The word on Miele Canister Vacuums

[r2d2]

Sticks and Stones

The old children's rhyme sticks and stones will break your bones but words can never hurt me" might better read "sticks and stones can break your bones so don't throw any." All of us write from experiental memories. How could I possibly know anything about British constructions than I would expect a resident of the UK to know first hand the construct of houses in Texas or Washington? Homes constructed in the US today bear small resemblance under the skin to houses 30 years old. Stereotyping homes and lifestyles isn't fair anymore than it is to discredit anyone "personal" experience with a product. My own experience becomes my own truth. One might say in response, "that has not been my experience" and then qualify which no one can argue with. Again this thread is experiencing the enthusiasm of youth and the obstinence of age. Better to read it all and simply let the oddities and extravagance of passion remain unbridled. The words can never hurt me or sadly enough never change me.

 

[trebor]

subject drift....

as someone with degrees in design, let me add that despite all the tweaks and improvements, houses built in the USA today bear more resemblance to those built here a century ago than they do to houses in Europe and the UK built a century ago.

 

[bimmer740]

@twocvbloke

There was absolutely NO implication of the US or our homes being better than the UK and its houses. It's all in YOUR head! I made a very honest statement that I have not been to the UK and I don’t know how your homes are constructed. I do know that its not uncommon for homes in the UK to be much older than homes in the US and made of stone. You should pay close attention to all the other comments that everyone else made in response to your post, that houses in the US are constructed much differently then UK houses.

I suggest you don’t read so deeply into someone’s post, and not become so defensive and downright rude when you read and reply something you "think" was being implied or something you disagree with. We have all seen it time and again on this forum how your posts become very nasty, totally uncalled for, and just plain childish! If you can't contribute to a thread in a mature manner like most everyone else on this thread has, then don't contribute at all! No one here needs to be subjected to your overly abrasive attitude. We all don’t agree with each other’s opinions on every subject, but we all try to express our own opinions in a mature manner while taking the other person’s opinion or statement into consideration. [this post was last edited: 3/6/2012-02:32]

 

[bimmer740]

"so that $2k cost (usually for things on sale here, you just swap the $ sign for the £ sign!!) would rise significantly, meaning the cost outweighs the benefits..."

BTW, I understand your opinion but certainly if a homeowner wanted a central vac installed and would not settle for anything less, don't you think the benefit to that owner would exceed the cost? The exact opposite of what you think. If a homeowner wants one and has the money for the installation, then the cost is irrelevant and doesn’t out weigh the benefit, just as long as the homeowner gets what they wanted. Once again, not everyone shares the same opinion and what may seem completely logical in your mind, may seem totally illogical to someone else. One isn't right or wrong, just different.

 

[joshdonnell]

Central vac

Add value to your home ,like when you go sell it .more benifits out weight the cost . And twocvbloke what you said was very very rude. Im glad you dont comment on my post . Becuase all your gonna do is be rude! So im done with commenting on this post .

 

[gsheen]

WOW !!!

Getting back to miele, as a vacuum in use they are nice and quiet, I Have a s7cat&dog upright that we bought as a sample when we were thinking of selling them alongside our current brands. My only complaint (as a vacuum ) is that they start to smell a bit after use despite the charcoal filter. Kirbyloverdan mentioned the same thing to me in another post.

Now as for when it comes time to service or repair Miele is insane with its parts prices and the quality of the parts is not were it should be, hoses, wands, floortools. we opted out of selling miele vacuums just because of that , I could never look a customer in the eye again if I told here that the hose for her vacuum cost half the price of her vacuum. All vacuums break and need servicing, it doesn't do any good when a repair on a premium vacuum can easily cost more than the vacuum itself

 

[sebo_fan]

Thank you Bimmer!

gsheen - I know exactly what you mean regarding the Miele cost parts. A while back when I was on another forum (where I virtually met Venson) I had mentioned to quite a few U.S buyers the possibility of shipping out Miele accessories and filters. I've done it myself because the cost of the filters in the U.S was far more expensive than U.K prices. Miele may well think that they have the prices set per country - but again the beauty of the internet means as consumers and owners, we can help each other out.

Im not a fan of the S7. I love a lot of the features but I found it to be too big and bulky. My idea of having to manually press a pedal to get the machine to go onto another existing rug on top of carpet was also a problem I couldn't stand. When I didn't use the the pedal, the floor head would just move left or right.

If the machine is smelly, it's the hose and the internals that would need cleaning - the Miele filter can only protect the motor and the smells of pet hair from the bag. A lot of owners seem to forget that - with any vacuum infact - when they own pets, the smell of the hair and whatever dogs have rolled themselves in, tends to stick to the hoses because of the oil in the pet hair itself. It's horrendous when the oils congeals after a few years and start to stick to the innards of the awkward dust channel from the roller brush leading through the hose to the vacuum.

 

[gsheen]

@ sebo fan

the machine will start to smell after two uses, even from new. My oldest dyson is a dc04 its been in use in my house since early 2000 but went from been the whole house vacuum to been used in one part as I have multiple dysons now. none of them has ever had the dog smell ever. considering I have more cats and dog's and i am a clean freak

 

[williamr1248]

The word on Miele canister vacuums

R.S.
You brought up a very good point in your post. When you said that over time the oil from the aniamls could be coating the inside of the hose and wands and smell. I had wondered for years why my Rainbow SE always smelled fresh. The hose always still smelled fresh and clean after years and years of use.
It was like a light went off for me. With the Rainbow, I use it to wet clean the floors and also use the shampoo sytem. When I finished, I always picked up a quart of hot water to clean the hose and wands and then let the air dry them.
I had noticed when I picked up the hoses to connect to my many of my other vacs they would just not smell fresh. Even when I went to the Miele store to look at the new machines,when they were started I could get a smell even though they have all the multiple filters. It all makes sense. Thanks for the information.
Thanks for sharing. I guess not only does "wet dust doesn't fly" but in this case water kept my hose and wands clean over the years too!

 

[gsheen]

on central vacs and old houses, In SouthAfrica 99% of houses are brick and or concrete homes, very very few wooden ones.

I used to service central vacuums and have seen some pretty unique ways of fitting them like running them through the ceiling and down into a cupboard , I have even seen some run with there piping on the outside of the house hidden away really nicely. Then you have the messy but effective cutting into the wall mounts. One company here has had a wall chaser specially modified so it chases out the exact size grove in the wall for the pipe, generally this is done on older houses were the house is been extensively renovated.

 

[sebo_fan]

Re: The word on Miele canister vacuums..

Williamr1248

A good finding then - obviously when you wet clean and water with detergents that clear oil and other dirt accumulated gives the hoses and pipes a thorough wash - makes sense! Your own post however has sparked a cleaning tip I had completely forgotten about - washing the insides of the hose and suction pipes...

By taking the entire hose off and laying it in a bath of non-biological or gentle washing powder diluted in the water. Others use a combination of vinegar and non-abrasive detergents and baking powder. Of course you can't do it with hoses that embedded electric currents in them - there are alternate ways instead - this is where those disposable cleaning wipes come in handy, a long piece of wire or non-blunt bamboo stick and plenty of patience to push wipes up and down the hose all day to get rid of the grease, oil and dirt.

If you use wipes, it takes a far shorter time as I then take kitchen towel paper and push sheets down the hose and suction pipes to dry the metal off. Then attach back to the vacuum, after a day or so and use again. Use of disposable cleaning wipes (even Baby wipes) is also better for small cleaning tools and floor heads, though for people who own air driven turbo brushes and the power nozzles may have a trying time of it.

If going for the washing out process, I've found generally that some hoses can take up to three days to air dry. A few people I know who wash out their hoses put them in their airing cupboards. The most important factor though is never to use flammable detergents or abrasives as these can often destroy rubber seals or delicate parts within the hoses or suction pipes themselves.

 

[twocvbloke]

Bimmer740 and joshdonnel, just grow up for gods sake, I have never come across such a childish bunch of so-called adults, getting your knickers in such a twist!!! All I was doing was making a point about the cost and impracticalities of a flippin' central vacuum system in the UK, and you just act like complete wusses when someone disagrees with you!!!

I am actually a nice person, as I have shown in plenty of other posts helping others out to fix their vacuums and offer suggestions for where to buy parts and whatnot, and the only time I get "nasty" or "rude" as you guys put it is when I make a point about something and get "corrected" with utter bullcrap, so, if you don't like it, be adults and don't respond to my comments, just ignore what I say, don't go all flappy-handed and bitch about it cos I'll quite happily respond in a straight minded manner...

 

[joshdonnell]

Twocvbloke

Then dont respond to my comments. i dont need your advice or whatever .

 

[twocvbloke]

"i dont need your advice or whatever ."

Well whoopdeedoo, stop posting irrelevant comments then, and you won't piss people off...

 

[bimmer740]

@twocvbloke
If you take the time to re-read your last two posts you will see how you have actually proven in your very own words just how childish, immature, nasty, and rude your comments really are. You couldn’t have possibly done a better job of self-incrimination. I didn't get my "knickers in such a twist" as you stated, but I will defend my initial post after you commented on how YOU interpreted it. YOUR interpretation is so farfetched and absurd that I had to set the record straight about what I wrote.

I was a member of the VacWeb before this site was created and I've been a member of VacuumLand for 6 years, far longer than you have. In all of those years I have never been involved in some type of bickering match on a thread with another member of this forum, and I'm certainly not going to start now. However, I cannot say the same is true for you as you frequently get caught up in or start silly arguments over a difference of opinion. No one asked you to correct someone’s opinion, nor do you posses the greatest wealth of knowledge about vacuum cleaners. We are all here because we have a strong interest in vacuums and have something to share about them, and none of us know all that there is to know about vacuum. I have far more important things to worry about in life than to "get my knickers in a twist" or become so enraged over someone’s post, as you so often do, that I would ever feel the need to repeatedly knock or totally insult another member’s thoughts. I have absolutely nothing more to say about this nor will I be someone who will entertain your frequent bickering.

I’d like to deeply apologize to the person who started this thread, sorry that it became derailed.

 

[billybud21]

Thanks everybody!!!

Hi Everybody,

I sound like Dr. Nick. Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone of you for your great responses. The information was wonderful and very informative!

Johnathan

 

[billybud21]

On a separate note ...

I wanted to address something in a separate post. I think most of you already know this from reading your posts, but I think it is really important to clean your vacuum properly. I have often wondered why high-end manufacturers haven't placed some type of "non stick" (for lack of a better term) material to the insides of hoses, wands, power heads, etc, to stop the build up of material in the hose for example. With a seven year old son and a 6 year old Lab, the things that get tracked into our crap shack is pretty incredible. And a lot of that gets sucked into the vacuum, and not all of it makes it into the bag along the way.

I semi-annually take the power head apart, clean the attachments, hose, etc. with an "all natural" cleaning wipe. The wipes do a good job, don't cause discoloration and aren't that expensive.

Not ground breaking information, but thought I would share.

Johnathan

 

[billybud21]

On a really separate note ...

Bimmer740 is correct to point out that we all have strong opinions and brand loyalties, but there really is no need to get bent out of shape and start posting a bunch of petty stuff. I really think this site is a wonderful place for comradely (how many people, as a man, can you tell you like vacuums and vacuuming and not get a strange look, be honest) and a place to share information.

Truth be told, I like just about all vacuums, apart from Dyson and the really, really cheap, crappy stuff out there, but I understand why people buy them or like them.

Wait, Bimmer740, but I like late model Mercedes-Benz, in fact I have two of them and they are a helluva lot better than ...

Johnathan

 

[bimmer740]

Jonathan, I've had bimmer740 as my email address and user name for about 15 years. I owned a BMW for about 5 years, but for the last 6 years I've been the proud owner of a Mercedes ML500, and I won't ever buy anything but a Mercedes. BMW does make nice cars, but I had a bad personal experience and won't buy another one. You should check out the Off-Topic section, we have had some very interesting threads about cars, especially about Mercedes and BMW which you may enjoy reading. Please don't take this as being sarcastic, I really do mean it sincerely. There are quite a few die-hard Mercedes fans on this site, as well as many others who have a passion for all different types of cars. We really are a diverse group here on VacuumLand

 

[gsheen]

Mercedes rules