Please help me choose a vacuum!

[sebo_fan]

Blimey.. having to drive an bour is a downside? You want to live in Scotland where it takes 2 hours and a half to get a ferry, then a train to the city. But then its double the time if the weather is bad and the ferry is cancelled and the 4 hour trip around to Glasgow on the old Glasgow road. Not much fun. Frankly I can't wait to sell up and move!

Seriously, I can see there's a seller in Ohama who sell Sebo or Windsor but if an hour is too much for you, so be it. The Windsor is the cheapest model but both the Sensor and X4 are incredibly easy to maintain plus they've all won awards and both have 40ft of cable and 4.8 quarts capacity bags. The Felix has a smaller capacity of 3/07 quarts per bag and 31ft of cord. Dont know about the Hoover or Riccar models but dust bags and filters for SEBO vacs last a lot longer than a lot of their rivals and you get 7 or 10 in a box for the same price you'd pay for 4 of Miele dust bags.

 

[mistyp11]

I wouldn't rule out driving to Omaha, I very well may end up doing that.

The Riccar I have right now is the commercial Supralight, with the 35 foot cord.

 

[GM1982]

The riccar is a very good vacuum... it seems like they are providing good customer service... if you ever needed service or parts, its nearby your home. I think a Riccar would last a lot longer than a Made in China Hoover

 

[sebo_fan]

What I was taken with that video is the metal brush roll on the Riccar and individual brush strips. Thats a sign that a machine is better built. It is a pity we don't have then in the UK, but can they be stripped down easily when removing clogged dust and do the Riccar uprights use lifetime belts or rubber ones where you have to get the tool box out ?

 

[kirbyloverdan]

Riccars and Simplicity's

Are very easy to work on and if need be unclog . Never heard of one clogging up yet . Belts are lifetime on them . They have a hall sensor to prevent any damage and automatically shut off .
They are very well built long lasting American made vacuums .

 

[guardsman69]

now that poor misty is ready to slit her throat after reading all this...the best lightweight combo is the hoover platinum uh30010com...even john long loves his despite having the handle release on the wrong side.....with the little canister and upright there is nothing in the lightweights you cannot clean....at 269.99 its great

 

[eurekaprince]

Hey Misty...I found a YouTube clip of our friend Bobby from Vacuumland showing off his new Hoover Platinum Lightweight Bagged Upright...hope he does not mind me providing the link here Anyhow - this shows how nice the vac is - sounds like the extra 4 pounds on it makes it a very solid vac at 13 pounds. Still a lot lighter than most uprights (Miele's full size S7 upright weighs 22 pounds because it is a bag first machine with 2 motors, while the Kirby Sentria weighs 23 pounds)...

Bobby shows you how easy it is to change the bag, and you can hear it is a little less noisy than the Riccar. It also features a set of edge cleaning brushes on either side of the nozzle to move any litter clinging to the edge of the baseboards as you clean.

Happy shopping!

 

[mistyp11]

I am so grateful that everyone has been so helpful, and invested in my making a good decision. Both my husband and I have used the Riccar Supralight I have on loan until tomorrow. My husband can't see any reason why we wouldn't buy it. It is incredibly lightweight and so comfortable to vacuum with. Given the weight and the suction, I think we can take the chance and try to avoid sucking up anything that would damage the vacuum. It is a little louder than I would like, but that is pretty much the only criticism I have.

My only reservation, or regret I guess, is not being able to try a Sebo. I had been interested in this brand and it would be really nice if I could try one out. I may make a trip to Omaha this weekend to try one before I make my final decision.

I am glad there is a community that can help me work through my inability to make a decision about this. I have an anxiety disorder, and it makes it really difficult for me to make choices, especially about purchasing things. So all of the input has been really helpful.

I am hearing all of the suggestions about the Hoover, but I guess I feel like if I am going to choose a lightweight vacuum, I want to go with the Riccar over the Hoover.

 

[kirbyloverdan]

A sebo

is a decent machine but the bags are tiny compared to the Riccar and a sebo has a annoying self adjusting head that constantly adjusts because carpets and floors are not 100 % level . I had an X4 and the auto adjusting head drove me nuts I never felt it was a deep cleaner . The essential G has manual adjustment but again tiny bags . Stick with the Riccar and save the trip .

 

[mieles7]

I had a Hoover Platinum for a couple weeks. Compared to Oreck, the build quality wasn't the greatest and the vacuum didn't seem to pull itself forward in the carpet as much as the Orecks I have.

 

[guardsman69]

the new hoover hushtone is even more amazing

the new lightweight replacing the platinum is simply mindblowing a whole new year of new product to put hoover back where it always and will be

 

[mistyp11]

Thanks for the reassurance, kirbyloverdan.

As far as I know right now, I think I am planning to return the loaner Riccar and buy my own Supralight tomorrow. It will be a relief to have the decision made. I will update when it is officially over (whew!).

I should also mention, back to all of the Hoover love, I purchased a Hoover Linx about amonth ago and I love it very much! Totally replaced a broom and dustpan for me, and is incredibly convenient. I just think for my whole house "serious" vacuum I feel more comfortable with the Riccar. That may be misguided, but I hope I am making a good decision. ANd I hope the Supralight is heavy duty enough to do such constant serious vacuuming, but based on my experince with it, I think that it should be.

 

[ultimatevacman]

@lunchboxsean

You can buy the Numatic Henry in the US on govacuum.com, I put a link to it.

http://www.govacuum.com/11333-Numatic-Henry-HVR200A-Auto-Save-Vacuum-Cleaner.aspx

 

[sebo_fan]

Still, to have benefit of the doubt by all means go and try the Sebo models in Ohama. Then you can take that Felix out of your Amazon cart knowingly! If you do go, try the base models like the X4 or X5 which has a 37cm width brush roll and check if they have that model in store. Ultimately you may find that the machines are much bigger to control until you can realise you'll need just one finger to push the upright along a floor! The Felix is different and requires turning due to its swivel neck.

 

[GM1982]

Dan is right with the Sebo X4... I had one for a few days but returned it due to the auto height adjustment, I never felt it was deep cleaning. It felt like the head would not raise low enough on some of my carpets. The Sebo Felix I liked better, but then you loose out on the hose feature. You have to connect a separate wand to reach high things.

Your better off with the Riccar, I think vacuums designed and assembled in the US, are better suited for American homes. Our flooring types tend to be more thick carpets, esp in new construction homes. In the northeast/new England, older homes have lots of wood floors, you see people with more canister vacuums. (Kenmore, Miele, A-Electrolux, etc)

 

[kirbyloverdan]

Misty

you have made the right choice for your home . The Riccar will hold up to all that carpet and anything you can throw at it . Great choice and enjoy your Riccar Supralite .

Dan

 

[mistyp11]

I have the TOL Riccar Supralight! I am happy the purchase is done. Thank you so much everyone. It has been so helpful.

 

[kirbyultimateg]

Your very welcome! I hope your new Riccar SupraLite gives you years of service!

 

[cue003]

Enjoy your new vacuum... Happy vacuuming.



You should still add the SEB236 to your Miele and turn that into a 2nd powerhouse (with a shorter cord) for use on one of the stories of your home.

I have been really looking at that Riccar, but I don't any wall-to-wall carpeting. It does look like a sweet new toy.

ENjoy.

 

[kirbyloverdan]

Misty

I am so happy you made the right choice . I own the Simplicity version of your Riccar I have the Simplicity F3700 I love it super powerful and works on my Frieze` carpet .

Dan

 

[durango159]

Best of luck with your new Riccar SupraLite. I think you made a great choice! You have a great upright for your wall to wall carpet, and your Miele canister can do your upholstery, hard surface floors and what ever else if you want if your in the mood for a different machine.

 

[vegassucks]

Old post but wanted to Putin my 2 Cents

I understand There is no perfect vacuum and many do a great job. Just wanted to add my 2 cents to the many who had negative views on Sebo vacuums. There is a reason why The Marriott hotel chain and the White House use Sebo/Windsor, they last for ever are simple to service and clean very well.

It is about balance, those extremely aggressive power heads so many like, might be dong more to destroy your carpet than clean it. Sebo vacuum cleaners are built Better Than any machine made and are extremely well balanced. You really do not need to beat the heck out of carpet when u have 114 CFM of air flow, you only need a balanced agitation. When I worked for Sellling Kirby's, none of the sales people including the owner owned one. Most vacuum shop owners who sell Sebo's actually use them in their own homes.

 

[sebo_fan]

A funny little thing happened with my Samsung...

Well, the SEBO X series in the U.S is available with a manual height adjuster known as the G2/Essential. That should beat those who moan about the SEBO X4 not going deep enough.

Frankly I've never had that problem with SEBO vacs though.

But then I learnt the hard way, destroying a wool carpet when I first started out as a collector and thought that my Dyson was tops. Then I discovered that the suction and hard brush roll was taking off more than just the top layer of dust on the carpet. Now I no longer care about "deep cleaning" a carpet because part of me thinks "am I destroying the carpet by over-cleaning the textures," or "does this carpet really require a proper vacuum run over it, again?"

As some of you know I lost my mum last year and I just knew that she was around the home - just had a feeling, I'm sure those who have lost parents would probably agree - anyway, I did a video in my room with my Samsung Galaxy phone. My own video camera via my SLR camera never picks up what I thought were dust balls flying around the room. The dust balls however were not dust balls, but orbs!

However, when filming parts of the home during the day before vacuuming and in normal daylight, my Samsung phone picks up flying dust very easily. It is more apparent if I walk with the phone in my hand and walk over carpet, only to see the dust flying up and at times have hit carpet patches with my hand. I don't need any more proof that despite my obsession with cleaning and either using a dirty fan vac or a clean air vac that even after cleaning, there's still dust in the air that I can't see and thus settles on the carpet that requires cleaning up yet again.

Thus I don't think it is that important on whether a vacuum cleaner can deep clean carpet or not - because at the end of the day, there's always dust settling on the carpet and it is impossible to keep going over the carpet to ensure all manner of dust is taken up - at the cost of ruining the carpet as well if you over-vacuum. If the top layer dust that I can see is taken away, I'm quite happy with that and in addition, if the pet hairs and anything else gets sucked up, I'm one happy kitty!

 

[nycwriter]

Well ...

"There is a reason why The Marriott hotel chain and the White House use Sebo/Windsor, they last for ever are simple to service and clean very well."

****

MAYBE.

But most likely not.

As someone who's been a corporate director and has extensive connections inside the federal government, I can tell you a thing or two about how corporations and governments work in terms of their vendor contracts.

Most of the time, it has nothing to do with the merit of the product, and everything to do with:

-- money
-- money
-- money

And maybe:

-- political favors.

I'm not doubting the merits of the Sebo. But if you really think CFOs and government officers are really worried about deep-cleaning their carpets, you're deluding yourself.

 

[sebo_fan]

Mmm well, as you say, Money money money - as a contract cleaner in the 1990s with a contract cleaning firm to see myself through university, our company were a small outfit who were taken on by a lot of different franchises because we were cheaper to hire than larger contract commercial cleaning teams. The choice of machines that we had were the Numatic vacs and the SEBO vacs - both of which at that time weren't cheap to buy either singularly AND bought in bulk numbers.

Other teams that we knew of had old Hoover Seniors and tub canisters etc but the decision to buy Numatic & SEBO was largely down to the fact that they lasted though were expensive to buy initially.

 

[ilovevacs]

here's what is great if your still looking

Get a royal metal vacuum. If you don't mind the noise of the brand new royal everlast that is a great vacuum for deep cleaning but if you don't like the noise get a used model like a model 994 I have one and love it it is light weight but does better than kirby riccar ect. If you want a used model like a model 994 its about $111 to $170 if you wants an everlast its about $600 or $700 that's what I would reccomend too anyone. Here's is a picture of a brand new royal everlast mry 8300.