All the hose talk
Yes the rubber vinyl hoses will eventually wear out too and the generics seem to do so sooner in my experience. The wire reinforced rubber ones, if they get a bent or flattened section can be repaired to be almost round again carefully inserting it in a vice and applying pressure. I did it to one I had that I bought used and it had a section that was oval from whatever someone did to crush that spot. It took several careful tries to be careful to not overdo it but also do it enough to bend it back.
Ultimately any hose should never be stored with the ends or any part of it for that matter bent or curved sharply, it will indeed shorten it’s life at those spots. So while a lot of people tend to store their canisters with the hose attached to the wands and the wand upright, the hose end near the handle will end up ripping and wearing out much sooner than if it is not stored in such a position but rather with such ends allowed to hang straight. An Electrolux man told me this. My friend’s Mom always stored hers over a bent wire coat hanger. She bent the two shoulders of the hanger down towards the bottom and then the two corners of the hanger up some. It made for a very nice bracket to store the hose on in the closet and avoided any sharp bends of more than 90 degrees.
Any hose will wear out eventually especially under high use. It’s just the nature of things but a well cared for rubber one will last a long time. Old unused braided ones though still do dry out. I have a Silverado new one barely used and it is dried out inside despite it looking beautiful. Though I have a model E one with the fabric (not plastic) braiding and interestingly enough it is in good shape and barely leaks. It appear the interior construction is quite different from the later versions. It does have a funny twist to it likely from having been stored in that position for a long time before I acquired it but I don’t try to force it out for fear I might damage it and it works just fine for when I feel like using it which is mostly for fun.
Interesting that people above mention the generics as being great but then go on to say that the screws are too short and the suction valve annoyingly won’t stay shut And having to use rubber bands or tape ...doesn’t that make it not so great and perhaps just a mediocre product? And some of them don’t work with sidekicks properly! They may be cheaper alternatives but I think it’s a bit far fetched to say they are as good as the genuine. Some of the generics don’t have swivel handles either which is a big drawback to me. Others rip more easily at the ends, depends on the material they use. The ones with the clear outer coating where you can see the white and gray electric wires running through it seem to last the longest in my experience but a lot depends on how it is used, stored and cared for over time.
Jon
