Vacuums Do Suck
I’ll admit it. After 2 weeks of dealing with our vacuum dying and the subsequent shopping and bewildering research, I simply wanted to use the word vacuum and “suck” together in the title of a post. If the shoe fits…
I can’t really get into buying and replacing home appliances. Sure they are great gadgets and I’m all for convenience and performance, but it is not the kind of fun I have with splurge spending. That is why my head nearly exploded when I started the hunt to replace our Hoover WindTunnel that we had (but often hated) for 8 or 9 years. It has been dying a gradual death of diminished self-propelling, burning smells, and sub-par suction for a while now. Two weeks ago it basically breathed its last breath when it got so hard to push that even with me pushing with all my might (and I’m almost 6 feet tall, large boned, and lift weights regularly) it wouldn’t budge. Vacuuming is NOT the new isometric exercise craze.
I thought, how hard (or expensive) could the hunt for a replacement be? The joke was on me. It seems vacuums are like cars. There are a million models and you can pay a penny or a mint but the quality and performance varies and not always in direct proportion to cost.
For a brief moment I contemplated repair but then realized that for the local repair shop to even look at the thing would bring me close to $100. Not to mention we had been complaining about this vacuum for a few years now so it would be like repairing something you don’t even like. So, the journey began.
I started with the obvious trips to Costco and local department stores. That just made me mad. I quickly learned that I hated bagless vacuums (so much for that “grass is greener” fantasy) and that most were as big and heavy as the beast we were purging from our home. I don’t mind having to throw a little heft into my cleaning routine, but when it becomes more grief and overuse injury aggravating than necessary, I start chanting that I am not a slave.
On a whim I went to an Oreck store because my mother said I should. She is partly cleaning obsessed so I figured she might have a point. I was woww-ed with the super light 8lb vacuum and also by the range of prices. Couldn’t I go on a nice weekend retreat for these prices? I was tired and cranky and chose to sleep on it.
After those gas guzzling jaunts from store to store, I opted to let my fingers do the walking on the Internet. I checked the usual places — Amazon.com and Epinions.com to get some insight from other vacuum consumers. I concluded nothing except that people have issues with every type of vacuum out there. And, the product just lends itself to both good and bad reviews teeming with the words “Thisvacuum Sucks alright!”. I did enjoy some amusing tales of people complaining about their new vacuum getting clogged when they sucked up all the pine needles from their holiday tree. I mean really, even my industrial shop vac clogs when I try to suck up that volume of needles. How is that a valid review?
At this point my neighbor intervened. She had just had her Hoover die the week before and was weary from the purchasing journey. She offered me the Consumer Reports report on vacuums. Unfortunately it yielded little in the way of help for me. What I was able to conclude was that my best bet at this time was to purchase something that would last and give us as little grief as possible yet not cost as much as a major appliance.
In the end the Oreck won out. It was about 2 1/2 times what I originally wanted to spend on a vacuum but I have a 10 year warranty and 10 years of free annual service. That means no belt changing or servicing for me. With 2 long haired cats, that is a big deal. I have no idea if we’ll like it better or how we’ll fare. In fact I was so exhausted from all this that we brought it home last night and it still sits in the living room unwrapped. Perhaps tomorrow I will give it spin around the home. Then I’ll really know how well it works.
What are your vacuum preferences, success stories, and horror stories? Would love to hear about them.
I grew up in a house with a Kirby. It’s about 30 years old and still in use. The thing was huge and noisy. It is also quite attractive as a piece of art. However, Kirbys cost an arm and a leg, and you buy them from door-to-door sales people, which kind of creeps me out.
Oh, and from what I gather, Kirbys are great at cleaning, too.
I never realized how much my old vacuum sucked until I got a new one. I thought vacuuming was supposed to make you want to strangle yourself with the cord. I actually have fun using the Dyson (a gift, thankfully) because I feel like I’m actually getting results. I get a weird kick out of seeing the gunk build up in the container. I guess it’s a replacement for the sports car I’ll never splurge on!
This was very timely; I am also researching vacuums to purchase. I am taking a hard look at the Electrolux Oxygen, and trying to wrap my head around paying 500 dollars for a vacuum. I saw a website with refurbished vacuums for about half the price. Any experience with refurbished vacuums, anyone?
Not sure about the refurbished ones. You might try some “retired models”. There were some great deals at Oreck for discontinued models. $600 vacuums for like $250. Of course you only get a 1 year warranty with it.
I was at a pillow store (think memory foam) and they had refurbished pillows. That creeped me out quite a bit.
I did the same thing last summer… VERY frustrating. Bagless can stir up your allergies (in emptying them), but bagged seems like such a waste. Some work better on smooth floors; others really dig into carpet. Eventually, I just chose two features I couldn’t live without and threw a dart into the price range I wanted to spend. I got a semi-el-cheapo from Best Buy.
I don’t think you can beat that awesome warranty you got, though. Just remember that, since your vacuum lasted almost that long, you may have paid for two vacuum cleaners already.
I cannot get excited about buying this sort of thing either, in fact I have never bought a vacuum. My husband donated his to the marriage and 7 years later it is still with us, slightly worse for wear but still working.
I recently read a blog entry about the best home improvements you can make and according to her, one of them was getting rid of all the carpeting so you don’t need a vacuum cleaner. (I wish I could find the source, but I can’t.) I love that idea.
If you think long-haired cats are bad, try long-haired people. That hair wraps around the bar until finally the bar quits turning and then the belt melts, the end. Or, you can remove the hair after every single time you vacuum. Removing the hair can be easy, or it can require taking the vacuum cleaner apart.
We have the entry level Miel cannister and it is the best purchase we ever splerged for. It makes vacuuming insanely easy. Having had some cheap vacuums, this is somewhere that it really pays to get something that high quality and has traditional features (ie, a bag) rather than getting gadgety. (With one exception, the automatic cord return is a true blessing.)
Yeppers I’ve had my battles with vacuum cleaners. But that’s over I have hardwood floors! *big smile* Never again will I have carpet. Of course, I have asthma so carpet is no-no for me anyway.
I think carpet, though some are really pretty, is the worst invention ever. I tell my clients for their health to skip carpet.
Oh, I love carpeting, though. It’s so soft and warm on your bare feet. But I’ll be compromising with hardwoods in most rooms and vinyl in the bathroom and kitchen. No hard tile–it leads to too many broken glasses anyway.
You still need to vaccuum hard wood floors. In fact, I think hardwood floors are TWICE the work and the cost, since you have to mop AND vaccuum every inch of floor every time for it to look halfway decent. The floors are the main reason we splurge on a cleaning goddess twice a month. We don’t own a vac because she brings her own. When we did own one, we could never make them last more than a year, due to my long hair getting wrapped around the thingamajigs. I cut my hair this year, so hopefully her vac is still going strong!