The Great HEPA Debate

[durango159]

Hi Vacuumlad1650, I try to be a respecting person so I hope you don't mind if I call you Andy. Afterall, that is the name listed in your profile, you've signed several posts with and we've never yet met in person!

You have a gorgeous Hoover Power Drive upright! Those are very nice machines. It's a shame that your Grandma didn't take your knowledge when you were young about disconnecting the hose when doing carpets.

I used to have this Blue Hoover Power Drive upright pictured below but I ended up selling it to a client of mine. I do miss it, it was a great machine but since I primarily bought it to use while I actually moved in with that family for a few years, I sold it to her prior to moving.

I think there are definitely some health benefits to not being the cleanest person on Earth and having some exposure to germs and dirt. That being said there is a big difference of environmental exposure and when a vacuum cleaner bag makes a little explosion in the air for one to choke on when trying to remove and dispose of them! That type of thing would tick me off too.

I have found that if I mainly try to remove a bag two handed by the cardboard and also rear or bottom of the bag, so it remains fairly level then the process ends up being sanitary with no dust belches!

There is a different technique to be acquired for each individual machine though depending on how bags are installed, etc. It's nice when the bags are filled enough to hold the shape of the bag when disposed of as the stiffer shape seems to lock the dirt in more, I find too.

Happy Vacuuming!

ROB

 

[vacuumlad1650]

Rob

Sorry if you dont want me calling you Zippy! John long refers to you as that...
Its fine too call me Andy! i sign my posts like that so people dont HAVE to type Vacuumlad1650. its a mouthful!
Thats a Very nice Power Drive Supreme, I have the beige one and i had the burgendy one, but I traded it on my PortaPower.
By the time my grandmother bought the PowerDirve, she was fairly blind and was very careful about vacuuming. This was around 96 when she bought it. She hired the Ladies from the cleaning company in...i think it was 2002. I never liked them because they would scold me when i would vacuum. "You Arent Doing it Right!" they would say too me. They usually used the PowerDrive (for the self propel. One of the ladies was thin as a rail!) and the other used the Kenmore progressive 300 upright. Both have had an easy life since coming to me. I plan to make them last forever. And now I am getting an Elite II...On yes!
Have a Good One! Thats a VERY Nice looking Supreme!
Andy Rousonelos

 

[citroenbx]

heap means to me over heating

 

[durango159]

Yes, John Long has been a great friend for a few years now. I love attending vacuum meets at his home. I plan on making a Chocolate Chip cake for the next one and I might do the salad too since he really appreciated that. Gotta make sure everyone gets one veggies!!

Currently my Hoover PowerMax style canisters and a Windtunnel canister are running HEPA similar Envirocare S bags. Hoover Dimension 1000 is running with Kenmore Q HEPA bag. Eureka canisters are running standard filtration Eureka Genuine B bags. Hoover Convertible and Decade 800 that I just gotgot, and am still tuning up, are running with Genuine Hoover Allergen filtration A bags. Hoover Breathe Easy that I just got is running Arm and Hammer Z bags. The bags were given to me so I'm using them but will switch over to most likely HEPA Z bags. Simplicity canisters will be running HEPA Simplicity/Riccar bags when fully cleaned up and ready for usage.

 

[vacuumlad1650]

BAG UPDATE

Here are all my bags and miscellany parts i am using. Sorry i have not the best pictures. Michael, my Partner was using my shop so I couldnt go down there and take pictures right now
Andy

 

[vacuumlad1650]

And COULDNT TAKE Pictures right now. Whoops!

 

[sebo_fan]

I think if you can try the synthetic bags if you can get them for your vacuum; you wont have to spend so much on bags as the newer ones tend to last longer for each brand.

And before you go down that route, they aren't usually fitted with many layers of paper like "HEPA" bags, nor do they put any strain on the motor. Made of finely compacted S-Class electrostatic felt, they allow dust to remain trapped in the bag and lets airflow through.

 

[motojoejo]

So many interesting points brought up here. Out all the machines I own (which is a small collection), I've found that air flow improved, the bags hold a lot more dirt before any notice of suction loss and yet to see any over heating or strain on the motors. These bags seem to hold a lot more before losing suction compared to paper. So I'm wondering if cloth HEPA holds twice as much as paper before needing changing and if so, would it equate to 2 paper bag = 1 HEPA bag?

I keep a small collection for space and cost. So my rule is, if I can't use it then it needs to find another home. This goes for machines that are too bulky, unhealthy for me to use or noisy. With the exception of my two 1970-72 Hoover Convertibles, GE swivel top and royal hand held- I've been able to fit good filteration with my machines so I can use them and enjoy them.

 

[kirbylux77]

David / Suckolux

I hear you on those Kenmore bags! I am road-testing a solution to solving the problem with the bag collar coming un-seated from the bag holder. Stay tuned, as soon as I know this works as I expect it to, I will be posting & making a how-to tutorial guide. Trust me, when you see this, you're gonna think it's a genius idea & why nobody hadn't done this before!

Rob

 

[suckolux]

I am used to drop in Lux bags and the slide in Miele, so that Kenmore is a bit tough, not much feeling in fingers,stiff, hard to fight when I can't win it!I really enjoy the machine but for that.Have been told the factory Q bags work fine.

 

[ctvacman]

I just put tape around the kenmore bag holder so it stays in place and doesn't leak dust. A quick and effective fix.

 

[suckolux]

this works sometimes!

 

[durango159]

Motoejo- you have some very nice cleaners!! All are in gorgeous condition! Is the second photo a Hoover Advance?

Thank you! I enjoy photos!

 

[motojoejo]

@durango159

Thank you!! I'm very picky about my machines from the looks to the pitch the motor puts out when used. That is and isn't a Hoover Advantage. When I bought it, the outside, bag, handle, mostly the motor were in fabulous condition. The plastic base had taken a hit and had a crack, the fan was worn and the lower bearing was going bad. I had found a beat up green convertible at a garage sale for $3 which had torn bag, ruined motor and cracked case. So I took the metal base and surprisingly good shape metal fan and placed the advantage motor with new bearing on the metal base. Attached advantage handle and bag with hood for perfect fit. It's a personal fav.

 

[n0oxy]

hepa bags

This has definitely been an interesting thread to read. I will start out by saying that I'm a big canister fan, including canisters, central vacuums or backpacks. For some of my canisters such as Miele, Sebo, and my Riccar prima, I use the manufacturer's bags and they are cloth bags. I don't have any allergies, but I think cloth bags are far superior to paper bags in every way. For my Aerus classic, electrolux 1205, Electrolux Olimpia and Perfect c101 and c103, I use the Perfect cloth bags, they are far superior to the Aerus paper bags. My Panasonic mc-cg902 came with a paper bag, I replaced that with a Kenmore Q bag, it fits perfectly. My Electrolux Ultra One classic also takes cloth bags. My central vacuum units also take cloth bags, so no issues there. Several of my backpacks came with paper bags, I replaced those with the Perfect cloth backpack bags, those will fit a variety of backpack vacuums. Unfortunately, I do have a couple of vacuums that only have paper bags available, as far as I know, my Lindhaus hf6 and the Metro vacuum professional canister. Hopefully cloth bags will be available for these at some point.

 

[sebo_fan]

Since the appearance of synthetic/cloth bags, I am not that bothered by the lack of ones available for certain vacs I own. Im lucky in a way that the ones I do own can all take cloth bags i.e appear to have bags available. If someone gave me a whole box of free genuine paper dust bags for some of my German vacs, I would still thank them for them.

 

[speedqueen]

Health Effects of Dust...

I generally take Andy's stance on dust building the immune system but I have a personal story that may portray otherwise.

When I was around six years old my mother's Fantom Fury died and she replaced it with a Bissell, and as we all know Bissell's cyclone is certainly not the most efficient. Being quite interested with vacuums at that time as well I helped by beating out the dust from the filter, in the garage, there was quite a cloud of dust. Later I woke up in the middle of the night and could not open my eyes, they were puss-glued shut. As you can imagine it was quite a traumatizing experience for a six year old. I screamed and shouted until my parents came and surveyed the problem and what to do about it. After using a warm washcloth to clear the puss from my eyes they made an emergency appointment to the doctor next morning. Turns out I had pink eye.

Considering that about a year later I ended up spraying small engine starting fluid(ether) into my eyes I'm surprised I don't need glasses.

 

[cuffs054]

Comemon, anybody who watches TV knows that the Shark is the only vacuum that doesn't poop dust back into the air. It's like a vacuum miracle!

 

[n0oxy]

striking a balance

When it comes to dust exposure, I take a middle approach. I certainly don't go out of my way to breathe dust, on the other hand, I don't try to live in a bubble either. For example, my Miele vacuum could be upgraded to a Hepa exhaust filter, but I see no need to do that, the standard exhaust filter suffices. The main reason I like the cloth bags is because they allow better airflow and don't seem to break as easily. If they provide better filtration, fine, it's an added benefit.

 

[panasonicvac]

Something to add here

Personally, I don't have any asthma or allergies but I really don't like the smell of dirt. I also rather keep my vacuums clean, neat, and last as long as possible. When I used paper bags before, about once a year I would take apart a machine to clean any dust that escaped from inside the bag, I didn't mind at first but then later it gets annoying to do. HEPA is definitely for me because as a woodworker, saw dust clogs up very fast, not only that but I find it leaks worse than just regular dust. And more importantly, I definitely don't want toxic saw dust to leak from paper bags such as Poison Walnut, Fir, Makore, etc. because I rather not get either skin or eye infection in my own house.

I think the very best way to get rid of any dust from any home would be a bagged central vacuum. Let's take a Simplicity or a Riccar for example, all the dust you would vacuum up would be taken OUT of your house and into the unit of either the garage or the basement and into the HEPA bag. What's even better is adding exhaust pipes so all of the dust would be taken OUT of your home indefinitely. And the rain would later filter the air of all you have vacuumed up.