandy beaches ? I beleive every area of the country things will be different . There was no need to get nasty everyone is entitled to their opinion thats what I thought this site was all about . Ron said he wasnt looking for negative comments as he is a Rainbow lover .I also ownned a commercial cleaning business when I lived in Pa. I know you cant compare using a Rainbow in a home as you can verses an office enviroment where many peolpe come into a business tracking more than a typical home . When a commercial machine came into my shops they were always much dirtier than a residential machine . Merry Christmas everyone .
 
Is the new Hyla GST as good as the new Rainbow

I really  have not used the Hyla but in checking the web site I noticed several things. It does not seem to be as advanced  with the shampoo system and the wet floor  systems. I believe it uses more water which would make the unit heavier to move and empty. Also not sure about service and replacement parts availability.


 


I will make no comment on the dirt in a  Rainbow motor. My old Rainbow is very clean after years and years of use. I DO change the water often and clean the separator. I can say in my own experience I have much less dust on the blinds,furniture,TV screen when using the Rainbow. I NEVER have any odor and I like not storing the street filth tracked into the house in a dirty paper bag.  The Rainbow is either picking more dirt or exhausting less dirt as my room air cleaner has kept it's hepa filter working almost twice as long since I have been using ONLY the Rainbow for the last  several years.  It has been a big help with my asthma . There must be some reason they have been recommended by allergy doctors for so many years and are rated as allergy friendly and AHAM certified room air cleaner. 


I have had my new machine about 8 months and I  really like how easy it is to use.  It has so many improvements over my 18 year old Rainbow,which still works perfect. 


The Hyla looks like an interesting machine too.


As we always say on this forum-no one right machine for all people.


 


 
 
In my opinion

the Rainbow is better . The Hyla reminds me of my pro aqua . Yes they have a larger tank but much heavier and it is more involved to clean those machines compared to Rainbow. The Hyla , Pro Aqua , Robo Clean & Ocean blue all use the same power nozzle German Wessell which I think outcleans the new Rainbows much improved power nozzle .
 
This got out of hand...

I'm asking for EXPERIENCED USER COMMENTS. I'm VERY familiar with the Rainbow.

Has ANYONE actually USED OR OWN a Hyla GST?!?!

I'll be buying one or the other. At this point, the Hyla is showing more pros than cons.

We have Kirbys, Filter Queens, Oreck, Shark Navigator Lift Away, and VARIOUS OTHER machines. I'm no newbie when it comes to vacuums, and Mike is extremely vacuum savvy.

The only one I'm interested in that I haven't used yet is the Hyla...

I'm 5'9", 200 lbs. and can bench 250. I'm not worried about an extra 2 pounds of water in the basin. If I can lug a Kirby & all attachments up and down stairs at my mom's, these things are nothing for our 1 floor house.

PS: Anyone who suffers from respiratory problems will tell you MORE HUMIDITY MAKES IT HARDER TO BREATH! Using a Rainbow makes it EASIER for me to breath. You can't have it both ways. You figure out what's actually happening when we use the Rainbow. I can tell you, it isn't MORE HUMIDITY. I guess it must be CLEANER AIR.

Sorry for the rant, but I asked a simple question and got many worthless answers.
 
I've wondered about the Hyla too. Does it have a brushless motor yet on the new one or is it still the old technology? I hear their separator is fixed on the unit and doesn't need to be cleaned. Looks like a nice machine but probably harder to find parts than Rainbow. I hear they cost EVEN MORE brand new than Rainbow brand new, which I didn't think was even possible (LOL)


It's now about 5.5 yrs of me having my Rainbow brand new out of box. I actually (just last week) took the original hepa OFF mine & examined it thoroughly and shined inside the machine in the exhaust port and you can actually see the fans and housing surrounding the exhaust port. There is VERY little dirt in there. It's more of a slight haze that reminds me of when I used to run an ultrasonic humidifier with tap water & there was WHITE a white haze all over EVERYTHING from the hard water (not from dirt). It's ever so slight & smells great inside. It still runs & sounds exactly like the day I first turned it on. I'm not a collector & I actually use my Rainbow averaging once a week. Last week I used it three times - other times I go 2/3 weeks without using it. When I get it out, I can't stop cleaning.

When I first got the machine, the separator never looked dirty so I just rinsed it. I got a clean toothbrush to clean the grooves and they were somewhat dirty. Now, I clean the grooves of the separator each time and I don't see any dirt on the toothbrush at all if I clean it every time. So I guess these new separators accumulate dirt slowly but it's still very important to clean them & I can see how a LOT of people would NOT do this. Even I didn't at first.
 
When I have examined The Hyla, I noticed a much cheaper construction, a cruder shampooer and being new to the market, parts will be harder to get. Rainbow's newest power nozzle does outclean the german head on the Hyla as I have used both. Rainbow is certified as an air cleaner by AHAM, is recommended by the Allergy and Asthma Foundation and The Carpet and Rug Institute.Hyla does not have all three certifications. You could perhaps go on a payment plan for the Rainbow, this latest one IS the best yet. The Rainbow does not appreciably raise humidity levels by the way. If you put hot water in it, then it could SLIGHTLY. Rexair touted it as such in the early years. I have met COUNTLESS people over the years that said The Rainbow is the ONLY vacuum they will use as their allergies went way down or a family member and they dust far less. Many of these got the Rainbow before the HEPA filter was even added, Some had vacuums with the cloth-like HEPA bags in them and still said the Rainbow noticably helped them, including a former Kirby dealer of 17 years. His 8 month old carpet was ONLY vacuumed with a Kirby Sentria. When he brought the Rainbow in, it removed so much dirt, he said that he and his wife just about threw up at what they saw what was in the water basin! Rainbow is better!
 
I own the new Rainbow E2B and three kirby Sentrias-I use them together-the Kirbys for the carpet-the Rainbow for other vacuum jobs-even with the new powernozzle on the Rainbow-the Kirbys still dig up more dirt from the carpets than the rainbow.I use the HEPA Filtrete bags on the Kirbys.Often-just for fun will use the power nozzle on the rainbow.I do like how its rotating whisker brushes get debris along the baseboards.the Kirbys don't always do that.I have looked inside the fancases of my newer Rainbow E2's and found little or no dust-unlike the older rainbow models.Their motors were dustier.and I like the filtration on the rainbow E2 vacuums for the motor-yes,there is a HEPA filter to filter the air intake for the brushless SR motor.Keeps the motor,bearings,and electronics clean.The cooling fan on the E2 motor also blows across the circuit boards to keep them cool.The motor filter is inside the powerdome motor housing-lasts the lifetime of the machine.I just wish Kirby and other would use a similar filter.I like the Rainbows--but I like the job the Kirby does on my carpets better.and I am amazed at how dirty the water does get in the Rainbow bin!I mainly use the Rainbow for bare floors and dusting duties.The weight of a filled Rainbow machine may not by anything to a normal person-but to an elderly one it may be too much.But---you can EMPTY the machine and take it upstairs-and refill it.A full Rainbow weighs almost as much as the Kirby Sentria.
 

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