Using the Rainbow

[rainbowd4c]

My history with my Rainbow.

This seems to be a fun thread and I thought I would join in for a quick responce.

I have had my Rainbow since I was 18 and in my first apartment. I'm 35 now so that tells how long I have had it and with the exception of two other vacuums I would never go to anything else. While I just bought a Hoover Celebrity II for the hell of it I still use my Rainbow as my primary vacuum. I vacuum three to four times and use my Rainbow each and every time.

As stated before the Rainbow is not for everyone. I love it because it does cut down on dusting, my air feels and smells great afterwords and maintance is kept to a mininum. I think in all my years of owning my machine I have never once had it in the shop.

It was mentioned that it's a lot of upkeep at the end of your vacuuming. Mine is easy. I stuff the hoses, wheels and motor in closet, and dump and rinse the water pan and stash it under the sink and I'm done Takes me maybe all of two minutes. Once a month I scrub the water pan really good and maybe ever four vacuumings I clean the seperator. I don't consider my upkeep in anyway a "Broadway Production" It's just part of my cleaning routine.

I'm like a lot of people in this group. I take good care of the vacuum so that I can get the best out of it and use my own discression as to what is and isn't okay to pick up. In my own opinon my Rainbow was the best investment that I could have made, and I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way.

 

[filterqueenman]

My Machine is getting a work out!

I have had my house closed up for 6 months and on Friday I started my heavy cleaning. My Rainbow is doing the job! Like Rob, I have very bad allergies and I have found that I felt better with just using the Rainbow over my other machines.

Now back to cleaning - after I change the water again!! LOL!!

Oh Rob - I use mine too in the garage to get the salt up. I do not want that mess in my house and moreover the salt used here will bleach my carpet so I am super careful about keeping the garage clean and taking my snow boots off in the garage. I do wash the pan and seperator after working in the garage however.

 

[2011hoover700]

rainmate question

Is the rainmate an air cleaner or is it just only an air freshing system?


I just boughr a rainbow d2 and already love it and was wanting to learn more about the newest rainmate and some other rainmates (preferibly recent).


thanks

 

[mark40511]

Rainmate

I don't think I would call this air cleaning. I have two of them and to me they are just little devices to distribute scents throughout. I don't think they clean the air at all.

 

[marks_here]

Clay cat litter

Okay, i'm confused which won't be the first time, but why shouldn't you vacuum up clay cat litter in a rainbow? I've been doing it for years with no problems but after reading all this, it's got me worried. I clean the basin out after each use & once a month I wipe some jet dry in there to keep the plastic looking clear. My family had the crome dome w&#92o the power nozzle which worked for years until my neighbor borred it & vacuumed up carpet fresh, with half the water required thus causing the motor to seize. At that time it was in the late 80's and $250 for a new motor according to my father was out of the question.

 

[marks_here]

borred- borrowed

 

[marks_here]

Okay, I saw the video that ya'll were talking about and I can say as long as I have owned & used rainbows (still have crome dome, d4se, e2, e2gold, e2 blue) I have NEVER had that happen with the clumping like that. I looks like to me he started out with not the right amount of water in the basin & that's what would happen. My clay cat litter floats around with everything else it has picked up no in now way have I ever seen that in my machine.

 

[mark40511]

Well think about it

When a cat urinates in clay litter, it clumps up because it absorbs the water. So if you're vacuuming up something that is meant to absorb water, then it can't be good. I guess it would be OK if it's not a large amount and you change the water quickly before it has a chance to absorb it.

You wipe JetDry on your basin to keep it clear?

 

[marks_here]

Jet dry

Hey Mark, well I still can't believe that as hard I try to understand that video, it's not like i'm putting the wand in to vacuum out the cat poopies & pi$$. It looks like to me that there was not enough water in there OR it was left in there for a long time. I know I forgot to dump mine out for 3 days & it stunk up the laundry room. Yes I got tired of going outside to dump the debree in freezing temps, so I bought a strainer & dump the water down the sink & throw the rest in the garbage.
The jet dry i've been doing that for years, once a month I put some jetdry on a paper towel & wipe the inside of the basin, wait till it dries, then take a damp paper towel wipe it around (kind of like putting rainx on your car windows) figuring out it wasn't doing any harm to the inside of the dishwasher (plastic inside, no stainless steel) because I picked up a nail & it got stuck to the bottom of the basin & left it rusted. Everything that i've picked up in it (including a mice) has just flowed out & the bowl looks clear, not clouded at all like i've seen some do. THe rainbow rep. even told me that it was okay to put some bleach in while vacuuming (minus scents) to discinfect anything that it picks up. I have not done that & I don't think I would. Bleach & the soft plastic seal doesn't sound like a match, seems like it would dry it out.

 

[marks_here]

I forgot to put in LOL after I said cat pi$$ ... I would not recommend vacuuming up drywall dust because I was at the rainbow distributor getting scents & there was a machine in there covered in white dust, I made a comment only to find out it was his machine. I felt like a real donkey after that... so please just know that I have a great ¢¢ of humour...

 

[mark40511]

I dump

the water down the toilet. I keep my house vacuumed so much that I don't have a basin full of crud so it's pretty safe for me to dump down the toilet but it's mostly just some cat hair and murky water; not thick sludge. If it were that bad, I would use a strainer or something, but it's usually not. An example of me NOT dumping it down the toilet would be in the pic above where Rob vacuumed out his garage. In a case like that, I would use a strainer or something.

You vacuumed up a mouse? Euuuuuwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!

 

[marks_here]

Same thing here too, I use the strainer to catch the cat fur, mostly the water is a light grey colour, if it gets really dark, time to shampoo the carpets.

Yeah a mouse... we had one in the kitchen, I came in & the cat was stepping on it with his back claws or pouncing (but it was funny as hell) and it started staggering towards the stove & I thought i'm not having a semi-dead mouse lodged up in my stove so I grabbed the vacuum, turned it on, got it & when I heard it hit the bowl, I dropped the wand & ran out the room, left it in there swirlin around for a good 15 minutes. Came back turned it of...it was gone...so sad...then I went to my neighbors that don't like us & dumped the water & all in his garden. I started to hit it with a hammer then I thought how in the hell am I gonna clean up smashed mouse...so..LOL...i'll get it with the vacuum..no mess to clean up...saved me from buying a new stove.

 

[MikeKLondon]

Best Vacuum

Having read this post I think the best vacuum for a daily driver is one YOU like using. I think I mite like using a rainbow. The only vac's I hate are bag-less ones as they are a pin to empty. Even the new little Dyson hand vac I have is messy the best way I have found is to use the Miele to clean it out. I have 2 dogs to clean up after and a rainbow looks very good at dog hair. I'll look at for a SH one to try on e-bay as they seem to come up for sale often but,Will I have a big problem buying parts in the UK.

 

[mark40511]

If anyone

Buys a Rainbow (even though it is more convenient with just one hose on the new Rainbow) Get the 14 foot non electric hose. It's so great because you can basically just leave the machine parked and there's not much you can't get (high and low), plus you don't have the bulky handle getting in the way and the suction is great even at that length.

Luckily, this will fit even the new Black Rainbow (if I ever upgrade) , which I doubt I will for a long time.

Oh, and the plant in the pic is long gone. It's pathetic looking. I tried to save it but couldn't.

 

[floor-a-matic]

I used my Rainbow to get rid of ant infestations; last summer my house was infested with fire ants, so I used the Rainbow for vacing up the ants until the pest control came.

When I use the Rainbow for washing floors, it does a better job than the FloorMate. Sometimes I use the Lux B8 to dispense water & Mr. Clean & scrub the floor, then use the AquaMate (with squeegee tool attached) for rinsing & vacing up the water. It's so much better than a mop!

 

[barbie]

my Rainbow was the best investment that I could have made,

I agree completely...with pets in the house (three cats and one dog), living on a farm, and allergy issues...the Rainbow (made by Rexair) is well worth the money. I came here looking for advice on cleaning drywall dust...and looks like I may just clean it up by hand....or soak it on the floor and use my carpet cleaners instead of my Rainbow. Thanks to all who posted here....good info.