Upright Vacuum Cleaners

The “Bagless Vacuum Fad” is over! Consumers and consumer-oriented vacuum manufacturers are realizing that bagless upright vacuums are the filthiest appliances in the home. Dust and filth gets into every interior part of bagless vacuums, no matter how good the filtration system. When upright vacuum canisters are emptied inside of the home, an unacceptable amount of dust and contamination flows back into the air, and eventually back onto the surfaces, that were just cleaned.

When dust gets into the motor and other mechanical parts, it causes friction, heat buildup and leads to premature mechanical failure of the vacuum. Contrary to the commercials, bagless vacuums do loose cleaning power just like every other vacuum. Although several manufacturers of some bagless machines claim “you’ll never have to replace filters,” according to the nation’s largest manufacturer and distributor of vacuum cleaner replacement parts Buckeye Vacuum Cleaner Supply, one of their top selling replacement filters is the “lifetime filter” found in best known bagless machine on the market today. It’s not ironic that the most repaired vacuum brand in the business is also the largest producer of bagless vacuums today, Bissell.

If you do currently own a bagless vacuum, we advise you to ALWAYS empty them outside, and down-wind so that the dust and dirt will not fly back into your face nor your house.

The Facts | Upright Vacuums with Bags are Cleaner

When you change the bag in an upright vacuum you are essentially cleaning the vacuum by removing the dust particles caught in the bag.  Bagged upright vacuums need to be cleaned and maintained less often and provide better suction.

The experience on the front lines of the vacuum repair industry shows that claims made by the manufacturers of the most advertised, well-known vacuum brands as to quality and durability are FALSE. It is the opinion of most vacuum (sales and repair) professionals that half of the price you pay for the most advertised brands goes to advertising, and a very small percentage goes back into quality control.

In contrast, manufacturers of high-quality, lesser advertised vacuums, ones that you may not have heard of (Miele, Riccar, Sebo, Lindhaus) invest a disproportionate of time and effort into quality control providing top-quality upright vacuums.

Riccar, which manufactures upright vacuums in the United States, purchases some of their components from overseas and tests, disassembles and reassembles every component that they receive before passing it on to their distribution channels for sale. Miele Incorporated, another lesser-known manufacturer, tests 100% of their vacuums off of the assembly line before they are boxed and shipped.  These are true upright vacuums cleaners that can be counted on to clean thoroughly.

All in all, just because a vacuum is advertised on TV does not mean that it\’s durable, of good quality, and will clean your home.

Upright Vacuums | Quality Counts

Midwest Vacuums is a local vacuum specialist that supplies and services top-quality upright vacuums.  Riccar, for example, is a vacuum brand that provides upright vacuums that can last a lifetime if properly maintained.  By not spending money on television, newspaper and radio campaigns, manufacturers like Riccar have more money available for quality parts, construction and control on their upright vacuums.

The well known “eight pound” vacuum (it actually weighs more than nine pounds) is sometimes harder to push on carpeting than vacuums weighing more than three times as much. Make sure if you are looking to purchase a “lightweight” vacuum that it has a stiff/aggressive brush-roll. This will ensure that the vacuum will push easy and clean better. Soft brushes on a light vacuum tend not to dig into the nap of the carpeting and don’t produce good cleaning results.

Always make sure you are able to test a vacuum cleaner on your carpets before you’re committed to purchasing. If you’re purchasing online or from an 800 number – consider the inconvenience of having to box up your vacuum cleaner and mail it back for the refund.

Sometimes, a heavier vacuum will push easier than a lighter-weight machine. An engineering trick used to make a vacuum easier to push is to use a stiffer bristle in a vacuum cleaner\’s brush-roll or agitator. This has an added benefit of grooming carpeting better. If you have a very delicate carpet, you may want to consider sacrificing this better cleaning brush-roll design for a gentler one that won’t be overly aggressive and prematurely ruin your carpeting.

The best known lightweight vacuum cleaner, the “8 Pound” Oreck, has such a small motor that it’s necessary to use a very soft brush-roll so the motor won’t overwork. This softer type of brush does not do a good job of grabbing the carpet, making this type of vacuum harder to push on medium to thicker pile carpets.

Oreck vacuums, although they are incorrectly recommended by the manufacturer for all situations, are appropriate for use in a limited few:

• Delicate carpets
• Situations where daily, less aggressive cleaning is suitable (such as hotel rooms)
• When a regular full-powered vacuum is too heavy AND the Oreck will push with ease on your particular carpet type (always test the Oreck on your carpeting before purchasing.)

Lightweight Vacuums | Use with Care

While many lightweight vacuums seem to provide great benefits, make sure to examine the brushroll and carpet type before buying. Many other upright vacuum brands that carry “heavier” vacuums are actually EASIER to use when vacuuming carpets than several of the lightweight brands.

ALL vacuums (except central vacuum systems) leak dust into your home. Household vacuum dust is composed of some pretty nasty stuff, including dead skin cells, dirt and filth from the bottom of your shoes, bacteria, viruses, dust mites and dozens of other contaminants and allergens of microscopic size. These germs can easily pass through your vacuum’s bag and filtration systems. Even the world’s best filtering vacuum cleaner leaks some amount of dust back into your environment.

Before you borrow, or share, vacuums, consider:

• Do you really know how clean your neighbor’s home is?
• Do you know what your cleaning service picked up in the previous five homes that were cleaned before using the vacuum in your home?
• Do any of those homes have pets that soil the yard where the owners inadvertently walk through the yard and into their homes without taking off their shoes?

Get the picture? We encourage you that unless you know everywhere a vacuum cleaner has been, do not turn it on in your home.

Don’t Share Vacuums | Keep Out Germs

It’s not a good idea to borrow vacuums from a friend, neighbor, or even vacuum company. Also, if you have a cleaning service, ask them to use your personal vacuum. Vacuums are responsible for picking up all kinds of dust, dirt and allergens. No matter how great the vacuum, it will always carry some leftover particles. Make sure you’re not allowing those from someone else’s family into your home.

Common sense dictates that if you spend more on a product, you should get better quality. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. As explained in Myth 2, some manufacturers spend a disproportionate amount of revenue on advertising and marketing to get their product known and do not invest in quality and reputation.

With that said, often times the purchase price of better known, very expensive vacuums is so high because a significant amount of the profits goes to marketing and advertising over engineering and development. What this means for consumers is that a $500 popular branded vacuum should really sell for $250 given its quality and dependability. Some of the best products are the ones rarely seen on TV and in newspapers, they\’re the ones you hear about in conversations with others and by visiting a local independent vacuum retailer such as Midwest Vacuums.

High Quality Vacuums | Spending more isn’t always better

Spending more money on a vacuum, and especially a vacuum brand that is well advertised, doesn’t always guarantee that you’ll get the best-quality vacuum. Be careful when purchasing high-dollar, well marketed models, and instead consider buying a lesser-known, yet higher-quality vacuum, from an independent vacuum retailer.

Spending more on a vacuum doesn’t guarantee that you’re getting a good vacuum cleaner; however, the same rule doesn’t hold true for the opposite. When you buy a cheap vacuum cleaner, that’s what you get.

Ten years ago it was possible to purchase the less expensive vacuums on the market and still get a quality piece of merchandise. Not so these days. With international trade barriers relaxed, manufacturers have discovered how easy it is to import cheap products from China that look good and sell well, all before the consumer realizes the problems associated with their bargain vacuum. Because there is little to no oversight on production and labor of the imported parts, product quality suffers enormously.

Cheap Vacuums | You Get What You Pay For

A bargain vacuum price will result in a poor vacuum. Because of relaxed importation guidelines, vacuums that sell for less have low-quality parts and will not last. Invest your money in a higher-quality upright vacuum that will last.

Investing in high-quality vacuums costs less over time than buying a bargain vacuums. As you clean your home, you will repair and replace a cheap vacuum three-to-five times more frequently than you will a quality machine. A bargain vacuum will never get out as much dirt nor groom your carpets as well as a quality vacuum. Plus, using a cheap vacuum will lead to premature wear and tear on your expensive carpeting. Not to mention the health concerns due to bargain vacuums leaking dust. Sure, you\’re going to spend more money on a good, durable, quality vacuum. But, over time your savings will far outweigh the initial expense. As Benjamin Franklin said, “The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”

Quality Upright Vacuum Cleaners | Make the long-term investment

Purshasing a high-quality vacuum is definitely an investment. While the initial cost may be more than what a clearance, cheap vacuum will run – the investment will last over time. High-quality vacuums will last three-to-five times longer, clean your home better, and save the environment from old vacuums thrown out.

The majority of “HEPA” vacuum cleaners are not properly sealed and leak an unacceptable amount of dust and filth back into the air. Many consumers buy “HEPA” vacuums because they believe they filter all of the dust and micro-fine contaminants out of vacuum exhaust. As it turns out, the most harmful dust is virtually invisible to the naked eye and readily escapes most vacuums.

Your independent vacuum retail center, like Midwest Vacuums, should have a Laser Particle Counter. This equipment shows how many dust particles (three microns in size) are in a cubic yard of air. A Laser Particle Counter is the only way you can truly tell if your vacuum is leaking dust. In our experience, the majority of brands that we test fail to meet the manufacturers’ claims. And, most vacuums, even those with a HEPA filter, leak enough contaminated dust to leave the air in your home up to six times more dust contaminated than before vacuuming.

We have found that if you are concerned about dust leakage, you should ask if the vacuum you are considering purchasing has “SEALED FILTRATION.” This means that 100% of the air that exhausts the vacuum goes through the filter. If a vacuum does not have sealed filtration not all of the exhaust air is going through the filter, some leaks out through the cord rewind system, around the motor compartment, out of the wheel ports and numerous other places.

If you’ve ever noticed a “JUST VACUUMED SMELL,” it’s because you’ve put dust, bacteria, dust mites and other contaminants that you just picked up out of your carpeting back into the air.

Sealed Filtration | Can you trust the HEPA filters

Many vacuum brands claim to use HEPA filters, yet these do not always guarantee that your air will be clean and free of dust. Make sure to purchase a vacuum with “Sealed Filtration” to ensure that dust particles are not leaking back into your just-vacuumed home.