Vacuuming Carpet vs. Area Rugs: same thing or different requirements?

[sebo_fan]

I wish I could have a house that had tiled floors and few rugs! I don't know if life would be easier, but somehow probably different! As a student I once lived in a well centrally heated home that had nothing but hard floors and a few rugs. Once a week steam cleaning with a steam mop and an upright with a suction only floor head. Simples. Mind you, I recall white tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms were difficult to clean due to steam build up, dust clinging to it all and kitchen grease.

 

[floor-a-matic]

There was a time when I lived in a house that had 100% carpeted floors; even the kitchen & bath had WTW carpet. But I didn't start collecting vacs since there was no room for collections until I moved to a larger house but still had only ONE room with bare floors.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

I bought this wool rug a few years ago... for this room, wh

It sheds like crazy.I just unpacked it. It came with a runner and a round carpet. As of yet, no place to put them. The Convertible, (and, I have about 200 from which to choose) does a great job. I have my great aunt's Chinese rug... about 75 years old. I had it cleaned, re-fringed and bound. It's in a spare bedroom. Again, the HOOVER cleans it fine. She had a model 28, we used a 67, 60, and, later, the 1076. I can honestly say, that in it's entire life, no other cleaner has been used on it except HOOVERS. Here's the new Chinese.....

 

[gottahaveahoove]

The white

Karastan.. 18 years old. It'll be steamed w/ the HOOVER steamvac after I paint the room, make Roman shades, and change the crown molding. Trebor: I wish I had your expertese in sewing. I MAY ask you for tips when the job gets closer.

 

[trebor]

Maybe a road trip..

is in the offing this summer, load up the machines and sergers in tha van and come for a few days working vacation?

 

[danemodsandy]

Robert:

Someone else who sews?

My pride and joy is a Singer Touch-Tronic 2001, in the TOL cabinet. I use it for curtains, upholstery, alterations and the occasional repair when a seam lets go in a $60 polo shirt that was worth more like $9.95.

 

[trebor]

Sandy...

Yes, I have sewn for decades. I am the one who coined the expression "chair dress" for a dress that while perfefctly modest, makes every hetero male (and a few on the fence) want to see it draped across the back of a chair.

In the late 1990's I designed and sewed the dress worn by the keyboard (Kurzweil)artist Beverly Reiger of the Visionary Music collective for their nationally televised concert on PBS.

I sew on a Viking Sapphire 835, have an Elna Carina as a back up and portable to take to classes, and two sergers. I am a machine knitter as well, but that is another entire yarn, LOL!

I once worked for a drapery workroom and learned the old European crafted way to make Roman, balloon, Austrian shades, swags and jabots, the whole nine yards

 

[totalvac]

It really comes down to the material of the rug and carpet. Delicate fabrics need a little more TLC when you're cleaning, otherwise you risk runing the rug AND your vacuum (lots of threads can get stuck). When in doubt, be gentle.

 

[sebo_fan]

Or perhaps don't run a machine over the rug at all - simply take out and shake.

 

[danemodsandy]

Robert:

Talented you!

I don't do much with clothing, other than repairs/alterations, because it's just not worth my time to go through all the painstaking stuff needed for menswear.

But give me some yardage and a window to dress and I'm happy.

 

[trebor]

I love doing menswear..

actually I love sewing menswear and doing the men !

 

[raycarter]

Getting back to the 1930s and 1940s Consumer Reports...

Trebor, would you happen to have those articles on hand? I've seen the ones from the 1950s on this website, and I'd love to see the older ones as well!

 

[trebor]

You'd...

have to get them from the library on microfiche, or dvd.

 

[trebor]

Lengthy discussion...

and question and answer session with Lindhaus rep Cliff Brady today (thanks Cliff!) yielded some pertinent info on this topic. The Lindhaus bristles are polished and arranged in a constant contact spiral pattern to avoid abrasion of even the most delicate carpets. The bottom plate, indeed the entire machine is designed for real-life vacuuming (think Susan Sarandon in 'Anywhere But Here') to get maximum soil removal using a vacuum they way people really do vacuum.

Carpet manufacturers and rug manufacturers sometimes suggest using machines without agitation, because they perceive agitation as damaging. We know better, but what can you do?

 

[Sanifan]

How does that bode for the Lindhaus?

If the Lindhaus is designed for real-life vacuuming (ie, quick vacuuming as most people do), would the vacuum not have to be very aggressive to dig out the dirt that quickly? It seems to be at odds with the description of the brushroll as gentle.

I have a Lindhaus Health Care Pro albiet one that need repair. The main vacuum motor does not work. The brushroll motor does work, however, and from what I can tell, the brushroll does seem to be on the gentler side.

The polished bristles do sound less destructive to rug and carpet fibers. Do you find the Lindhaus to be a fairly gentle cleaner?

 

[trebor]

The Lindhaus is a very effective cleaner...

Lindhaus does all of their comparisons after all the vacuum cleaners have been in steady operation for 10 minutes. The fans are pulling air through a carpet, the belts are warmed up and expanded, the machine is in real life operation mode. The airflow is measured as the vacuum is in use. Lindhaus knows people vacuum too quickly, too infrequently, and improperly. They design their machines to operate at maximum dirt removing capability under the real life conditions of their use.

It would take too long to type all the info Cliff shared with me about vacuum cleaner design, suffice it to say, someone who thought he knew a lot learned a whole lot more.