The Conservative Cave
Interests => Around the House & In the Garage => Topic started by: franksolich on February 05, 2009, 04:22:29 PM
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On Christmas Day, the upright red Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner I had had for five years died. It made some sort of "noise," and died. I took it apart, and did an anatomical inspection, finding nothing amiss.
However, since it had cost me only $4.95 used five years ago, I figured, okay, just chuck it and find another used one. So I chucked it.
And then that irksome phenomenon occurred. Whenever one isn't looking for something, the thrift stores are congested with that thing. But then when one needs it, the thrift stores don't have any.
Being a paripatetic person, it's not a good idea to put a whole lot of bucks into an appliance, because only God knows where I might be five or six months later, and the different circumstances might not be conducive for that appliance. So always best to stick with something used, and cheap, so that if the living conditions change and I don't need the appliance any more, it's not like I dumped a lot of investment into it.
Finally I did find one vacuum cleaner, for $1.99; a hand-held one, but w-a-a-a-a-y larger than contemporary hand-held ones, about two-thirds the size of a contemporary upright vacuum. It worked, and works, great, but with the vast acreage of carpeting in here, I wasn't too enthusiastic about vacuuming on my hands and knees.
In between times, I decided it would be a good idea to get some bags and filters for this. Problem. No bags and filters to be found, as obviously this was something on the market only during the early 1960s.
Someone finally directed me to a vacuum repair place in the big city, and I was surprised. The place had all sorts of supplies and parts for vacuum cleaners going clear back to the original Hoovers, which was long before Herbert Hoover (president 1929-1933); bad joke.
Although "Kirby" was no where to be found on the instrument, the guy immediately identified it as a Kirby, made in Illinois, 1964 model, and opined that it was perhaps one of the best miniature vacuums ever made.
So that was taken care of, but really, I needed to get something more man-sized, where one doesn't have to get down on his hands and knees to clean the carpeting.
For a few more weeks, I haunted the thrift stores, but no vacuums.
So I went back to this paradise of antiquities, and inquired if he had something, used, for sale. Being a tightwad, I didn't want to spend more than forty bucks.
He did; a standard-sized grey Dirt Devil upright, about six years old, bagless, for thirty-two bucks. He kept it for a week to "re-condition" it and to apply a 6-month warranty, and I picked it up today.
I tried it out first thing when I got back home. It picks up everything but the carpeting. I was sorely surprised at how much it picks up. If it's not carpeting, it picks it up.
However, this is a "bagless" model; I never heard of such a thing.
It's odd, having a bagless vacuum cleaner.
Anybody have any experiences with bagless vacuum cleaners? Good or bad?
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Bagless vacuumes are pretty good, till you need to dump them. With a bag style all the dust is contained, but when you need to empty out the bagless......well.. it's a bit dusty.
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I have one at home and it works just fine. Emptying the container is easier than replacing bags.
If you want a deal next time, try your local vacuum repair shop -- they always have repaired ones that people abandoned for sale pretty cheap.
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If you want a deal next time, try your local vacuum repair shop -- they always have repaired ones that people abandoned for sale pretty cheap.
Actually, that's where I got this one.
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Bagless vacuumes are pretty good, till you need to dump them. With a bag style all the dust is contained, but when you need to empty out the bagless......well.. it's a bit dusty.
Yeah, I already emptied it twice, because I was curious about how much dirt it was handling.
It's no big deal, because of my living where I do--it was an easy matter of just stepping outside onto the back porch and shaking it out.
There are advantages to living out in the country.
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I have a bagless, and it works fine, until the kids use it and don't empty it...then it clogs up pretty good.
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I have a bagless, and it works fine, until the kids use it and don't empty it...then it clogs up pretty good.
I make my kids do just about every other chore around here but vacuum for that exact reason. Well, they vaccuum my bedroom and the main floor because I know they won't suck up something that will destroy the vacuum. Otherwise I do their rooms and I make them walk around with me and pick up the big pieces of trash. Somehow, there is always big pieces of trash even after the swearing of cleanliness in the room. :whatever:
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Actually, that's where I got this one.
Great minds and all ..... :)
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I also have a bagless vacuum cleaner.
My only complaint is that the filter in it gets clogged faster than what I consider acceptable.
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On Christmas Day, the upright red Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner I had had for five years died. It made some sort of "noise," and died. ...
Well, that sucks.
...or maybe it doesn't. :-)
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I also have a bagless vacuum cleaner.
My only complaint is that the filter in it gets clogged faster than what I consider acceptable.
Yup, what you save on bags, you spend on filters!
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I make my kids do just about every other chore around here but vacuum for that exact reason. Well, they vaccuum my bedroom and the main floor because I know they won't suck up something that will destroy the vacuum. Otherwise I do their rooms and I make them walk around with me and pick up the big pieces of trash. Somehow, there is always big pieces of trash even after the swearing of cleanliness in the room. :whatever:
Pennies always fun to try and suck up. :banghead:
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On bagless models, I strongly recommend you empty the thing....
OUTDOORS.
Dust mask is optional.
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On bagless models, I strongly recommend you empty the thing....
OUTDOORS.
Dust mask is optional.
I do that, sir; because I can, living way out here in the country and all that.
But now I'm confused about something.
The guy said the filter should last as long as the vacuum cleaner.
I dunno much about filters, but it looks to be a pretty strong and permanent filter to me.
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I do that, sir; because I can, living way out here in the country and all that.
But now I'm confused about something.
The guy said the filter should last as long as the vacuum cleaner.
I dunno much about filters, but it looks to be a pretty strong and permanent filter to me.
Just guessing here, but it seems to me that this "filter" is really just a device to keep the real heavy stuff from being sucked up and destroying the impeller - the thingie that whirls around, driven by the motor, creating the sucking quality.
While I realize you're talking about a Dirt Devil, I've had two Kirby vacuum cleaners over the years - you just can't kill 'em. They are expensive, but they last a long time.
Both of those were bagless. And I had plenty of occasion to empty them - always outdoors.
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Just guessing here, but it seems to me that this "filter" is really just a device to keep the real heavy stuff from being sucked up and destroying the impeller - the thingie that whirls around, driven by the motor, creating the sucking quality.
While I realize you're talking about a Dirt Devil, I've had two Kirby vacuum cleaners over the years - you just can't kill 'em. They are expensive, but they last a long time.
Both of those were bagless. And I had plenty of occasion to empty them - always outdoors.
Your leetness is teh strong.
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I have a bagless and I like it. It's a canister style, which makes it a lot easier to clean the hardwood floors.
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Your leetness is teh strong.
translation, please!
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I have a bagless vacuum with a filter. I always blow out the filter with my air compressor when I empty the container. It saves on buying filters.
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I have a bagless vacuum with a filter. I always blow out the filter with my air compressor when I empty the container. It saves on buying filters.
Well now, that's an idea; I've just been tapping it out.
Gently, of course, although the thing appears to be made of steel and plastic, and not that coffee-filter paper.
It's all new to me, this bagless phenomenon; that's why I'm making a big deal out of it. Before then, a vacuum cleaner was a vacuum cleaner was a vacuum cleaner, and they all had bags.
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translation, please!
My wife is blonde, you two have the same er.............understanding of how to describe "thingees". :tongue:
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Bagless vacuumes are pretty good, till you need to dump them. With a bag style all the dust is contained, but when you need to empty out the bagless......well.. it's a bit dusty.
Wow! you think so? Every bagless vaccum i've ever had,had about half the suction of it's bagged counterpart!
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Wow! you think so? Every bagless vaccum i've ever had,had about half the suction of it's bagged counterpart!
Ditto! After 3 failed attempts in about as many years at bagless of varying costs we finally invested the money in a bagged vacuum and they are few and far between and are in the mid to upper 200 dollar range to start. We ended up with a Hoover I believe and it's a terrific vacuum. I will NEVER go back to a bagless...ever! I even think the only reason bagless had any success is the transition for many people to hard floors versus carpet and you just don't need as good of suction to clean up a hard floor since it normally gets mopped or swiffered too. If I have to end up buying a commercial bag vacuum, I'll put the money aside for it! :-)
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Ditto! After 3 failed attempts in about as many years at bagless of varying costs we finally invested the money in a bagged vacuum and they are few and far between and are in the mid to upper 200 dollar range to start. We ended up with a Hoover I believe and it's a terrific vacuum. I will NEVER go back to a bagless...ever! I even think the only reason bagless had any success is the transition for many people to hard floors versus carpet and you just don't need as good of suction to clean up a hard floor since it normally gets mopped or swiffered too. If I have to end up buying a commercial bag vacuum, I'll put the money aside for it! :-)
I have all hard wood/vinyl flooring in my house (a few rugs, but no carpet) and the bagless is good for me.
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I have all hard wood/vinyl flooring in my house (a few rugs, but no carpet) and the bagless is good for me.
You know, that's really odd.
All my life, I thought vacuuming a wooden or tiled floor was a "man" thing, and I do it all the time, but never in the sight of women.
It's nice to know I was wrong.
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I do that, sir; because I can, living way out here in the country and all that.
But now I'm confused about something.
The guy said the filter should last as long as the vacuum cleaner.
I dunno much about filters, but it looks to be a pretty strong and permanent filter to me.
The filter should last as long as the cleaner in theory.
On the model I have there are two filters , a white very fine protective filter , and the fixed paper filter.
The fixed paper filter I clean with a stiff paintbrush outdoors, as the dirt cakes in the fins of the filter and doesn't fall with tapping alone. I suspect this is a product of the humidity here.
Of course the paper filter is becoming thin in places due to repeated cleanings (my house is a dust magnet) and will in my case need to be replaced long before the workings of the machine are even well worn.