January 24th, 2007
Usually when a vacuum has super-suction it sounds like a jet engine taking off. The Electrolux Harmony, however, has the best suction for such a quiet hum. You will be suprised by both how quiet a vacuum can be and also by how much suction it has for that quiet sound. This vacuum uses a hepa filter, so its great for people with allergies and also keeps the vacuum from smelling bad after serious vacuuming. Although, please note that you must purchase the filter separately, and it runs about $30. This vacuum is great for going from hard floor surfaces to carpet. If you have a house full of carpet, though, you may want to find a vacuum with a power head instead because it does require some work to clean carpets. Overall, I like this vacuum for its quiet suction and would highly recommend it to anyone with a mostly hard floor surfaces and a few rooms of carpet.
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July 1st, 2006
The Hoover H3010 Floor Mate Plus SpinScrub Hard-Floor Cleaner:
The Hoover SpinScrub works create for hard floor surfaces like stone, wood, and laminate floor. It uses 6 scrubbing brushes to clean hard floor surfaces with either lysol or old english solutions. Some of the great features of the Hoover Floor Mate Plus is it’s extra long cord, light-weight body, and easy to remove tanks with cleaning solutions. If your home of full of tile, wood, or other hard surface, this is a great vacuum to replace the old mop and bucket. I was reluctant to believe that a vacuum could take the place of elbow grease and the mop, but this machine seems to clean the floor just as well as I can with the mop with alot less effort and back pain.
The one complaint I have is that every now and then when emptying the tank, a little water will spill from the vacuum. It isn’t a lot, but you may need a paper towel or two handy.
If you want or own this vacuum, you may also need an extra
Hoover 40112050 FloorMate Filter 
, which are difficult to find at local stores.
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July 1st, 2006
This Hoover vacuum is better than a regular vacuum cleaner, its a carpet cleaner that uses five scrubbing brushes and steam to deep clean your carpet. Most depp cleaning carpet vacuums are large and difficult to manuever around furniture, but not the Hoover SteamVac. The Hoover SteamVac is lightweight and has a low profile so it can fit around and under furniture. The unit even has folding handles so that it takes up less space in your closet. My favorite thing about this vacuum is that both the clean and dirty canisters are so easy to both set up for cleaning and empty when your done. Before the SteamVac, cleaning my carpets meant renting a bulky carpet cleaner and spending the day moving furniture, cleaning, and a sore back from the vacuuming with a cumbersome and heavy cleaner. I would definately recommend the SteamVac to anyone with lots of carpet. The Hoover SteamVac will clean your carpet so well, you won’t believe how dirty the carpet actually was.
The one thing I should point out about this hoover vacuum, is that although compared to many steam cleaners, especially those available for rent, it is relatively light weight, it is definately heavier than your regular vacuum cleaner and it will feel quite heavy if used on stairs.
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May 27th, 2006
There are many different types of vacuum cleaners on the market today that offer consumers a wide variety of styles and features. Most new vacuum cleaners are built solid and will last for years to come with little or no maintenance needed. It is important when buying a vacuum cleaner to first do your research and decide which type and what features fit what you want out of the machine.
The five “major” things to consider when doing your vacuum research are:
1. Type – You always need to keep in mind what types of surfaces your vacuum cleaner will be cleaning. This is the biggest factor to consider when choosing.
2. Comfort – Be sure to test the vacuum to see how it handles and how much it weighs.
3. Filtration – If you have any type of allergy, it is good to look at a vacuum that has a HEPA (High Efficiency Particular Air) filter. This will cut down on possible allergens that might seep from your unit.
4. Attachments – Vacuum cleaners offer a wide variety of cleaning attachments. Look to see that it has the attachments that you need. Many times you end up paying for attachments that you have no use for, so be careful
5. Noise – If noise is a big factor for you, look for a vacuum that has insulation around the motor.
There are four types of vacuums. They are:
1. Upright – These are great for cleaning carpet.
2. Canister – Canister vacuums are versatile, but sometimes they’re difficult to move around.
3. Stick/Broom Vacuum – These look like skinny uprights. They normally have less power than uprights and canisters and are designed for people who live in small houses or apartments.
4. Handhelds – Handhelds are the small vacuums that you see. They are normally battery operated, but some also have a charging feature. These are mainly used to clean places that may otherwise be hard to reach with another vacuum.
Finally, here are some other things to consider when buying a vacuum
1. Power (amps) – This is a measure of the amount of electrical current that is used by the vacuums motor. High ampage doesn’t always mean that you’ll get more cleaning power.
2. Air Flow – This is another measure of power. It is normally gauged in cubic feet per minute.
3. Filtration System – The filtration level will vary from none to sophisticated. Vacuums with sophisticated filtration systems generally cost more, but are also much more effective in cutting down allergens in the home.
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April 5th, 2006
This Hoover vacuum is a bagless canister with wind tunnel technology. Not too long ago I was looking for a canister vacuum and I leanred one thing about canisters- it is hard to find a good canister vacuum under $200. That’s why this Hoover canister is such a great find. This vacuum includes a HEPA filter, one year warranty, ergonomic handle design, and of course Hoover’s patented wind tunnel technology. This canister vacuum has excellent suction. It leaves carpets looking plush and new, and works well on pet hair. Yet because of it’s canister design and high suction it is also great for hard floor surfaces. This vacuum comes with attachements that are easy to change out, and each attachement is useful and serves it’s purpose. One thing I love about the telescoping wand on this Hoover is that you can press on, off, or change suction right on the handle. The bagless dirt container is easy to empty and doesn’t leave a mess. One more useful feature is that it has a long power cord with a foot pedal to wind it back into the vaccum when you are done. The one thing that could be improved upon is the dirt collector. As I said before, it is easy to change and doesn’t make a mess like lots of bagless vaccums, but there is no sensor to tell you when the collector is full. Also, the canister needs to be emptied somewhat frequently, about once every 3 weeks to a month - depending on how often you vacuum. Although, these are minor problems, and aren’t worth the extra $300 to me. If you are looking for a great canister vacuum, especially if you have hard floor or a variety of floor surfaces, and don’t want to spend a fortune, this is the perfect vacuum for you.
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March 11th, 2006
Eureka 5856BV Boss Upright Vacuum comes with a 12-amp motor that gives you great suction. It pulls up dirt from the very bottom of carpet. Also the Boss comes with a HEPA filter system. The HEPA filters out 99.97% of allergens, dust, and pollen that lie in your carpet and cause you to sneeze and trigger allergies. Another feature of the Boss is that it has an extra-long extension hose with attachements so you can vaccum up high as well as down low. The bagless design of the vacuum makes it very easy to empty. Some bagless vacuum are cumbersome and difficult to empty without getting dirt and dust everywhere, but not the Boss.
My one complaint is that the dust spinner attachement that comeson the vacuum does not work as well as I would like. I would recommend simply dusting without the vacuum cleaner. This vacuum cleaner also comes with a dust filter that I found to last very long. However, when on occassion you need to clean out the dust filter, do so by washing it then quickly drying the filter. If the filter is left to air dry on its own bacteria could get into it and result in your vacuum smelling terrible. This is easily remedied by quickly drying the filter with a hair dryer.
Overall the boss is a great vacuum. It has superior suction and easy bagless operation. It’s suction is even better than some pricier vacuums. Amazon currently offers this vacuum for $99 plus free shipping
. I would recommend this vacuum to anyone who wants a good vacuum for an afforadable price.
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March 2nd, 2006
The new dyson ball uses a yellow ball instead of traditional wheels to roll on. The advantage of the ball is that you can move the vacuum in every direction with ease. Instead of vacuuming in straight lines, you can vacuum around your furniture without any trouble. The vacuum head is wide and allows cover a lot of area quickly. This model of Dyson is less bulky than previous models, so it is easier to handle and use for everyday cleaning. Of course, the best thing about a Dyson is the suction. The suction on this Dyson vacuum will pick up everything in your carpets. You will be amazed at how much dust and debris was hiding in your carpet- I know I was! This vacuum also goes from carpets to hard floor surfaces effortlessly with the flip of a switch. Although this vacuum cleaner has a hefty price tag, it is well worth every penny. The Dyson will continue to vacuum at peak performance for years, unlike most traditional vacuum cleaners which loose their suction and must be replaced.
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January 20th, 2006
This vacuum cleaner will vacuum your floors for you. That sounds great in theory, but I was very sceptical about this vacuum cleaner. I am a firm believer in “if you want it done right, do it yourself” and this just seemed like the kind of thing that would drive me crazy. I figured there was no way a tiny robotic vacuum could clean as good as me with a real vacuum. I turned out to be in for a suprise.
Since this vacuum cleaner is unlike traditional vacuum, I’m going to take some time to explain exactly how it works. First of all, there are two parts to the vacuum: the actual vacuum robot and the wall unit. The wall unit can be placed on the floor at a doorway. The wall unit will send out an infared beam across the doorway to close off the vacuum to a specific area of the house. You start the Roomba in the center of your room and press start. Then the iRobot will start vacuuming from the center of the room toward the outter edges of the room in a spiral pattern. The Roomba can also go from carpet to hard floors effortlessly. It automatically detects what type of floor it is on and adjusts accordingly. It can vacuum carpets, rugs, tile, wood floor, etc. The iRobot Roomba can do up to 120 minutes of continuous cleaning before it must be plugged in to recharge it’s batteries, which gives it enough time to clean atleast 1000 sq. ft.
I must admit- I was amazed at how much the Roomba picked up. The first time I tried it, I had just cleaned my floors, so I didn’t really expect it to pick up much, I was just testing it and playing with my new toy. But to my suprise it sucked up a lot of dirt and dust. More than my regular vacuum usually picks up on a dirty day. Its even great at picking up dog hair.
There were only a few minor flaws I found with the Roomba. For one, you can’t leave anything out that the Roomba could possible get caught in. This includes wires, cords, long tassles on rugs, etc. If the iRobot rolls over a wire it could get caught in the rollers. So, you may not want to leave it running while you are away because it doesn’t auto-shut off when this happens. Also, the Roomba finds its way around the room my running into walls, so it does get a little scratched up with normal use.
Overall I love the iRobot Roomba, but I’m not ready just yet to completely disregard my “real” vacuum cleaner. I suggest using the Roomba for weekly maintenance and pull out the big vacuum every now and then to get things extra clean.
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January 16th, 2006
The Electrolux Harmony is a light weight canister vacuum that claims to be the quiested vacuum in the world. It is so quite, you could vaccum while someone was sleeping and they would never wake up! This canister vacuum not only works great on carpets, but also on hard floors, furniture, drapery, and stairs. Its also great at picking up pet hair. The vacuum is ergonomically designed so that you don’t have to bend over as much, thus saving your back from pain. The vacuum also lets you know when the dust bag is full and needs replacing. The one downside we found to the Electolux Harmony was the size of the dust bags. They are small and require requent changing. They are also difficult to find in local stores, but you can buy the a set of 4 bags for $9.99 online. I would also note that Electrolux advertising claims the vacuum comes with a washable HEPA H12
filter, which it does not. The HEPA filter is optional, and must be bought in addition to the vacuum. Currently the washable HEPA filter cost $30.
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January 13th, 2006
The Hoover Floormate works on hard floor surfaces and it cleans both wet and dry. To use the hoover floormate vacuum first you vacuum up the dirt, dust, etc. with the dry side. Then, you use the wet side of the hoover floormate to scrub floors with special cleaning liquid. Lastly, you can vacuum up the excess liquid left behind. One draw back of the hoover floormate is that you must buy the special cleaning fluid, which tends to be expensive. The hoover floormate is still a great solution for anyone who has a house full of hard floor surfaces. It tends to work especially well on hard wood floors. The hoover floormate is faster and easier than traditional mopping. However, don’t throw away your mop and bucket just yet. You may still need a thorogh mopping job every now and then because the floormate just can’t replace the mop for deep down clean. I would suggest the Hoover floormate for anyone looking for a quick and convenient way to clean a house full of hard floors.
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