Household Vacuums - Suggestions

Types of Household Vacuums:  We will divide our recommendations (suggestions) on Household Vacuums below into two sections based upon either canister or upright types of vacuums and then provide our recommendations (with unassailable logic!) for a specific brand(s) in each section.[Image] of vacuuming

Preamble:  Most people use either an upright vacuum or a canister vacuum as the main vacuum in their house.  The main vacuum, then, is the vacuum primarily responsible for maintaining the "health" of the house.  To keep the house healthy, this main vacuum needs to do two things well: (1) it needs to efficiently remove pollutants/allergens from the carpet, upholstery, floors, etc. and (2) it needs to effectively control emissions so that these same pollutants are not spewed back into the air.

This requires a considerable degree of precise engineering and meticulous construction and very few manufacturers are interested in producing machines to these standards.  It is a lamentable fact, therefore, that only a handful of manufacturers make vacuums in which the main vacuum housings are airtight. If the housings are not airtight, millions of microscopic contaminants per minute can be forced out through these housing apertures as the machine is vacuuming.  Thus, a sealed system is needed to control emissions - a HEPA filter installed on a vacuum that is leaking dirt elsewhere through the housings only filters the rest of the dirt that reaches the filter - only a very small percentage, therefore, of the total emissions of pollutants is arrested.  The simple reality is that a better vacuum will clean better, filter better, last longer and require less maintenance than a "cheaper" vacuum.  It is, therefore, a "better" purchase.

Canister Vacuums:  We believe that, in most instances, a canister vacuum is a better choice as a main vacuum than an upright vacuum.  Our reasons are simple:

  1. In most instances a good canister vacuum uses a larger (heavier), more powerful motor than a good upright vacuum
  2. A canister vacuum absolutely offers more versatility than an upright vacuum

With all the above noted, we will cheerfully sell you an upright vacuum if that is your desire; although, we find that most upright owners then regularly buy a small canister for its convenience and versatility for the types of cleaning chores present in the average home or office.

Canister Vacuum Recommendation:  While we believe that, as in most aspects of life, there are alternative choices, we absolutely recommend the Miele Canister Vacuum over all others.  If you ever had the privilege to take a tour through a Miele factory you would need little more than the few hours spent in the factory to enable you to understand that Miele excels in everything they do.

Miele is a 100 year-old German appliance manufacturer that produces the finest washing machines, dishwashers, stoves, sanitizing equipment, vacuums (and other appliances) that can be found anywhere in the world.  Miele is awesome - very few manufacturers think like they do - they are perfection-driven.
 

Miele intelligently markets their vacuums in such a way that you decide which optional accessories you wish - not the manufacturer (all standard cleaning accessories are always included with every Miele).  You tailor the vacuum to your own personal needs and uses

You have to see or use a Miele vacuum to understand how smooth and powerful it is as it operates, and to experience the almost effortless way it glides around the room

1-year guarantee on everything (except belts) and 5-year motor guarantee

There are other choices.  Royal makes an all-metal tank that is a very fine vacuum, and Lindhaus makes an excellent canister vacuum.  In an intermediate price point, Samsung has a Quiet Storm canister that is a good choice.  However, Miele is Miele - the best!

Please "click" here to connect to our webpage on Miele vacuums

Upright Vacuum Recommendations:  We recommend three upright vacuums, in order, as meeting our standards for high quality:  Lindhaus, Sebo and Royal all-metal.

Lindhaus:  Lindhaus is an 30-year old Italian manufacturer of motors and equipment for international use.  They make the finest twin-motor upright vacuum available for residential use.

1 Lindhaus makes a great single-motor upright called the Activa; however, most of our Lindhaus business is still twin-motor uprights

"Click" here to go to our webpage on the Lindhaus upright vacuum

Sebo:  Sebo is a German manufacturer of upright vacuums and carpet cleaning equipment.  We consider a Sebo upright to be a "rung down the ladder" from a Lindhaus - only because it is a single-motor upright.  However, for a single-motor upright it is a great vacuum!

Many of the same design features found on Lindhaus upright vacuums are found on the Sebo upright vacuum:

Sebo also has a revolving brush with a slickly-designed feature that makes it instantly removable by pushing one button.  This makes cleaning the brush of hair, thread, etc. extremely easy.  A Sebo upright is an excellent upright vacuum that will completely satisfy the most discriminating user!

 "Click" here to go to our webpage on the Sebo Auto X series vacuum

Royal all-metal:  Royal Manufacturing Company is the oldest manufacturer of vacuum cleaners in the world - since 1905.  They make a traditional upright vacuum - without tools-on-board (TOB) - that is all-metal (aluminum).  It uses an efficient, ball-bearing, convergent revolving brush with the same central dirt intake design as does the Lindhaus.

For those who prefer a traditional style upright vacuum, Royal has no peer.  It has a full height adjustment mechanism, a long cord, a metal toggle switch, non-marring wide wheels and filtration available down to .1 micron at 98%.  It is far and away our largest selling upright vacuum for commercial use:  Liz Claiborne has been our biggest, single corporate customer; the State of NJ buys Royal uprights under contract for schools, hospitals, government agencies, etc.; and, contract cleaners, hotels, bowling alleys and many others use this fine equipment.

 "Click" here to go to our webpage on the Royal all-metal vacuum

 

Suction motors, amps, watts, horsepower, suction and cleaning effectiveness:  We should add a note on vacuum cleaner design, motors, suction and airflow as there is much confusion as to horsepower, amperage, watts, cleaning amp effectiveness, etc.

 The key to a vacuum cleaner's performance is the design of the machine.  This includes the motor.  Better motors are designed to perform better and last longer while using less electricity than inferior quality motors.  A motor needs to be "tuned" to the application to which it is being put.  It does no good to design a motor with high airflow and low suction to remove sludge from a production pit - it simply won't budge it - the sludge weighs too much.  Conversely, if one is cleaning flour from a bare surface high suction is less important (the flour is lightweight) than good airflow.  Design is the key element!
 

It is easy to see from the above that design is the critical factor in considering vacuum cleaning performance.  A motor must provide adequate, balanced amounts of CFM and waterlift to enable the vacuum to do its job properly so that different, varying types of materials may be vacuumed up.  And, as importantly, the vacuum must have a totally sealed dirt path from the nozzle all the way back to the dirt compartment so that no cleaning power is lost.  And, don't forget about filtration and containment of particles!