Vacuum for hardwood and carpet?

[Jay69]

Anybody have one vacuum that they use for hardwood floors and carpet that they like? It seems models change farily fast, better mouse trap I suppose.

Were have about 75% hardwood floors, 25% carpet with rugs in the ususal places.

We have used a number of things throught the years, swifters/vacuums etc. Would really like one device to use on all floors if possible. Only extra I would be looking for is a detachable hose to get in the corners.

I thank you all

Jay

[sscritic]

Canister vac with power head. Mine has a switch to turn the power head on and off so you can use it on both soft and hard floors. However, I usually switch to the floor attachment for tile (now) and hardwood (the past). Since the canister comes with a hose semi-permanently attached, I only remove it when I change the bag.

[chaz]

My Dyson works good on both carpet and tile.

[Bengineer]

I have a Panasonic 902 canister, plus a wide floor brush. (the included floor brush is 9" - somewhat narrow for open floor work).

[tomd37]

I wanted a new upright vacuum to replace a 17 year-old upright Hoover and needed one for the first floor hardwood and the second floor carpeting. Based on my research on Consumer Reports and visiting local businesses that sell and repair vacuums, I settled on the Miele "Jazz". It is a year ago today that I made the purchase and I am very pleased with the decision to go with a Miele. It is quiet, has two handy and easily accessible switches for floor and carpet use, four settings for suction, on-board tools including a wand that can reach nine-foot ceiling corners, and a HEPA filter. The bags are very easy to change out and a box lasted me a year. The unit has a swivel head which makes turning very easy and effortless and its LED light is very bright. I like the way it vacuums the hardwood floor with high suction and no brush activity. By the way, there is no difference in price between on-line pricing and local dealer pricing. Much better service from a local dealer and the dealer is more apt to stand behind product when or if service is required.

[reisner]

Miele! Vacuum repair shops love the Dyson, a piece of junk desogned by a brilliant promoter.

[Stevee]

+1 for Miele. Mine must be 25 years old. I guess what you would call canister type. Great at picking up dog and cat hair, using the basic attachments.

[tomd37]

Stevee,

Does your Miele canniter have a electric power head or are the attachments powered by the suction the unit creates?

[Stevee]

Tom, the attachments are not powered (other than being part of the airflow). They are the basic attachments. Also, when I vacuum, I have to get down on my hands and knees (I suppose that's just me) - to do a better job than the standard carpet cleaning attachments IMHO. Cat and dog hair is tough!

Steve

[Jay69]

Thanks all, will take a look at some of these

[ohiost90]

We have been using a simplicity vacuum for ~15yrs on carpet, hardwood and tile. Works great. American made if that is important to you. It might be more expensive(~530 msrp) than others, but I would say worth it. When we had a cleaning service, the lady said it was her favorite vacuum of all her customers as she didn't use her own, just what was at each house.

http://www.simplicityvac.com/products/commercial/6870/

[LazyNihilist]

I'm using the Roomba and am pretty happy.
I believe it's good for both hardwood and carpet.

[TSR]

Check out this recent post on canister vacs:

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=104120&p=1513395

I offered one recommendation and others made some great suggestions as well. Good luck!

[westcoast]

I have used a dyson for several years. Have not had any problems with it at all. Cleans both tile and carpets very well.

[soaring]

We have been using Electrolux Oxygen for six years and are very satisfied.
http://smallappliances.electroluxusa.co ... rs/Oxygen/

I use this on the hardwood every other day in the wood walk areas. This helps keep dust build up from grinding into wood in walk areas.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-NA-_-NA

The handle unit is available at home depot / lowes as well as the refill mops. I have had 6-8 mop heads and after each use vacuum them clean using heavy duty garage vacuum. When washing needed about bi-monthly I vacuum the head before storing it and use a fresh one. When six are dirty which is about once a year I wash them all. You might find the handle at grocery stores but the handle is a few inches shorter than at home depot / lowes.

Very happy with results and wood still looks brand new.

[fickle]

I used to have a lot of wood and tile floor. I found that quieter and more effective was something I got at Home Depot. Imagine a thinnish broom handle going down to a swivel-joint holding a 10x15 flat panel with some grippy foam on the bottom. Over this bottom you place a microfiber cover or a terry one. The microfiber one is pushed about like you would a vacuum and neatly along the edges. Every little bit comes up. It is light and maneuverable....easier than a vacuum, and doesn't ding the feet of your wood chairs.

The terry one is used with a "Laminate and Hardwood" cleaner or polish (there are several brands, I get a big bottle at HD), and it is a quick "mop and polish" you need not rinse between complete moppings.

The covers go in the wash and last for years.

If you have a lot of sand or grit, you'll need a broom or a vac, but we wipe our feet carefully or take off shoes, and when we had wet dogs, they were dried off outside with towels, first.

HTH

[ourbrooks]

Now, for something completely different:

I've always been impressed with the high end industrial vacs, like Fein and Festool. They're extremely powerful and much quieter than even ordinary household vacuums.
They have an electrical outlet on the vac; if you plug a tool into the vac, the vac goes on when the tool goes on. They're also extremely heavy and don't usaully come with power brush attachments (although there's one for the Fein) so they are difficult to use as a replacement for household vacs, particularly if you've got rugs or carpet.

I recently discovered central vacs. Many central vac hoses have electrical wiring in them so that they can drive a power head. I bought one for my Fein vacuum and plugged it into the outlet on the vac. The vac had a 16 foot hose plus the central vac hose was 30 ft. The vac is powerful enough to drive all 46 ft of hose and still needs to have the suction reduced for some tasks. With that much hose, there's not much need to move the vac and the noise is limited to the one room the vac is actually in.

Drawbacks: Some fiddling with adapters to get everything to hook up. LOTS of stuff to store: 46 ft of hose, the powerhead and a non-power attachment for hardwood floors. Pricey, $800+, but we'll probably never need to replace it for the rest of our lives. Used for ordinary household cleaning instead of sucking up drywall power, the vac itself ought to last 30 years.

[mike143]

I wanted the most effective carpet vacuum at a reasonable price, I ended up with the Hoover Platinum UH30010COM Lightweight. We have a separate sweeper for the hard flooring. Hard to find actual test reviews of vacuums but this one help me make my mind up: Hoover Platinum UH30010COM Lightweight Cleaning Performance

"The Hoover Platinum UH30010COM Lightweight is one of the most powerful and highest scoring cleaners we’ve seen on carpets, but it is not compatible with wood floors."

This thing literally sucks its self to the carpet. I appreciate its build quality. The beater bar is made of wood and has been balanced. There are various BBs of differing metals/weight recessed in the bar.

[BillyG]

I have a Festool vac in my shop...

My favorite vacuum for cleaning the house is a backpack-style vacuum like they use in office and commercial buildings. It is called Pro-Team and I got the Super Quarter Vac with HEPA filtration.

http://www.pro-team.com/vacuums/default.aspx?style=1

PROS:
I love this vacuum. With a 50 foot cord and a fairly light backpack with well-padded shoulder and belt straps and I can move quickly through the house without having to drag a heavy canister or upright, or constantly plug and unplug the cord. It is a breeze to clean steps as you walk up (or better down) them. It's also no problem to put on a brush attachment and periodically clean all the high places -- window sills, above door jambs, the tops of tall furniture, etc.

I can vacuum the house in 1/3 the time it takes with a canister vacuum, and the suction is fabulous.

CONS:
My wife and housecleaner refuse to use it. They won't strap on the backpack.

That's a pretty big con...

Also, you have to get used to having something on your back so you don't bump into furniture but you figure that out pretty quickly.

Billy

[rjbraun]

I'm using the Roomba and am pretty happy.
I believe it's good for both hardwood and carpet.

I was wondering when someone would chime in with an iRobot / Roomba. Others in my family seems to be happy with their Roombas.

I am generally very pleased with my Miele vacuum, apart from how long proper vacuuming seems to take. I guess I'm trying to hold off on spending the money on a Roomba, especially when my Miele is working fine. Plus, if I were to buy a Roomba it would just mean yet another household appliance to store.

[Ozonewanderer]

I use a slotted horsehair vacuum head (with no scrubbing action) on my hardwood floors.

[TxAg]

My Dyson works good on both carpet and tile.

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