Rainbow's altimate test

[williamr1248]

I have been using ONLY my Rainbow SE on the carpets for the last 7-8 months. Just for fun I brought up my new Hoover Anniversary Windtunnl and gave it a run yesterday. Not one time did the red light come on. Today I gave my Raionbow the ultimate test. I brought up my HOOVER model 25 upright and used it with a completely CLEAN bag to see what I would get from the carpet. I got almost NOTHING. What surprised me was the lask of grit.
I guess my Rainbow was doing a much better job than I thought. This old HOOVER will make the whole room vibrate. It is to me such a beautiful machine and it is such a pleasure to use (excep;t for dust going all over the room). Such a change from that screeming Windtunnel. It picks the thick carpet up off the floor.
Nothing sounds like an old Hoover!
I got this machine from a friend in the vac club. Thanks for the HOOVER, John.

 

[williamr1248]

Rainbow's ultimate test

Here is a shot of the underside. Now that's a BEATER BAR!
I knew the Rainbow was doing a pretty good job just by the amount of grit in the pan,but it does not sound as cool as the old Hoover.
In all fairness I can go for weeks and not have to dust with the Rainbow and there is no sneezing and nasty smelly odor BUT how much more fun it is to use the HOOVER!
I think my Hoover is making more fun for me by just "recirculating" the dust so I can use her again! I like the shape of her brown hood and bright floodlite.
This Hoover and the RAINBOW too will NEVER damage a carpet with a stiff plastic brushes as some of my newer machines.
I feel pretty confident if a Hoover Windtunnel and this old girl can't remove any left over dirt and grit that the Rainbow is doing it's job on this heavy carpeting.

 

[williamr1248]

Rainbow's Ultimate Test

Here she is all fired up and the underside of the Rainbow SE showing the beater bar
I think they have removed the beater bar on the newer Rainbows.

 

[henry200]

First, I have to say that's a BEAUTIFUL Hoover!   I had a Rainbow D which served me very well for 15 years.  I don't mean to discredit your observation at all but, I suspect that as a whole, those of us here probably vacuum more frequently and more thoroughly than the average populace.  Chances are that dirt never lingers long enough on our carpets to get ground in very deeply no matter what machine we're using! 


 


When I bought this house two years ago there were a couple rooms with wall to wall carpet.  I'm not sure if the previous residents even owned a vacuum, and if they did they certainly didn't use it very often, or it was a really POOR performer.  I got tired of my Electrolux Diamond Jubilee wanting a new bag every five minutes, and even my Kirby Heritage II went through several bags in the first couple months while I was busy painting and doing other things prior to moving in.  I couldn't believe how much dirt I kept pulling up.  When I finally removed the carpet there was, I kid you not, at least a 1/4 inch layer of fine gritty soil covering the padding under the carpet.   YUCK!

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Rob-

You have one of the nicest model 25s I have ever seen. I found a model 25 at an estate sale maybe 2 months ago--certainly not as nice as yours, but in pretty decent shape no less, even came with it's instruction manual. The somewhat weird thing about it -- the man of the estate sale house -- his name was Fred Paul (first/last name), which is kind-of my name: Frederick Paul (first/middle name). So I took it as a sign it was meant to be.

Thanks for sharing!

Fred

 

[williamr1248]

Rainbow's Ultimate Test

Neil,
I agree with you 100%. I have noticed in the posts over the years from other vac club members talk about "imbedded' dirt. As vac collectors we all must have pretty clean rugs.
I remember my very first convention I got to see a cleaning contest and was shocked at some of the machines that came out on top. I came to the club thinking there was nothing like a Electrolux for a tank machine and a Hoover for an upright. I had to open my thinking and learn to about Orecks,Dysons and other brands. Sometimes you might think you know a brand and then they come out with a new machine and it changes your view.
I remember at my first convention seeing a little black Rexair shock me in the cleaning contest and the first time I ever saw an APEX Strato Cleaner with it's tremendous suction and airflow-wow.

Fred- I think this machine belonged to Roger years ago and then John had it and he sold it to me. She is a beauty but needs a new off/on switch. This machine is very lightweight compared my Hoover 28 and pushes so easy on the carpet.

 

[luxg]

Rob, those are both beautiful machines. I have sort of had an itch for a Rainbow ever since we say the new one demonstrated at the convention last year. It looks like the Hoover groomed your carpet beautifully. I sure hope that you are planning on coming to the convention this year!!

Terry

 

[kenkart]

Rainbow!

A friend of mine who sold Rainbows for many years...over 40..told me if he went into a house with a Filter Queen or a Hoover Convertible or 61 62 or 63, it was VERY hard...almost impossible to get grit out of a carpet, he said the easiest machines to pull dirt after were centrals and Kirbys. he said Kirbys were the worst for leaving grit, I dont see how this could be as I have always thought Kirbys were top notch in rug cleaning. but this is what he told me.

 

[williamr1248]

Rainbow's Ultimate test

I have been told the same thing but when Tom took up some of the carpet at my old house the floors were perfectly clean and I had used a Kirby for almost 18 years.
One of the oldest members of the club once told me that you could have the WORST vacuum but if you:
(1) used it everyday
(2) sweep slowly
(3) keep a clean bag,new belt and good brush
it will out clean the best sweeper used once a week. It might just be true.

 

[trebor]

Pulling dirt after Kirbys and C/V's

Kirbys require a fresh belt, especially the ones that used the old smooth belts; they stretched pretty quickly. When the belt slipped a bit and left a piece of lint the homemaker tended to run the adjustment all the way down, thus making it hard to push, and perpetuating the myth that Kirbys are heavy to push. Without a good belt, and without keeping the brushroll clean and properly adjusted, it is quite easy to pull dirt behind any vacuum.

Have you ever seen a old Lux flunk the steel ball pickup test and then pass with flying colors with a new hose? The inside wears on any hose, and slows down the air flow. The same happens in the tubes of a central vac. One of the best, and best selling products for a central vac is the Tornado cloths. They push debris inside the hose and tubes to the collection bin. Why is the system not sucking it all in on its own?

The hose Genie is a must for a C/V in my opinion. the 55 foot hose stored in the wall cavity eliminates the need for three additional inlets on average, cutting down on the amount of tubing needed to be installed. It allows the use of electric power nozzles which the Hide a Hose does not. The Hide a Hose requires a complex layout of tubing to store each hose separately and is not easily retro-fitted to existing homes.

I agree that no matter what you use, it has to be used often enough and kept in good enough condition to remove more dirt than is being tracked in.