What type of vacuum do you use?

[strudel]

I also have a Vax rechargeable cordless which I've had forever. It just lasts and lasts, it's been through several batteries. Its "brush" is a plasticy thing, so it's good for kitty litter and mucky stuff. I use it to clean up the bunny poo. As well as my 'proper' vacuums I have a few dustbuster things. With my menagerie, I am always presented with trails of kitty litter or messes of one sort or another. I have a "good" dustbuster that I use on "clean" people stuff, and a "sacrificial" dustbuster that I use on pet dirt and disgusting stuff.

 

[Kiwibird]

Good price for the Dyson, Kiwi! That model is closer to AUD800 here. I thought my Dyson was called an "animal" too, although it's really a large hand-held rechargeable with a long tube and a power head. One thing I've found with this one's power head (i.e. sweeper brush) as well as the previous, now lost, upright is that the heads pick up long threads (my daughter's long red hair, when she was still living with us) and fishing line (from me preparing lines/rods in the lounge room) and these will stop the power-head turning.

As for colour, Dysons are "funky" at least if they're not pink. The upright was mostly grey with a yellow cord and purple bits (at the time, I saw similar ones with purple cords). The rechargeable is mostly grey with a few blue bits.

I too did a test on carpet with new and old cleaners when we bought the Dyson upright. The previous vacuum was a Vax, a then Australian-made bagged/canister cleaner which is still around as I use it on the back verandah, so it has a hard life. The non-turbo head is nearly worn through as I use it on brick pavers. I will keep it as it's also a very effective wet vacuum. The Dyson picked up a lot of dirt the Vax missed, in carpet. I actually detest carpet and will hopefully limit the amount of it in our house when we retire.

Ouch! AUD800 is $750USD. I have VERY long hair (past my waist actually) and I sew (thread), so I know about that issue all too well. I used to clean the beater bar weekly on my old vacuum to prevent this issue (borrow one of hubbies pocket knives, and spend 15 minutes cutting everything off).

I too detest carpet. As renters, we really have no choice on flooring, but if we ever buy a house, the first thing that goes is the carpet! Heck, I'll put down cheap linoleum over having to deal with carpet. If I want something soft, I can use a rug, and if I want my feet warm, that's what slippers are for

strudel
Re: What type of vacuum do you use?
I also have a Vax rechargeable cordless which I've had forever. It just lasts and lasts, it's been through several batteries. Its "brush" is a plasticy thing, so it's good for kitty litter and mucky stuff. I use it to clean up the bunny poo. As well as my 'proper' vacuums I have a few dustbuster things. With my menagerie, I am always presented with trails of kitty litter or messes of one sort or another. I have a "good" dustbuster that I use on "clean" people stuff, and a "sacrificial" dustbuster that I use on pet dirt and disgusting stuff.

I have a very old "little green" wet vacuum (guessing Vax is an Australian brand?). Mine no longer sprays solution (I just use a spray bottle), but the vacuum part still has powerful suction and has saved us many a stain on the carpet by being able to vacuum the liquid out. Rarely used, but great when we need it!

 

[strudel]

(guessing Vax is an Australian brand?).

Not sure now, it was originally imported from somewhere (my friend's dad actually brought them in, can't remember where they were from, but that's AGES ago, everything could be different now, the brand could be in completely different hands than it used to be). Yes, my little vax is wet/dry as well. Quite useful if you have an overflow "drama".

 

[angiern]

I was thinking about getting a Dyson cordless. Does anyone have any experience with them?

 

[noblemacaw]

During the worst of my asthma attacks I invested in a Rainbow Vacuum. It is a canister type that has water where the dirt collects. It came with a lot of different attachments so you can use the power one on carpets and a floor one on non carpet. I can vacuum walls with this thing, I vacuum my mattress with it, furniture and their pillows and it never kicks up dust. It picks up all of Valentino's pieces he chews off of his toys and flings it so I am finding bits of plastic and wood all over in his Java tree area.

I can actually use the rainbow and not have a asthma attack. It is a investment as those suckers are EXPENSIVE! I have had mine for 5 years and not a problem with it. The bowl that holds the water gets GROSS when done as you get what I call "the hairy creature" and I take out the creature and flush the rest of the dirty water down the toilet. I am sure in a normal household with normal pluming pressure you would be able to flush down the creature as well.

As much as I like Dyson's (my best friend has one so I did get to try it) I prefer my Rainbow because of my asthma. This vacuum is just as good if not better than the Dyson

 

[Mike17]

The Vax is an Australian brand and I'm pretty sure my old one (early 90s) was made in Oz. My wife has a sickly later model cordless upright/dustbuster which is, alas, made in China. The canister types were renowned for having powerful motors (in the vicinity of 2000 watts maybe) and mine still serves me well for patio vaccuuming (hard to clean brick pavers with anything else if you can't hose it down) and occasional carpet wet vacuuming.

Kiwi, I too am a "renter" but for different reasons, being posted about the country to remote areas on 2-3 year terms with housing supplied (Oz federal govt). After 30+ years it's becoming very tedious and when I received word recently that my data collecting station would close, I decided I'd retire when that happens (early next year). The houses we get are usually (but not always) pretty good but they insist on carpet and some types are simply awful. The new carpet in current house is a medium brown, shows bird feathers up perfectly, and every other speck of stuff as well (although fishing line hides nicely ) Our own house in another state has polished wooden floorboards...yay!

Angie, yes, Dysons are great vacuum cleaners, worth the cost although depending on where you are there may be other or even better choices. The European ones (apart from British Dyson) are supposed to be good too, but most I've seen have bags which I don't like (mostly because I always run out of them and some types can be a real bugger to find when you live in remote places like I do!).

 

[Bundiibird]

My mum and grandma both had a rainbow vac. My brother and I had asthma growing up so it was good for us when they vacuumed. I think my mum still has it and that is well over 20 years ago that they brought it.

I did not know if they still made them, but I think my next one will be either another Dyson or a rainbow.

 

[Taw5106]

Good job on the vac. My mother had a Kirby, and is on her second Dyson, so I buy the cheap vacs. Nothing wrong with Kirby's, Orecks or Dysons but for our budget, I went cheap. Five years ago I got Lola the pug and I never realized how much pugs shed. I had chenille furniture and couldn't get the hair off so I got a Hoover canister. It did great on the carpets,not on the furniture. Now I have Lola and Chug the pugs, Canelo the bulldog and Buddy the Mexican Redhead. I just bought a new vac because the previous one stopped sucking all together, I told Husband the dogs killed the vacuum, they suffocated it, lol. I bought a newer version of the old one because it did really good on the carpet. The canister is ok, it fills up fast with hair. I swear I dump a dog in the trash when I empty it because there is so much hair and now with Buddy, it picks up his mess too. Mine is a Hoover, got it at Walmart and they are between $50 - $100 depending on what accessories you want. I'm ok with the cheaper vac to maintain the carpets in the house we rent. If I had it my way, the carpet would be gone and hardwood or tile would be down, lol. It may be because I learned how to fix the Kirby when it broke are the rollers and belts. I have looked at Dysons at Big Lots, but my mother was with me and she began her sub quality speech because they were refurbished. I rolled my eyes and moved on to keep peace but I love refurbished. When this Hoover dies I may be going that route but it will be a lone shopping trip, lol.

 

[Kiwibird]

. I have looked at Dysons at Big Lots, but my mother was with me and she began her sub quality speech because they were refurbished. I rolled my eyes and moved on to keep peace but I love refurbished. When this Hoover dies I may be going that route but it will be a lone shopping trip, lol.

I love refurbished too. I wouldn't have any of the very nice things I have (camera, vacuum, stand mixer, macbook ect...) if there wasn't a refurbished option. I can't afford these higher end things brand new (and have never had issues with refurbished)! Your mom sounds like my dad!

 

[MrsKay]

I use a Hoover 3 speed Quik Broom 11 it has a dust cup, no bags and works wonderfully on tile and hard wood floors. I use a Royal (which is expensive, a gift from my grandmother) on the carpet and it can't be beat. It uses sanitized bags. This thing will suck from 6" away.
I have had it for 30 years and still going strong. It has an extra long cord too, which I love

 

[RavensGryf]

For around the birds, I have a Dirt Devil stick vac (more than a sweeper, less than a real vacuum). It works on both carpet and the plastic mats. It quickly comes apart where you remove the handle and floor brush part, and it instantly becomes a hand vac. It's so easy.

My husband has a Bissell 'Rewind' I think it's called. It has a red and green light, where it lights up green when the area is "clean". It's HIS baby! It's like one of HIS tools. You know how men are about other people using or borrowing their tools right?! :52:. It seems to be a good vacuum. It does a really good job when HE uses it .

 

[4dugnlee]

I have a Bissell upright with the pet hair attachment. I would love a Dyson someday but just haven't had the $$ at the time I needed a vacuum. The Bissell has lasted me longer than any other vacuum I've had...however, my daughter who was always death to vacuum cleaners is grown and moved out, so that probably has ALOT to do with it. I've probably had it for about 6 or 7 years now. I am very happy with it for the price. And with 4 dogs, 3 cats and now my 2 fids, it definitely gets it's use!

Oh, and I do hate my carpet! Our next house "project" will be to get rid of the carpet and put in ANYTHING other than carpet...lol.

 

[Kiwibird]

This was an older thread, but we did end up getting the Dyson animal (refurbished and last years model, so it was affordable). I have been amazed at the difference on how much it picks up! I vacuum all the time, and the canister still fills up every time. My old vacuum was ok, but it certainly didn't have the suction power of this Dyson.

 

[MrsKay]

Funny how things work out. I just saw this thread today. Shortly after reading, I vacuumed the kitchen and family room, which are tile, and I noticed the cord needs repairing on my sweeper vac. So.... my sister-in-law likes her cordless Electrolux ErgoRapido 2-in-One bare floor and rug vacuum. I found it at Costco for $99.00 and I purchased it as a spare.
I like that it also doubles as a hand-vac & it has NO CORD! It supposedly will run for 22 minutes on LOW and 12 minutes on HIGH which will be fine for my purposes. We'll see how well it works. It is charging right now and the old sweeper vac will go to the doctor next week for repair.

 

[Birdman666]

I actually have two. I use a shop vac on my birdroom floor just because it picks up the chewed wood and thrown food better....

Then I have a Bissell power vacpet model for my carpet.

 

[strudel]

Electrolux ErgoRapido 2-in-One

I have one of these as well, but it's my "good" one so I didn't mention it before (I have vacuums that I use on pet mess, and ones I keep for "clean" people dirt). It is a good cordless, and nice to use. The only downside is that the collection bin is small, but that's the case with most dustbuster/cordless units. You'd be doing a lot of emptying if you'd had a major spill, I reckon.