Category: Opinions

As you may recall from Vacuum cleaners – Part 1, my favorite vacuum cleaner had died. Clearly, I could not survive without one, so I did purchase a ‘temporary’ replacement. I chose a very inexpensive Bissell.  I chose it because it is a Bissell, it was inexpensive, does not use a bag, has washable filters, and does have a detachable hose. It is an upright, which after using for a while, further sets my opinion for the need of a canister style, but more on that later. I realize I only spent about $50 on sale at Walmart, but I do have one major complaint with the unit; they designed the underside in such a way that I see some of the dirt thrown out the back.

I have to vacuum behind the vacuum!

Am I being too harsh? I don’t think so, after all, it is a Bissell and this isn’t new technology!  Still, it does pick up dirt, etc, but ultimately cannot be my primary vacuum cleaner.

As for my comment about the need for a canister style vacuum, it is primarily a hose problem.  To use the hose one must:

Upright unplug the hose add the hard wand to end of hose extend the hard wand add whichever tool needed (crevasse, brush, etc) vacuum the spot, then take off the tool collapse the hard wand take off the hard wand plug the hose back into the vacuum. Whew! Thats a lot of steps.

Canister unplug hose/wand unit from head add tool vacuum spot take tool off plug back into head.

While vacuuming may be a lot of work, the noise of the vacuum drowns out other sounds and the mind puts the body on autopilot so it can wander and think freely, undisturbed (generally, everyone in the house leaves me alone while vacuuming, even leaving the area to escape the noise).  Vacuuming is one of the few chores that has daydreaming as a fringe benefit (others include weeding and mowing).  In fact, vacuuming is almost a zen activity.   I don’t know about you, but I start at the farthest point in the room and work backwards, so when done, I can see the beauty of a perfectly vacuumed room, knowing sadly, it won’t be that way shortly.  Its kind of like those zen gardens, where sand is groomed into interesting designs.

Whether it is zen or not, chores are a lot easier when one finds the pleasure in the act or the result. Look for the beauty in any activity you do, and life will be a lot more pleasant!

Over the years I have dealt with a lot of fairly lousy vacuums. I say lousy, because they each had their flaws. My favorite vacuum of all was a Sears Kenmore canister vacuum. I don’t recall which model, but purchased around 1997.  It died at about 13 years old. It truly had performed all I asked of it and deserves the rest it now has.  However, in retrospect I really wish I had taken it to a shop to see if it could have been saved, as current choices are so poor and pricey.

In an attempt to console me, my husband suggested one of the new Dyson vacuums. I had only seen the uprights and told him, no thank you, I didn’t want an upright or to spend $500! So has begun my search for a new vacuum cleaner. How hard could it be? It turns out that my vacuum had several features that I really like.

1. Canister style
2. No bag
3. No crush hose
4. Metal wand
5. Less than 13” wide head
6. Low profile head
7. Foot release to separate wand and cleaning head
8. Long power cord
9. Self reeling power cord
10. Finger tip on/off to brushes on cleaning head
11. Long hose between canister and wand
12. Side cleaning
13. Full or constricted indicator

1. Canister style – This is very important to me. Using a hose/wand unit with a low profile head allows vacuuming under things that I don’t want to move every time, such as the beds. I usually move all the chairs and small tables to vacuum, but with a good reaching unit, basically every spot under a bed can be reached easily.

2. No bag – I hate running out of bags. Bags also encourage over filling the bag, which I am sure puts undue pressure on the motor and bags are a waste of paper, thus not eco friendly. I have noticed a lot of vacuums are claiming significant improvements in the quantity of particles the units are filtering out, but those claims require the use of a hepa quality disposable bag. My first opinion is that it is a sales trap. At approximately $4 a bag, there is an ongoing income stream for the manufacturer / bag makers.  I will take this opportunity to say with modern technology, surely there is a way to make a dirt collector chamber air tight. It would be a lot more cost effective to install a whole house inline air purification / cleaner as these units are effective at cleaning the air of the whole house in about an hour, including mold, bacteria, and viruses (use the UV treatment to better manage these).

3. No crush hose – Absolutely needed. I can’t tell you the number of times I stepped on the hose or accidently twisted it. It would be a shame if it couldn’t bounce back.

4. Metal wand – Two reasons; one, it is just more durable and two, a little weight seems to help with control.

5. Less than 13” wide head – When there is no time to move all the furniture, it is really nice when the head fits between the legs of dinner chairs or small tables. 13 inches is just a little close for many items.

By the way, if your not the one vacuuming, you better get out of the way and take your stuff with you!

6. Low profile head – Important for items mentioned above, such as under beds and chairs, but a low profile head will also fit under hutches and sofas.

7. Foot release – So easy to use a foot release to take off the head and quickly get to the corners or edges or even the ceiling. Pop the wand back in the head and continue vacuuming with barely a missed beat.

8. Long power cord – I really hate it when I have to change plugs to reach that last spot in a room. Long cords also mean less bending to plug/unplug the vacuum, and overall, less accidental unplugs or side pulling of the plug at the socket. I am sure every one has bent a prong or two.

9. Self reeling power cord – Well, because you can. Its a lot safer, tidier, and convenient, for me anyway.

10. Finger tip on/off brush roller control – Convenient switch for emergency switching, like when you get too close to the fringe of a rug!

11. Long hose – Must have to ensure free range of the wand end and for reaching up high without lifting or worse, suspending canister unit by hose connection.

12. Side cleaning – While I do not believe any cleaning head unit can really reach to the edges, a decent side cleaner reduces the area to vacuum with either the crevasse tool or just the open end of wand.

13. Full or constricted indicator – This is a nice feature. Once in the ‘whirl’ of vacuuming, it is easy to not notice a full dust bin, but it is easier to notice that a light came on.

There is a lot more to be said about vacuuming, but as my publisher (me) says, no one is going to read this if it doesn’t get out there. So I will end today with this; I do not believe anyone really likes the act of vacuuming, but if its going to get done, then it should be done right.

If there are any vacuum manufacturers who really want to test out the quality of their vacuums, send them my way. I promise to really put them to the test!