Need Professional Help............

[hoovervirgin]

Hello, So i decided that i needed a new hoover and what a minefield :-O. I review everything a dozen times over and have literally wasted hours of my life which i wont get back so thought i would turn to people in the know.

I originally got excited about owning a Miele S8320 and was adamant i was having one. Then i stumbled across the Sebo particularly the X4 extra, x5 extra or the Felix (pet) Now i don't know what to go for :-/. I live in Scotland and cant see anywhere that means i could go and try them all out.

I would be happy with either canister or upright. I live in a five bedroom house not a bad size but certainly not american house size. The majority of floors are short carpeted with only the kitchen having Lino. I would like a telescopic wand if possible.

Please Help and let me know which hoover would be best for my family with reasons why.
Kind Regards.

 

[madabouthoovers]

 


Miele's S7 series is very good for large houses, and has a switchable brushbar for use on Lino flooring, and adjustable suction power, plus an extendable wand and stretch stair hose.  They are good value at less than the price of a Dyson upright, and have large 6 litre multi layer dustbags. The downside to this model is it is heavy at 10Kg, so carrying up stairs could be a toil.


 


The Sebo X series is a very good machine for carpet use, but not on lino - I know as I have one, and the brushroll cannot be switched off, so it has damaged the lino in places. The X series uses cheaper bags than the Miele S7, and is more robust and a bit lighter at 8Kg. It has a fixed length plastic wand and the Extra models come with an additional stair hose. It also has computer controlled height adjust for carpets and hard floor, but as I said can damage lino. It is also able to detect a full bag or blocked brushbar and switch the motor off for itself. The X5 is the same as the X4 except it has a wider cleaning path, which will clean faster in larger areas. Bags for the Sebo X series cost about £9 for 8.


 


The Felix is more flexible than the X series, but doesn't have auto height adjustment, and a 3 litre bag, as opposed to 5.3 litres on the X series. Its more suited to smaller houses with carpets and hard floors as its brushroll can be switched off. It weighs about 7kg so heavier than it looks due to the fact that like the Miele S7, it has 2 motors - one for the suction and one for the brushbar.


Felix models are all the same, but come in different colours, with differing additional accessories like parquet brushes or turbo brushes.


 


For your type of house and all carpets in most rooms, go for an upright, as it will be quicker to use than a cylinder.


 


If you must have a cylinder, then its better with a turbo brush head, such as the S8320 Cat and Dog, as a straight suction nozzle will make cleaning expanses of carpet hard work.


Sebo also do the D range of cylinders which have large 6 litre bags and the D2 Total has a variety of floor and turbo brushes. The D series is a bulky cleaner but suited to large homes with its long 12m cable and 6 litre dustbags.


 


Personally, if I was in your situation I would go for the Miele S7 Cat and Dog, which gives you a mini turbo brush for stairs and upholstery. Its able to do hard floors and lino, as its brushroll can be switched off, and it has the long hose and extendable metal wand. Filtration is excellent and it has a large 6 litre bag. Bags for this model, the Miele U type cost about £10 for 4.


Here is a link to the Miele S7 at a good price (£258 with free delivery)


 



http://www.petertysonappliances.co.uk/ebuttonz/ebz_product_pages/miele_s7260.shtml

 

[dys0nb0y]

sebo d4

what about the sebo d4 premium thats a pretty good vacuum

 

[madabouthoovers]

Indeed it is Josh - its a possibility, but bear in mind that its the most pricey option at well over £300, and its size and bulk isn't for everyone.

 

[hoovervirgin]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply!. I have looked at the S7 but looking at the reviews am worried about the weight. I'm only 5ft 2 and a button. Is this likely to be an issue?

Thanks again

 

[madabouthoovers]

If you will be the one that uses the vacuum then yes it will be an issue. The S7 is a tall vacuum, and so is the Sebo X series, as neither of them have adjustable handle height.


The Felix on the other hand does have an adjustable handle, which can be lowered into the machine for the less tall user.


In light of your stature, the Felix would be a better bet, but it does have the smallest bag capacity - although you can buy 8 bags for about a tenner, so not too bad in cost. The felix has a short hose, but doesn't have an extension wand. the main body can be removed from its power head base though so can be used as a carry vac for doing the stairs.


I still maintain that an upright would be your best bet in view of the fact that your home is mainly carpeted.


 


Did you specifically want a bagged cleaner?

 

[sebo_fan]

Hi Harry im in Dunoon if that helps. You're more than welcome to visit and try. I used to own a Miele S7210 in yellow - the plastics show up scrapes badly, more than SEBO and the brush rolls aren't removable for cleaning like the SEBO X or Felix.

Though the Miele has everything on board, it requires to be manually pedalled over rugs if you have them on the floor.

Cost wise to run, Miele is far more expensive than SEBO. The only way I got past this was to keep the bags in the vacuum cleaner until they were bursting with dirt to justify the "box for a year," of which you only get 4 in a box. The yearly HEPA cartridge is also expensive to buy, especially if you have pets as the charcoal within the HEPA filter reacts more to pongy pet hair as it sits in the bag.

Miele's S7 main hose is also stitched in by two screws, whereas everything on the SEBO vacs just unclips from locking mechanisms, or pull out.

BTW I have a Miele S8340 Ecoline, SEBO K1P, SEBO D2 Total, SEBO X and SEBO Felix. All of these vacs are great for the size of home I'm in and the D2 Total is my favourite as it has the longest cord to get around with.

The SEBO X effectively halves its weight when pushing the vacuum across a floor due to its electronic sensor. I have never damaged lino when cleaning with my X machines and I also use my X for cleaning marble hard floor.

The SEBO Felix has a 3.5 litre dust bag and you get more bags for your money compared to Miele. SEBO's Felix also has a height adjustable handle which could help you for your height.

The X has a fixed handle but because of its auto sensor head, glides over carpets and only a pinch of the fingers will be required to guide the handle.

Whatever you decide, the S7 is a bulky upright - it was made for the U.S in mind and though it is years ahead of SEBO in terms of design, it may be too big for you to handle. I also have a bagless Hoover Slalom that has a similar size to the S7.

 

[madabouthoovers]

Lino

It all depends on whether the lino is stuck down all over as to whether it will get scuffed by the X series brushroll. If its not glued down, it gets sucked up to the nozzle and the brushes can scorch it.

 

[jade_angel]

What about a Henry? I haven't used one since they're hard to come by in the US, but I've never heard anything bad about them.

 

[sebo_fan]

My lino isn't glued down and no, brushes haven't scorched it.

The worst kind of upright that will destroy any hard floor is those with beater bars or plastic tufts. SEBO's don't have that as well you know.

 

[rosiembanks]

Just agreeing with the idea that the Miele S7 is likely too tall and maybe too heavy for you. I'm 5'3" and thought it was a great idea until I tried it out. I'd never thought about a vacuum being too tall, but it's all in the center of gravity, and the way Miele has its uprights twist and turn (a cool feature) is unwieldy for someone my height. I didn't like it--it was like using weights--all in the top half. If I'd were a taller person, I think it would feel balanced, but I am what I am.

 

[super-sweeper]

Why on Earth,

Would you even run a beater-bar machine over a hard floor surface? Why do you think there's cleaners that CONVERT into Attachments mode? (Hence-CONVERTIBLE!  

)!

 

[madabouthoovers]

But in any case - hard floors and lino are better cleaned with a suction only head, or a stationary brushroll. My bathroom lino has been damaged in more than one place by using uprights with the brushroll rotating, which creates friction burns, and example of which is below: Its taught me a lesson about the damage a rotating brushroll can do to this type of flooring, so I always use a machine where the brushes are stationary or use a cylinder vac with the hard floor head on it.


I agree that many uprights machines with revolving brushes are fine on fixed hard floors - but is it worth the risk? Sebo themselves say in the manual for the X series that they cannot be held responsible for damage caused to delicate floors by the revolving brushroll.

[this post was last edited: 3/19/2014-21:10]

 

[sebo_fan]

There are uprights on the market that have beater bar tufts in the brush rolls. Unless every member of the public would take time to read this forum and its associated posts, they're unlikely to, in the same way they would ignore that filter on board that needs cleaning or a clogged tube.

NOT everyone sensible would run an upright on a hard floor thinking that they have to switch the brush roll off, if given the idea or facility on the vacuum anyway.

I adore the Senior vacuum but its not practical in this day and age to run and get the convertor pan, then the tools and then something else.

The poster has asked about modern vacuums, after all.

 

[madabouthoovers]

And the above damage is why I suggest that the opening poster might consider the Sebo Felix, as its great for adjusting the height of the handle, its fairly light, and can be converted to a handheld for doing above floors and the stairs. Its brushroll can also be shut off for the lino flooring, and the suction power reduced to prevent the lino being sucked up to the nozzle.


The only thing the Felix doesn't have is a telescopic tube.


 


Sebo Felix in handheld mode (minus the floorhead):

 

[sebo_fan]

The other downside to the Felix is the small dust bag capacity.


 


In the home that Harry has stated quite clearly what he has to live in, one bag in the Felix may not last the statistical 2 to 3 months. Particularly with so many rooms to clean up with. Even if you get 7 bags in a box, it may well be a rather costlier option than the bigger bagged D2 series or the X series.


 


 


 

[this post was last edited: 3/19/2014-22:58]

 

[super-sweeper]

It sure couldn't cope with today's lifestyle!

People too lazy to pick up coins and rocks off the floor or go get attachments form the closet. First you would do floors, then set the cleaner up to do above-the-floor cleaning. Now it's just "rush to barely vacuum the floor and care less about the junk stuck in a crevice or dust in the curtains because I have better things to do in life", That is if modern people could be bother to vacuum at all! But any thread is fun when you throw a HOOVER in it! 

 


While I'd love to contribute to the original intentions of this thread, I cannot speak for market choices available "Across the pond", I'll let you two carry on to hopefully sell said client on a X__________!

 

[sebo_fan]

Well, life isn't as slow as it was "back then." Most people have busy lives, cue the Robotic Roomba vacs etc!


 


As I have commented in other threads - the MASSIVE problem with using a Convertible/Senior/Junior is just what do you do when the zip eventually breaks on the soft bag? It was a problem I faced after owning quite a few vintage classics by Hoover for many years and then suddenly realising what would happen if the bag was to suffer a crack or a tear as well as a broken zip. I've had many Hoover Juniors where eventually the zips tear away from the outer bags.


 


Original soft bags for UK market Hoover vintages are hard enough to find, let alone the aftermarket ones that exist that pull the style away from the vacuum. 


 


Oh its all very well bringing a Hoover model into the equation - but when something as easy as a zip breaks on opening the soft bag up, "we collectors" may well be gentle and slow, but not average Joe.


 


 

 

[super-sweeper]

Well,

What happens 40 Years later and your Sebo Breaks a Door-Latch?