Justify Miele Purchase

[ornery]

Good Afternoon. I've been asked to replace a Dyson DC17, which has been a total PITA, with another upright for our front office. I would have preferred a direct flow vacuum, but the guy who pays the bills wants a vacuum with attachments. Fortunately, I'm not tied to buying another Dyson.

I don't know much about by-pass vacuums, other than the Miele is highly rated. I can snag a commercial Hoover for less than half its price, though. Is there another brand I should consider? Looking for dependable, easy to maintain, relatively quite upright with attachments, of course. No bagless!

Will the Miele outlast the Hoover by double? We nursed the used Dyson through 8 years, but it was expensive and cost a fair bit of time. Trying to avoid that this time around.

TIA, John

 

[luxkid1980]

What's the flooring type in your office where the new machine will be used (low pile carpet, hard surfaces primarily)?

 

[luxflairguy]

Go to Amazon and look at Numatic Henry's or James! Perfect inexpensive commercial cleaners! Spend the Miele money elsewhere!

 

[myles_v]

I absolutely love my Miele C2, it's an amazing machine. Quiet, great filtration, powerful, well designed. But I'm not sure how it would hold up in a commercial environment, plus consumables are quite pricey. $18 for four bags would certainly add up, plus it's likely that people in an office environment would neglect it. I doubt a Miele would last much longer than 8 years in a commercial setting, and the cost to keep it in good working condition would be astronomical with that kind of use. Their upright is also quite bulky.

Have you looked into Proteam's offerings? They have a great upright that's based on the Electrolux upright style, it has onboard tools, the design is super idiot-proof so it's difficult for anyone to damage the machine or use it incorrectly, and bags are very cheap. They also have good filtration.
If you guys have primarily hard floors and some low pile carpeting then one of Proteam's backpacks would also be suitable.

 

[ornery]

Hi Luxkid,

The entire cubicle farm is short pile commercial carpet. Should be super easy for almost any vacuum.

At this point, I'm leaning toward the Hoover "Commercial HushTone 13 in. Hard-Bagged Upright Vacuum Cleaner with Intellibelt" for only $250 at Home Depot. The boss would probably kick my ass if I paid $400 for the Miele without a real good reason.

Luxflairguy,

If I went with a canister, it would be a Ridgid wet/ dry vac with Lifetime Warranty. Not for the office of course!

Thank you guys for the ultra quick replies.

 

[luxkid1980]

For primarily short pile office carpet, I don't think I could justify $400 for a Miele. Most anything with a motorized rotating brush should be sufficient. Of course, you want it to last as well. If it absolutely has to have attachments (and you don't mind buying a used machine), you might consider something along the lines of an Electrolux Epic series upright with the add-on hose/attachments. They are for sale often on eBay and similar places. I've even seen them for sale used in vacuum stores on occasion. They are very durable machines and clean well. If you have a local Aerus vacuum store (former Electrolux) nearby, they may have some as well.

As Myles mentioned, Proteam also has good offerings, but they are in the neighborhood of $340-$350 new.

 

[honestjoe68]

@ornery

Hey John,

I cleaned offices for a living and have since stopped, but when I did, I cleaned what sounded like a very similar office but mine was a few more square feet in size. I used the Same PITA machines and more before I found something that worked well. The Hoover Commercial Hushtone 13+ with the Intellibelt is without a doubt the very best office cleaning vacuum, in my humble opinion!

I am a collectors so even though I have over 250 vacuums, only two are Commercial vacuums, the one is a Hoover Backpack vacuum, Model C2401 that I bought “for fun” since it’s my only backpack type.. BUT I loved the Hoover Hushtone SO much at work, I bought my own for home use in December of 2016 as a Christmas present to myself!

It’s very quiet, very powerful and super easy to maintain. Definitely buy the plus model with the Intellibelt as that is such a nice feature, as you know with professional cleaning you can go through belts quickly. But I highly recommend the Hoover Hushtone and here’s the main reasons why: powerful suction, great agitation even on flat Commercial carpeting. It’s great for cleaning Commercial throw rug/mats and leaves the floors looking spotless. It doesn’t get clogged, it never tore up carpeting or throw rugs as the soil plate is well designed! It never hesitated or clogged picking up those stray paper clips, staples etc. it’s VERY quiet and me being the one who was vacuuming 4 to 6 hours, twice a week appreciated that very much! See the pic of my Rinseable HEPA filter and Black prefilter on the inside (Original HEPA from 12/16) Still clean and Not in need of replacement as the disposable bags are very efficient at filtering the air. I just rinse it when needed and it’s good as new! It’s a great, easy to maintain vacuum, reasonably priced bags, available at many places online. The brushroll can be replaced at a very reasonable price as well after years of service. Also, IF there ever is a clog, it has easy No tools needed openings to check, in fact once you attach the handle, you never need tools again. It’s truly a workhorse and VERY durable.. and It’s assembled in the USA.

If you have any specific questions or would like specific pics, etc about the Hushtone 13+ .. please let me know as I’ve never been more sure of helping or suggesting a vacuum to someone as in this situation with you. I’ve posted my Hushtone pics before but I’m adding them to this thread too, so you can see my Hoover Hushtone 13+ Commercial Upright.

One last thing to consider, the Hoover is Commercial grade with a Two year warranty from Hoover with inexpensive options to add more years through other companies like Square Trade or Asurion. The Miele or any other residential vacuum, its warranty is immediately null and void if used for Commercial purposes and trust me, they will know. Lol so just food for thought

Thanks, Patrick

P.S. Everyone here probably knows I’m the guy who always stays neutral as far as vacuum brand, types and bagged vs. bagless as I believe we are all collectors who deserve their own opinions, likes, dislikes and preferences.. so I congratulate everyone on new buys, etc. and try to never badmouth a specific brand or type, but instead give my honest opionions on that vacuum IF I own it to. I have a bunch of Dyson, Shark, Hoover, Oreck, a Kirby Sentria 2... and YES three Miele vacuums which I Love. So anyhow, I don’t work for Hoover or only support their brand is what I’m trying to say. But in this commercial use instance, I highly recommend the Hoover Hushtone 13+ in my most humble opinion. Thanks!

[this post was last edited: 9/18/2018-17:55]

 

[ornery]

Man, that's quite a presentation Joe. I must say, I'm not a collector, but I appreciate good tools. When it comes to vacuums there's no doubt this is the place to learn all about them. When I finally decided once and for all to get the best vacuum for my own home, I learned exactly what I needed to know from you folks, with special thanks to Jeff Schroff (hygiene903), and Benjamin Edge (KirbyClassicIII).

The owner of our company has no qualms about paying more for better quality, but will have questions I better be able to answer. I really wanted to get a nice vintage Royal 880 and call it a day. (We're literally just a few miles from where they were built.) I would happily maintain that until I retire, and it would probably go on for decades after I leave. Of course, that onboard tools thing threw a wrench in the works.

We use a Sanitaire SC8XX series in the shop area for cleaning mud rug mats and shop offices. So loud it makes your ears bleed, and that's with wall to wall machines running. It was only about $150, but I think the owner would be fine with paying $100 more for the Hoover "Hush" series.

Thanks for sharing your personal experience with that machine, Joe. I'll probably pull the trigger on that purchase first thing tomorrow.


And, thank you to everyone who takes the trouble to post on this site. You guys are awesome!


John

 

[rivstg1]

ornery,

Do you still have our upright Royals that you wrote about last year and before? I was gonna suggest a Sanitaire...but if they are too loud...

 

[huskyvacs]

Seeing as Dyson isn't making corded vacuums anymore, you're going to want to stay away from Dyson permanently unless you buy old model refurbs. A battery powered Dyson stick vac would never be able to clean an entire office. You mentioned that your boss is a penny saver, so a Miele would be out of the question for the sheer up front cost alone, and also I think parts can be expensive to replace too. It would also look a bit silly in that environment.

I'd go with HonestJoe's advice about that Hoover, quiet is good considering anything louder would echo in the open floorplan. Also with the traditional Sanitare uprights, most of their noise is from the beater bar or the housing rattling around and not from the motor, not much can be done about that. I think the metal hood ones don't rattle as much as the plastic ones.

Going back to the 80s and early 90s, the Electrolux Genesis LX and Epic series vacuums also do great on low pile carpeting and are not very loud either. They show up a lot on government surplus auctions, so they must handle pretty good in an industrial setting.

 

[ornery]

Well, the "Commercial HushTone 13 in. Hard-Bagged Upright Vacuum Cleaner with Intellibelt" should be here Friday. Can't wait to hear it. I do still own a Royal "Frankenvac" I assembled from the best parts of all the vintage Royals I'm familiar with. I'll put a link below. For vacuuming with attachments, I use an Electrolux UltraSilencer. Talk about quiet! But, I don't let my wife touch that. I'm worried she'll allow it to overheat and kill it. So, if this "Hushtone 13" works out, I may buy one for our home. She'll have tools available, our dog will be spared listening to the Royal (which really isn't that loud), and it should be wife proof.

Thanks again, I'll post back my thoughts on the new office vacuum.

 

[vacuumdevil]

1UP

The Hoover HushTone 13 in with Intellibelt. Is a great value!
Don't use a Miele Commercially.

 

[ornery]

Hoover Commercial In The House

The Hoover CH54113 has been assembled and tested a bit. Right off the bat, it does NOT suck the rugs into the nozzle, stalling the brush roll, like the Sanitaire does. No matter what the height setting, it just plows through.

I said I have no experience with by-pass vacuums, but that's not true. It finally dawned on me, I owned a Riccar about 35 years ago. We let it go when a plastic part broke, that holds it vertical. Replaced that with an insanely heavy Sears by-pass vacuum that actually had a separate little motor spinning the brush roll. That was soon replaced with a Sharp "Twin Energy", that is still functioning today. Never even considered anything like those for our front office.

The Hoover is pretty top heavy compared to the ones I owned. Other than that, seems sturdy. Vacuumed the mud rugs quickly and well, which will not be its normal function. It did that task in hush mode almost as well as it's fast mode, and it is blissfully quiet, compared to the Sanitaire, in either speed.

Rodney, our maintenance god, used it in the front office, and said he had to move it to the lowest "Bare Floor" setting to effectively sweep up the commercial carpet. I'd like to look into that myself at some point. I asked how he liked it, and he said it's like a Rolls Royce Everyone commented on how quiet it is, so that's good. I believe he was running it at full speed, but not sure why. He said he doubts it will wear out and start rattling like the Dyson did, but it will take years to see if that's true.

If anything breaks on it, I'll post back, but it looks like a keeper at this point. REALLY appreciate your input Honest Joe. It was much easier to pull the trigger with your wealth of knowledge backing me up.

Have A Great Weekend Guys!
John

 

[honestjoe68]

@ornery

Hi John!

So glad I could help someone out and I’m glad my personal views of the Hoover Hushtone seem to be accurate. I am so happy everyone likes the Hoover and I’m sure it will give you many years of service. Like I’ve said before, I don’t give opinions on a vacuum unless I own it and have used it myself for a while to try it out. I got mine out of the “Vacuum Collection Room” lol and used my Hushtone to clean my entire house.. it was SO nice to have such quiet cleaning time.

Even though I highly doubt it happening soon,If anything does go wrong or break on your new Hoover Hushtone, from what I’ve researched and experienced so far, Hoover parts for this are easily available online and fairly priced too. I’m an oddball but when I buy a vacuum for my collection, I typically buy all the replacement parts at the same time! So for my Hoover Hushtone, I’ve already purchased all the filters, including the rinseable HEPA filter and a spare brushroll, as well as a big pack of spare bags too. The nice thing is I didn’t have to buy an extra Intellibelt! Anyhow, they were easily available online and I paid only a small amount for all the extras.

Thanks for keeping us informed John, and again I’m very happy I was of help to you and glad you like your new Hoover. I have my eye on the new Hoover Hushtone Cordless version and am working on getting one soon! I just have a fascination for cordless vacuums now!

Thanks, Patrick

 

[myles_v]

Patrick...

If you do buy the cordless Hushtone then I'd love to see you make a separate thread about it! I've been eyeing it for a while now.

 

[ornery]

Hoover CH54113 Tried & True

Hi Patrick,

Just wanted to say thanks again for the Hoover CH54113 suggestion. It has withstood daily use in the front office of our machine shop. It once sucked up too much shredder confetti, and clogged its hose, but that is the ONLY problem in one year. We all like it so much, I just purchased the CH54115 to replace it, and we're going to use the CH54113 in the back offices and rug runners. The old dependable Sanitaire is going to be given away. While it kicked ass in daily shop use, it was annoying as hell with its ear splitting noise. It was very good, but will not be missed.

I'll add more to this thread if anything noteworthy happens, but I can't say enough good things about this Hoover.

Thanks Again,
John & Company