Hivemind - vacuum cleaners

UndercoverElephant

goonz wrote:

Just empty the bin outdoors should help with allergies.

Are the SEBO's solely suitable for hard floors? Each one i've seen recommended here has a picture of a fragile looking machine only being used on hard floors.

With thick carpet and a cat just dont think it would be up to the job...

Depends on the machine. You can get ones with powered heads with brushes that would make mincemeat of your cats, let alone their hair. They are far from fragile, that's for sure - Which? give them five stars for reliability, and if ours can stand up to a large house near a sandy beach, with three kids, a dog, a wife that works constantly with wool and me who carves wood and stone, I'm guessing your house would be a doddle.

meanredspider

Rick Chasey wrote:

Anyway, cheers guys. Hivemind works as well as ever.

Too funny: half* the replies said get a Dyson and half* said don't get a Dyson. You got a Dyson - I'm not sure how the "Hivemind" helped

*= I haven't counted but it felt like that...

goonz

UndercoverElephant wrote:

goonz wrote:

Just empty the bin outdoors should help with allergies.

Are the SEBO's solely suitable for hard floors? Each one i've seen recommended here has a picture of a fragile looking machine only being used on hard floors.

With thick carpet and a cat just dont think it would be up to the job...

Depends on the machine. You can get ones with powered heads with brushes that would make mincemeat of your cats, let alone their hair. They are far from fragile, that's for sure - Which? give them five stars for reliability, and if ours can stand up to a large house near a sandy beach, with three kids, a dog, a wife that works constantly with wool and me who carves wood and stone, I'm guessing your house would be a doddle.

Interesting might look into it if and when the Dyson dies. What model do you have?

rick_chasey

meanredspider wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Anyway, cheers guys. Hivemind works as well as ever.

Too funny: half* the replies said get a Dyson and half* said don't get a Dyson. You got a Dyson - I'm not sure how the "Hivemind" helped

*= I haven't counted but it felt like that...

No but you basically were having the conversation I was having in my head, only you lot highlighted what you liked and din't like about them.

What I want out of them is not necessarily what you lot all want but it makes you feel better when you've canvassed opinions and reasons behind them.

meanredspider

UndercoverElephant wrote:

goonz wrote:

Just empty the bin outdoors should help with allergies.

Are the SEBO's solely suitable for hard floors? Each one i've seen recommended here has a picture of a fragile looking machine only being used on hard floors.

With thick carpet and a cat just dont think it would be up to the job...

Depends on the machine. You can get ones with powered heads with brushes that would make mincemeat of your cats, let alone their hair. They are far from fragile, that's for sure - Which? give them five stars for reliability, and if ours can stand up to a large house near a sandy beach, with three kids, a dog, a wife that works constantly with wool and me who carves wood and stone, I'm guessing your house would be a doddle.

Yup - my mum had/has a SEBO and was used on all surfaces. One of the places I worked (can't remember which) used them for the contract cleaners - I'm guessing they're pretty robust. Every Dyson I've had personal experience of has busted. I want to like them (I even bought one but the cable winder broke twice in two weeks) but they're incredibly noisy and (in my experience) flimsy. Fortunately my house has a central vacuum system and I work for a company that makes vacuum cleaners so have a good one for my flat.

UndercoverElephant

goonz wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

goonz wrote:

Just empty the bin outdoors should help with allergies.

Are the SEBO's solely suitable for hard floors? Each one i've seen recommended here has a picture of a fragile looking machine only being used on hard floors.

With thick carpet and a cat just dont think it would be up to the job...

Depends on the machine. You can get ones with powered heads with brushes that would make mincemeat of your cats, let alone their hair. They are far from fragile, that's for sure - Which? give them five stars for reliability, and if ours can stand up to a large house near a sandy beach, with three kids, a dog, a wife that works constantly with wool and me who carves wood and stone, I'm guessing your house would be a doddle.

Interesting might look into it if and when the Dyson dies. What model do you have?

Judging by my experience, you shouldn't have to wait too long

Ours is the Felix Navy, it's an upright, which suits Mrs. Elephant's back better. The only down-side I've spotted is that it is prone to falling over when you use the hose. Other than that, excellent.

meanredspider

Rick Chasey wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Anyway, cheers guys. Hivemind works as well as ever.

Too funny: half* the replies said get a Dyson and half* said don't get a Dyson. You got a Dyson - I'm not sure how the "Hivemind" helped

*= I haven't counted but it felt like that...

No but you basically were having the conversation I was having in my head, only you lot highlighted what you liked and din't like about them.

What I want out of them is not necessarily what you lot all want but it makes you feel better when you've canvassed opinions and reasons behind them.

Fair enough

goonz

UndercoverElephant wrote:

The only down-side I've spotted is that it is prone to falling over when you use the hose. Other than that, excellent.

Ah and theres the deal breaker!

leeefm

I've got the sebo K1 pet, which isn't an upright. I also had a longhair cat that deposited huge amounts of fur on our carpet that smeared into the pile when she molted. Every vacuum before that took ages, so we used to just brush the cat hair out of it. With the sebo, we didn't have any of those problems. Just got it out straight away, and I didn't need the powered brush I was considering buying!

arthur_scrimshaw

meanredspider wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Anyway, cheers guys. Hivemind works as well as ever.

Too funny: half* the replies said get a Dyson and half* said don't get a Dyson. You got a Dyson - I'm not sure how the "Hivemind" helped

*= I haven't counted but it felt like that...

I felt that Rick wanted a Dyson from the off and was seeking confirmation of his choice? I'm sure the other suggestions would have made an unbiased purchaser select either SEBO or Miele?

Anyway, Rick's got what he wanted, lets hope he doesn't regret it!

EDIT Just done a count, Dyson 4, Miele 9, Sebo 3, Others 4 and that's ignoring the 'don't get a Dyson/bagless which should count as a -1?

Seems a clear if slightly unscientific conclusion?

rick_chasey

More dysons earlier on and I've used a Miele for a number of years when I was still at my parents and didn't think it was all that.

MonkeyMonster

Rick Chasey wrote:

More dysons earlier on

So in the spirit of obvious scientific accuracy we can categorically say that dyson preferrer's are more forum alert. Noted.

wgwarburton

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Anyway, cheers guys. Hivemind works as well as ever.

Too funny: half* the replies said get a Dyson and half* said don't get a Dyson. You got a Dyson - I'm not sure how the "Hivemind" helped

*= I haven't counted but it felt like that...

I felt that Rick wanted a Dyson from the off and was seeking confirmation of his choice? I'm sure the other suggestions would have made an unbiased purchaser select either SEBO or Miele?

Anyway, Rick's got what he wanted, lets hope he doesn't regret it!

EDIT Just done a count, Dyson 4, Miele 9, Sebo 3, Others 4 and that's ignoring the 'don't get a Dyson/bagless which should count as a -1?

Seems a clear if slightly unscientific conclusion?

I thought it interesting that no-one who had bought a Miele or Sebo said they had since bought another brand.

I'm another ex-Dyson owner who is happy with a Miele. I was not impressed by the build quality or after care of the Dyson and the whole concept of a bagless machine seems to me to be compromised by the need to change filters instead.

Cheers,
W.

EKE_38BPM

Henrys seem to be bullet proof. Professional cleaners use them day in-day out and builders use them to suck up brick dust and rubble.

Dysons seem to be expensive disposable vacuum cleaners. They don't seem to last very long and many owners replace them with the latest version of Dyson. If they were that good/robust, "superusers" would use them too. I think of them as the Apple of the vacuum cleaner world, pretty and well marketed but there are better products available and cheaper too.

Little Richard wanted a Dyson, asked for advice, ignored it and bought a Dyson. Why bother asking for advice?

UndercoverElephant

Due to this thread, and having realised what a hard life our little Sebo has, I've just bought it a new motor-protection filter as a thank-you.

It's a very happy cleaner this morning.

arthur_scrimshaw

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Due to this thread, and having realised what a hard life our little Sebo has, I've just bought it a new motor-protection filter as a thank-you.

It's a very happy cleaner this morning.

You know how to treat a girl!

fossyant

We pay £6 per month for an extended warrenty on our Dyson animal - and we use it every year - something usually breaks at some point. Handles, suction tubes, tools, motors, frame, you name it !

I think ours has been replaced at least once. The only original part is the wheels and the base !

EKE_38BPM

fossyant wrote:

We pay £6 per month for an extended warrenty on our Dyson animal - and we use it every year - something usually breaks at some point. Handles, suction tubes, tools, motors, frame, you name it !

I think ours has been replaced at least once. The only original part is the wheels and the base !

£72 a year for the warranty for a vacuum cleaner!!!!!!!!!

kieranb

Too late now for Ric but for others reading the thread, we just got a new vac as well, after research we got a miele (in Which online, they are easily the best brand), love it, our carpets are finally clean!

walkingbootweather

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Henrys seem to be bullet proof.

Apparently not :roll:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

£72 a year for the warranty for a vacuum cleaner!!!!!!!!!

Would have to be a hell of a sucker.

IGMC

veronese68

EKE_38BPM wrote:

fossyant wrote:

We pay £6 per month for an extended warrenty on our Dyson animal - and we use it every year - something usually breaks at some point. Handles, suction tubes, tools, motors, frame, you name it !

I think ours has been replaced at least once. The only original part is the wheels and the base !

£72 a year for the warranty for a vacuum cleaner!!!!!!!!!

:shock:
I think I paid a couple of quid for our Dyson on Fleabay, listing said it switched on but didn't work very well. I took a punt as it was so cheap thinking I'd be able to fix it, changed the belt and everything else was fine. Had it about 4 or 5 years now. I never take out extended warranties on electrical items, occasionally I may lose out but overall I'm ahead.

meanredspider

I'd certainly never buy another washing machine or dishwasher unless it was Miele - they have paid for themselves lots of times and haven't tried to burn the house down (thanks AEG!). It's not until you go back to something cheap (like has been installed in my rented apartment) does it bring it home to you just how good they are. I bought one of my employer's brand of vacuum for the flat because I get it very heavily discounted and the flat is small and wood throughout - but I'm also very happy with the vacuum cleaner. I'd have liked a "soft brush" attachment for dusting the bikes but that's the only improvement is make.

I seriously can't get over how noisy Dysons are - maybe a function of the cyclones.

goonz

kieranb wrote:

Too late now for Ric but for others reading the thread, we just got a new vac as well, after research we got a miele (in Which online, they are easily the best brand), love it, our carpets are finally clean!

What did you replace?

CRAIGO5000

Dysons are shite, overpriced and can't handle anything more than particles of dust.

Get a Henry. I've vacuumed rubble up in these and my original one is still going strong after doing up a whole house. If it clogs, change the bag. If your Dyson clogs, enjoy taking it apart, replacing several expensive filters, washing them, drying them putting it back together etc.

There's a reason most professional office cleaners use Henry's and alike.

goonz

CRAIGO5000 wrote:

There's a reason most professional office cleaners use Henry's and alike.

Yes, because they are cheap.

To be honest I enjoy the upkeep of my Dyson. Does not take an age and I like to spend some time maintaining smething that cost me quite a lot of money.

rick_chasey

Seems to suck better than the miele's I've used.

People also forget I managed to get £135 off on the dyson which I wouldn't have got for a Miele - so price was a consideration too.

goonz

Yep I got £100 off my Dyson by giving in my old Vax which didnt even cost me £100. So got a heavyily discounted Dyson.

EKE_38BPM

Artificially inflate the price and wait for the suckers to buy it.
Apply a large discount to the artificially inflated price and the tighter suckers will buy it.

I'd rather spend a bit more and buy a well made product which will last. Dysons don't seem to be in that category.

jspash

BigMat wrote:

We've had loads of vacs over the years, all rubbish until we forked out a bit more and got a Miele. So refreshing to get one that actually works. Never going to be an exciting purchase but its really annoying when they keep failing all the time...

another +1 for the Meile over the Dyson. a mate of mine runs a website which sells Allergy "solutions" and he recommended a Meile as the best bang for buck and the best for someone who suffers from dust mites or other allergies.

i put it to the test recently when we put the xmas tree out to pasture and i had to hoover (meile) up the needles that were now embedded in the carpet. not only did it do quick work of the needles, but the filter is so good that the exhaust didn't smell of pine in the least. i would have liked it to, but only on this occasion. but it's nice to know that it's not normally spewing rotten dust mite carcasses and poo into the room.

mroli

Flat Coat Retriever, 2 kids lot of house mess. Dyson Animal has been great. Had a miele before - it was good, but got fed up changing the bags - find it easier with the Dyson. Touch wood - no reliability problems over 2+ years...