Thoughts on the Sebo Balance A1 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner?

[centralsweeper63]

I know it is probably flawed, however, a vacuum store in Dunedin told me they used a vorwerk vk150 and a Wertheim 7 series and used one than the other until one stopped picking up dirt. That seems more fair to me.

 

[herbicide]

Going inside the machine isn't necessary to minimise smells if a product hasn't been abused.
Pet and tobacco odors get past any filter to stink up the insides of a vacuum.

I wouldn't go as far as saying "mains-equivalent." Running a highly unscientific test, I ran the V15 2 full cycles, then the new "mains" (Sebo D4) uncovered quite a bit of stuff the V15 left behind
That is the trick every vacuum sales person uses to "prove" your existing vacuum is no where near as good as the vacuum being sold. Doesn't matter what vacuum you have, the vacuum that goes first always looses. Every time. Oldest con in the vacuum industry. Next time the Kirby or Rainbow or ??? sales person comes to your home, have them vacuum your rug with their demo machine, put a fresh bag in your existing vacuum or a nice shiny clean dust bin if it's bagless and show the sales person how much their expensive new vacuum missed. The new vacuum will lose to your machine. The machine that goes first always does.

I do get the 'diminishing returns' (reverse logarithmic) of pickup* but thing is the 2nd Dyson run didn't pick up much of anything; say half a bin where the first run picked up 4-5 bins worth. But remember it was running on auto so was seldom in max/high gear mode, where the canister was at full blast the entire time.

*Probably over explaining but say for example a vacuum picks up 50% of dirt each time its used, the 2nd pass will pick up half of what the first pass, then the 3rd pass will pick up 25% of what the first pass, etc.

 

[centralsweeper63]

The vacuum store also than ran the vk150 again after the Wertheim and it picked up nothing noticeable (using a dirt meter type thing) than the Wertheim picked up a considerable amount more dirt.

 

[cheesewonton]

None of us really know why SEBO has decided to go into the cordless domestic market in 2025.
For them to still in 2025 to be producing corded domestic and commercial machines in a market which is mostly cordless and selling them is quite remarkable. If bagless and cordless is so superior why are SEBO’s commercial uptight one of the best sellers in that market!
If anything SEBO has responded to customer feedback having spoken to many or read feedback online asking them for a cordless SEBO! Everyone is different in the world so if they want to buy a cordless vacuum to compliment their corded let them! That’s up to them what they want to do. In fact I know quite a few that have done that with other cordless brands but still own and use a corded machine. Not everyone is confident or convinced a cordless can do the job on its own and not own a corded machine. I even know some that don’t like cordless and will never buy one! Personal choice like anything at the end of the day.

When you say “The product they're copying off gets it right and you don't need a corded machine anymore for the most part” so there is a situation where a corded machine is needed?

I get that video and why they didn’t want a central vac system having used a Dyson cordless. Plus saving money etc…. I’d be the same not having one. But it was sponsored by Dyson and I’m never convinced by paid brand ads with influencers in them that are gifted something for free. Even though they purchased a previous model before. Having seem so many it’s all positive in the first video and no follow up videos on how the product is performing later on.

Yes I own a V10 and I use it but it’s not perfect!

Pretty simple. It's what people want to buy. The local vac shop is a Sebo dealer. He is also a Sanitaire and Oreck dealer who stocks some Cirrus and Carpet Pro vacuums. He tells me he has an endless stream of people coming in looking for something a lot less expensive than what he sells and they want something bagless. Until very recently he had to either sell them a refurbished used vacuum inexpensively ( but still over $200 ) or send them to the big box store for a bagless thing. A traditional Sebo, Oreck or Sanitaire upright is not something these customers are going to buy. His housecleaner and janitor base will buy them but not most homeowners. Now he is selling some Simplicity models, a bagless stick vac, a cordless upright and I can't remember the other. He has to have something that people want to buy if he wants to stay in business. We see Miele and Numatic selling cordless stick vacs. Lux International and Electrolux AB too. That's what people want, so Sebo had to join the party to keep themselves and their dealers in business.

 

[centralsweeper63]

It truly is a shame what the mainstream vacuum industry is doing and selling. ( at least in my opinion).

 

[herbicide]

Going inside the machine isn't necessary to minimise smells if a product hasn't been abused.
Pet and tobacco odors get past any filter to stink up the insides of a vacuum.

I wouldn't go as far as saying "mains-equivalent." Running a highly unscientific test, I ran the V15 2 full cycles, then the new "mains" (Sebo D4) uncovered quite a bit of stuff the V15 left behind
That is the trick every vacuum sales person uses to "prove" your existing vacuum is no where near as good as the vacuum being sold. Doesn't matter what vacuum you have, the vacuum that goes first always looses. Every time. Oldest con in the vacuum industry. Next time the Kirby or Rainbow or ??? sales person comes to your home, have them vacuum your rug with their demo machine, put a fresh bag in your existing vacuum or a nice shiny clean dust bin if it's bagless and show the sales person how much their expensive new vacuum missed. The new vacuum will lose to your machine. The machine that goes first always does.

To be (somewhat*) fair to the Dyson I ran it after a single cleaning with the Sebo. From ~1700 sq ft plus stairs here is what it picked up. Note a normal equivalent cleaning would take 4-5 Dyson canister dumps.

*the “equivalent” and also highly unscientific test I did two passes with the Dyson before using the Sebo, where the Dyson had a compatible amount of dirt in the bin on the 2nd pass:

 

[blakaeg]

Pointing out (veiled) racism isn't 'woke'. Woke is trying to control other people's behaviour because you're not able to control your own emotions and weaponising systems designed to protect to achieve your aims. An example of that is cancel culture, e.g. calling for someone on a forum to be lynched because their reasoned free speech, opinions, and any objective facts they present are at odds with your preferred worldview. Spotting racism and calling it out is not woke, it's what the law is based on and always has been in recent decades. Interesting that this wasn't appreciated and that your only response to the entire thread fixated on that one sub-element that wasn't even the primary focus, just to have a dig...again. Completely ignored the entire suite of points about Sebo and their new product.

But from EVERY post I read and you have contributed, you appear to be trying to control what people believe in the Dyson brand by posting your very own 'propaganda' the word that you so like to over use and its annoying. But I recommend you look at your own behaviour because you slander other brands and praise Dyson non stop like you are completely obsessed with the brand or you work for them and feel the need to defend whatever they do and just put down the others!!!

SEBO make some excellent corded vacuums that will outlast Dysons and I can confidently bash a SEBO into furniture and not worry about it cracking, snapping or breaking! The same cannot be said for Dyson's. The SEBO Balance A1 may not be perfect, but it is being sold as a cordless lightweight vacuum cleaner to use in addition to a proper plug in vacuum cleaner, SEBO do not say its a corded replacement. It's actually quite a nice little machine to use on a daily basis. It has not got V15 or Gen5 power levels, but again it is not intended to.

Judging by your responses, I think you need to get out a bit more.

 

[Vacuum Facts]

But from EVERY post I read and you have contributed, you appear to be trying to control what people believe in the Dyson brand by posting your very own 'propaganda' the word that you so like to over use and its annoying.

Then you've misunderstood spectacularly. I provide the information to show what's true. How people interpret that is up to them.

But I recommend you look at your own behaviour because you slander other brands

Justify this statement with evidence please, lest you be be hypocritical in your accusations. I've only stated what data has shown.

and praise Dyson non stop like you are completely obsessed with the brand or you work for them

This fully explains why I've been criticising them non-stop since the V16. You're really making yourself look good here with these silly claims...

and feel the need to defend whatever they do and just put down the others!!!

I defend what data shows is true. Is it really that hard to see this?

SEBO make some excellent corded vacuums

It's not clear what you mean, since 'excellent' is very vague in the many metrics used to judge any product.

that will outlast Dysons

I noticed you provided no reputable evidence to distinguish facts from wishful thinking that constitutes teh charge of propaganda you're apparently so allergic to.

The SEBO Balance A1 may not be perfect, but it is being sold as a cordless lightweight vacuum cleaner to use in addition to a proper plug in vacuum cleaner, SEBO do not say its a corded replacement.

You're repeating what is agreed above whilst ignoring the OP.

Judging by your responses, I think you need to get out a bit more.

This mud slinging could equally to yourself.

 

[Absolute Rainbow]

Then you've misunderstood spectacularly. I provide the information to show what's true. How people interpret that is up to them.

Justify this statement with evidence please, lest you be be hypocritical in your accusations. I've only stated what data has shown.

This fully explains why I've been criticising them non-stop since the V16. You're really making yourself look good here with these silly claims...

I defend what data shows is true. Is it really that hard to see this?

It's not clear what you mean, since 'excellent' is very vague in the many metrics used to judge any product.

I noticed you provided no reputable evidence to distinguish facts from wishful thinking that constitutes teh charge of propaganda you're apparently so allergic to.

You're repeating what is agreed above whilst ignoring the OP.

This mud slinging could equally to yourself.

@Vacuum Facts, most are trying to stop me from even citing you. They called all that supportively stuffs, but they're simply trying to make me speak willful misinformations.

@blakaeg, stop smearing!

 

[z67danco]

Going inside the machine isn't necessary to minimise smells if a product hasn't been abused.
Pet and tobacco odors get past any filter to stink up the insides of a vacuum.

I wouldn't go as far as saying "mains-equivalent." Running a highly unscientific test, I ran the V15 2 full cycles, then the new "mains" (Sebo D4) uncovered quite a bit of stuff the V15 left behind
That is the trick every vacuum sales person uses to "prove" your existing vacuum is no where near as good as the vacuum being sold. Doesn't matter what vacuum you have, the vacuum that goes first always looses. Every time. Oldest con in the vacuum industry. Next time the Kirby or Rainbow or ??? sales person comes to your home, have them vacuum your rug with their demo machine, put a fresh bag in your existing vacuum or a nice shiny clean dust bin if it's bagless and show the sales person how much their expensive new vacuum missed. The new vacuum will lose to your machine. The machine that goes first always does.

I think there is some truth to this. You can typically, or most of the time, recover more dirt with one vacuum after using another. Most people being shown this test in a demo don't know what a lot of dirt looks like, so it doesn't matter if the second vacuum pulls an additional teaspoon of dirt, or a whole cup. The prospect will be impressed regardless, but the one doing the demo knows what "a lot more dirt" truly looks like. That is, if they have a lot of experience doing that test with many different vacuums. The amount of dirt removed by the second vac is perhaps more important to consider, instead of the mere fact that it is removing additional dirt.

Let's say the two following scenarios are fully controlled, equal conditions set for both, except for the vacuums being used.

TEST 1
Let's say I vacuum a 10 ft x 10 ft room of carpet with a new Kirby (vac A), and then I vacuum the room with a new Rainbow E2 (vac B) right after.
Result? The Rainbow removes an additional teaspoon of dirt right after the Kirby.
During a demo, this would impress the average prospect.

TEST 2
Now let's say I vacuum a 10 ft x 10 ft room of carpet with a new Bissell upright (vac A), and then do it again with a new Rainbow E2 (vac B).
Result? The Rainbow removes an additional cup of dirt, dust, fur, sand, etc.
This indicates a much more effective cleaning performance than the Bissell, and the demonstrator knows - from experience - that this is a lot of dirt that the previous vacuum was unable to remove.

TAKEAWAY
In this example, I would say the Rainbows' carpet performance isn't significantly better (if at all) than the Kirby, but is significantly better than the Bissell. Over time, one learns what "a lot more dirt" looks like, and might notice a pattern of certain characteristics shared by the best-performing carpet vacs. This might not be apparent until doing many more tests, but this is just an example to illustrate my point.

 

[centralsweeper63]

In my opinion the best method would be to vacuum a spot with vacuum a then b then a then b and so on and so forth until one no longer picks up dirt and the other does. The one that keeps picking up dirt cleans better.

 

[Absolute Rainbow]

I think there is some truth to this. You can typically, or most of the time, recover more dirt with one vacuum after using another. Most people being shown this test in a demo don't know what a lot of dirt looks like, so it doesn't matter if the second vacuum pulls an additional teaspoon of dirt, or a whole cup. The prospect will be impressed regardless, but the one doing the demo knows what "a lot more dirt" truly looks like. That is, if they have a lot of experience doing that test with many different vacuums. The amount of dirt removed by the second vac is perhaps more important to consider, instead of the mere fact that it is removing additional dirt.

Let's say the two following scenarios are fully controlled, equal conditions set for both, except for the vacuums being used.

TEST 1
Let's say I vacuum a 10 ft x 10 ft room of carpet with a new Kirby (vac A), and then I vacuum the room with a new Rainbow E2 (vac B) right after.
Result? The Rainbow removes an additional teaspoon of dirt right after the Kirby.
During a demo, this would impress the average prospect.

TEST 2
Now let's say I vacuum a 10 ft x 10 ft room of carpet with a new Bissell upright (vac A), and then do it again with a new Rainbow E2 (vac B).
Result? The Rainbow removes an additional cup of dirt, dust, fur, sand, etc.
This indicates a much more effective cleaning performance than the Bissell, and the demonstrator knows - from experience - that this is a lot of dirt that the previous vacuum was unable to remove.

TAKEAWAY
In this example, I would say the Rainbows' carpet performance isn't significantly better (if at all) than the Kirby, but is significantly better than the Bissell. Over time, one learns what "a lot more dirt" looks like, and might notice a pattern of certain characteristics shared by the best-performing carpet vacs. This might not be apparent until doing many more tests, but this is just an example to illustrate my point.

In my opinion the best method would be to vacuum a spot with vacuum a then b then a then b and so on and so forth until one no longer picks up dirt and the other does. The one that keeps picking up dirt cleans better.

@Vacuum Facts has already done similar methods.

 

[centralsweeper63]

I think vacuumfacts weighs his tests and doesn't do something so inprecise as to not have exact methods.

 

[cheesewonton]

I think there is some truth to this. You can typically, or most of the time, recover more dirt with one vacuum after using another. Most people being shown this test in a demo don't know what a lot of dirt looks like, so it doesn't matter if the second vacuum pulls an additional teaspoon of dirt, or a whole cup. The prospect will be impressed regardless, but the one doing the demo knows what "a lot more dirt" truly looks like. That is, if they have a lot of experience doing that test with many different vacuums. The amount of dirt removed by the second vac is perhaps more important to consider, instead of the mere fact that it is removing additional dirt.

Let's say the two following scenarios are fully controlled, equal conditions set for both, except for the vacuums being used.

TEST 1
Let's say I vacuum a 10 ft x 10 ft room of carpet with a new Kirby (vac A), and then I vacuum the room with a new Rainbow E2 (vac B) right after.
Result? The Rainbow removes an additional teaspoon of dirt right after the Kirby.
During a demo, this would impress the average prospect.

TEST 2
Now let's say I vacuum a 10 ft x 10 ft room of carpet with a new Bissell upright (vac A), and then do it again with a new Rainbow E2 (vac B).
Result? The Rainbow removes an additional cup of dirt, dust, fur, sand, etc.
This indicates a much more effective cleaning performance than the Bissell, and the demonstrator knows - from experience - that this is a lot of dirt that the previous vacuum was unable to remove.

TAKEAWAY
In this example, I would say the Rainbows' carpet performance isn't significantly better (if at all) than the Kirby, but is significantly better than the Bissell. Over time, one learns what "a lot more dirt" looks like, and might notice a pattern of certain characteristics shared by the best-performing carpet vacs. This might not be apparent until doing many more tests, but this is just an example to illustrate my point.

Rainbows are among the least powerful, cough cough, "modern" vacuums sold today. There are literally hundreds of vacuums out there with more cleaning power, meaning more suction and airflow at normal working orifices and better agitation from superior power nozzles.

 

[cheesewonton]

In my opinion the best method would be to vacuum a spot with vacuum a then b then a then b and so on and so forth until one no longer picks up dirt and the other does. The one that keeps picking up dirt cleans better.

There is an actual industry standard test procedure for determining a vacuum's deep cleaning ability. It requires at least three of the same model vacuum tested on four different kinds of carpet, weighing the dust bag or dust chamber of a bagless vacuum before and after vacuuming the carpet a specified number of strokes after a measures amount of a standardized dirt is worked into the carpet. The increase in the weight of the vacuum bag or dust chamber after the test is conducted is compared to the measured weight of standardized dirt worked into the carpet. This is averaged across the three vacuums for each of the four carpet styles to determine the vacuum's dirt removal capability. It is not cheap to conduct this test with labs like Intertek charging over $1 million USD per vacuum model per test.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Yeah, those test procedures are easy to put full trust in, just very hard to recreate.