NOTE: IONA as it existed is out of business as of 2002
Iona makes
both upright and canister vacuums, and carpet cleaners, that utilize cyclonic
action to sustain cleaning power.
While we have been an Iona Dealer and Service Center for many years, we do not
actively sell the Iona Upright Vacuum nor the Iona Canister Vacuum. We do stock
and sell the Iona Dry Carpet Cleaning Machine.
Our reasons for the above are twofold: (1) the suction power on the upright
vacuum is relatively minimal - about 50" of waterlift last time we checked.
This is very low waterlift - we regard 70" to 80" as being mandatory, and our
better uprights are producing at least this much (if you would care to learn
about a 1st quality upright vacuum, please
"click" here to connect to our webpage on the Lindhaus upright vacuum or
"click" here to connect to our webpage on the Sebo upright vacuum).
Thus, the needed cleaning power for thorough cleaning is, really, missing. As
well, as with most vacuums these days, these upright vacuums are both prone to
frustrating clogging problems and do not generally last very long. We think a
decent vacuum should last 6 to 8 years and a good one should be 15 to 20 years.
In our service experience, you'll probably get no more than 2 to 5 years out of
an Iona upright.
We view the Iona canisters as being a better choice as they offer more
convenience and more efficiency. However, the second issue (2) with both the
uprights and canister Iona vacuums is that they use dirt cups instead of bags. This
is a primitive, inefficient way to capture the tens of millions of tiny, LDPs
(lung-damaging-particles) that are being removed per minute as oneself operates
a vacuum. Such cup assemblies usually do not seal very well, and they are
filthy to empty. We like cyclonic concepts; but, the dust cup vacuums don't cut
the mustard!
The manufacturers of such units (which, today, includes Sharp, Sanyo, Hoover and
Eureka to mention some of the better-known names) all tout the abilities of the
Hepa filters that they routinely install on the back end of such vacuums.
However, this conveniently overlooks the fact that the vacuums themselves lack
airtight housings - as a result, the tiny allergens such as bacteria, dust mite
feces, etc. are pouring out the vacuums in the millions as they are being
operated. Not a good thing!
We do think the Iona Dry Carpet Cleaning Machine has some basic abilities to dry
clean residential carpets. These units utilize Capture which is an effective
agent to remove soils from carpets and upholstery. Since Capture is such a
finely granulated product (think "talcum powder"), the average vacuum looses
cleaning efficiency very rapidly when used to remove the Capture from the carpet
after the cleaning process has been accomplished.
So, the Iona Dry Cleaner will dispense the Capture, scrub it in with a revolving
brush and then recover it into a dirt compartment. It is handy, in this way,
for quick cleaning of small areas. It's drawback is that, if used with any
regularity, it will not last too many years.
If you are going to clean your carpets fairly often, we strongly suggest that
you consider the LadyBugXL Steam Vapor Cleaning System. This is a
high-quality steam vapor unit that looks a bit like a canister vacuum from
another dimension in time. It uses nothing but water to produce a hot, dry
steam and, with a variety of included accessories, will effectively clean and
sanitize almost any conceivable surface including rugs. It is an awesome way to
clean inside a house or office, it eliminates the use of the chemicals that are
gradually bringing us to our knees, and the fact that it is, on contact,
destroying fleas, dust mites, bacteria, mold, viruses, etc. is great!
If you are interested, please
"click" here to connect to our webpage on the LadyBug Steam Vapor Cleaner by
Advanced Vapor Technologies. (Be interested - it is one of our all-time great
products!).
At any rate, we hope we've adequately explained our sentiments on the Iona line
of equipment.
"Click" on the model(s) of your choice in the left box and information and pricing on that model will be displayed in this box.