Rick G, I was wondering if you would comment on the Vacuum comparison results from Mikeyfest?

Believe it or not, the Sanitaire and the Bissel performed best. The Lindhaus scored well, but not as good as the $80 Bissel. Go figure. There was some discussion that the testing could be improved to have a tighter measure of control. But Harry's tests leaned toward the Sanitaire and the Bissel.

My guess is that since those two vacuum cleaners were Mikey's personal vacuums, they were too scared to act up at his Fest. So they did their best to put on a good show and avoid his wrath








Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com

So here is problem that we as "pro's" run into. customers like to see us enter their homes with tools that they themselves do not have. But its hard to justify vacuuming a home or business with a $750 dollar unit when you would be serving your customer better by using the $80 unit. We operate a commercial cleaning business and I'd like to think that if our clients should ever peek into our janitors closets that they should feel we are using the best quality products to maintain there buildings. I'm betting that they would cringe if they saw a Bissle there. Maybe we should take all identifying labels off and replace them with our company name and logo regardless of brand.

Another question: what is the justification for spending 600 to 800 for a vacuum when you could buy 8 to 10 bissels for the same price? I know this isn't really an encap question but vacuuming is the must important part of carpet care.

Those are some valid questions. But I don't personally believe for a minute that any of us would seriously consider that a Wal-Mart Bissel would honestly outperform a good commercial vacuum like a Lindhaus, Windsor, Sanitaire, Royal, etc. - cleaning commercial glue down carpet, on a day-in day-out basis.

Harry's tests demonstrated that there was an ounce or two difference during a 1 minute vacuuming on a 3 foot square of residential cut-pile carpet laden with a pound and a half of dry soil. The tests were interesting, but I can't see that they proved anything conclusively. The variables were all over the board. The carpet was not installed, it was laying loosely on a tile floor. The vacuuming passes were not counted or performed at the exact same rate of speed. In some cases the rear wheels of the vacuum ran off of the carpet, which raised the nose of the vacuum off the carpet so it broke contact with the carpet. So while the tests were interesting, the results can't realistically be considered factual.

The bottom line is that, like you, I'm not convinced that a Bissel would be the right tool for a professional business owner. In fact if a Bissel seriously was a worthy vacuum for a professional cleaner, I doubt that we would have SOLD the Lindhaus to one of the cleaners who was present at Mikefest. Why would he have purchased a pricey Lindhaus, when he could have just stopped by Wal-Mart on his way home?

Acquiring a good quality vacuum cleaner, like any other cleaning tools, is worthy of serious consideration. The vacuum cleaner tests were entertaining. Yet I doubt that these particular tests will have a significant bearing on the vacuum that a professional cleaner would choose to use in his business. Personally speaking I would not consider using anything other than a good commercial vacuum in my cleaning business. And I certainly would not consider using a vacuum on the par of something that a home owner could purchase at Wal-Mart.


If you ever have an opportunity to spend some time working on the carpet with a truly excellent vacuum like a Lindhaus you'll likely have the same reaction that Mikey P had when he tested the Lindhaus for a couple of weeks on his jobs...

Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 9:12 am

yes, it's pretty darn quite for a good vacuum.

I love the accessory wand and it's handle $ telescopic wand. Along with the swiveling edge brush it makes cleaning bas boards and things high up super easy.

Other things I like.

Rubber rear wheels.

Supper supple bright yellow 50 ft cord.

A red light system to let you know if you have the brush roll set too low.

NO BELT!

Rolls turns off when set in upright position.

Airflow is centered along the brush roll.

Stair cleaning assist handle in the right spot.

No tools needed to remove the brush roll.

No escaping dust!

It's like a late model Volvo, super well made, no gimmick or clown colors yet a tad bland in appearance.

Only negetivves are the cost of the bags and filters and not being able to see what I am getting out.









Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com

Hey Rick welcome home. Thanks for the cgd info.
What special benefit is there, being that the "airflow is centered along the brush roll" of the linhaus?

And 2ndly, how close does it come to conquest (on a scale from 1 to 10) in terms of DIGGING into the pile and SUCKING up the finer soil.


Thanks
ALEX


Your Servant

The Lindhaus brush roll speed is 5,000 rpm, twice as fast as any other vacuum on the market.
The Conquuest is like a bulldozer. The Italian made Lindhaus is like a Ferarri.
The Conquest is a solid work horse. The Lindhaus is a smooth performance vac.






Rick Gelinas
rick@excellent-supply.com

Those Test at a place like Mike fest are not real world testing.
Some are predeterminded to fit the testers slant plain and simple

A bulldozer's work at a ferarri's speed huh? If thats the case then thats TOP QUALITY! "Show ya right when you know ya right"!! Thats just an old saying when one is excited about something (smile) Just like saying: "AWESOME"!!


Alex

Your Servant

one way test the difference in the high $$$ vs low $$$ vacs are to get one of each and put them to work!

as with anything it is what you do with it AFTER the job...I have seen in some of my custys closets(they do their own) Royals, Sanitares, Windsors. and other vacs...and they dont keep them clean...I bought a Eureka for $90 first bagless one I had ever bought. I did so to compare the Encap stuff so i didnt have to sift through a bag...Let me tell you what a great vac it has been, it had out performed those others when i have come in and vacd after them...but then again i dump it and keep it clean after every use, i bought to filters so i could rotate and blow them out..

oh and on a side note i tried out the dyson at a custys house.."I always wanted to try one of these do you mind?" I WASNT IMPRESSED my little $90 jobber would have done just as well...do i have a micro scope to get down in and check the fibers?? nope...but i can see the crap that come out of my vac..

So for me i was happy to see that the bissel did such a good job, cuz i have thought about one of those to replace the eureka..

Doug you are exactly rite is it how we care for the product we have while we use it and after we use it.

What comes into play in the pricing game is can you fix/ repair this vac it something breaks on you. We use ProTeam Back Pacs and Royal uprites.
They are easy to operate easy to get at parts to need if by chance somthing does wear out or break. after 10 years with my back pac only had to replace one vac motor one wand head.

After three years with my Royal Lite we will replace the vac form normal use and religate it to just doing mats. A two pieces broke or should I say I ran over the thing, and it will be more coast effective in the long run to just get a new one. for $90 bucks or so well worth it.

With the Cheap vacs you really cannot repair them you toss them in the trash and possably take a few things off them just in case the new vac you get snaps a part. For nearly the price of one of those throw away vac i can get a good commercial vac that they do not have unless they went to a vac shop

David stated - "Those Test at a place like Mike fest are not real world testing. Some are predeterminded to fit the testers slant plain and simple."

David, either you are a pinhead or you are brilliant.

Pick a vacuum cleaner brand - any brand - and tell us all how you would predetermine the test to favor that brand. If you can't do that then I think that a retraction and an apology would be in order.


ps, I did not know which vacuum cleaners would be tested and I did not not know which carpet samples would be vacuumed by which vacuum cleaner. Each carpet sample 3ft x 3ft was vacuumed for 60 seconds from 4 directions by the same cleaner who was someone I had never met before.

The purpose of the tests was primarily for interests sake and was designed, as far as possible, to be "real world". It was NOT meant to be definitive or scientific.

It did not address different carpet constructions, types of soil, warranty issues, maintenance issues, ease of use issues or repair issues let alone how well built each vacuum was or how long it would last. It was designed to illustrate that we can all do our own testing.

If your customer, who presumably vacuums on a regular basis sees you pull out large quantities of crud from her carpet with your vacuum cleaner, I think that she will be impressed, regardless of the looks or price of your unit.

Come on now Harry. It sounds like David was there for the testing.


Rick, the only machine that bounced off the carpet like you stated was the Hoover Conquest. It was a pretty fare test. I think you are a little upset cause the your vac didn't do as well as some of the others.


Next year's testing will be even better.