Vacuum for hard floors only

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Don_S

Vacuum for hard floors only
« on: 17 Sep 2017, 06:35 am »
I am looking for a vacuum for the large area of tile flooring I have.  I want something that brushes the floor while it vacuums.  Now I have an aftermarket brush on my Dyson. It is narrow front to back and has bristles all the way around but shorter in the front.  I think it does a great job but I hate dragging the Dyson around.  The hose is restricting and then the Dyson breaks loose and hits a wall or cabinets. Using it is exhausting.

On carpet I use a Soniclean and it is so easy to handle.  It also does hard floors but only vacuums. I don't think that is an effective way to get dust off of the floor. I really want something similar in style but with brushes that touch the floor.

I purchased a steam cleaner but that will only be used infrequently.  My plan is to keep my new carpet clean by keeping my tile clean so dust does not get dragged onto the carpet.  I do not know exactly how much tile floor I have but from my front door to my rear patio door it is over 52' straight shot. Then I have the kitchen, two bathrooms, two small hallways and a laundry room. I need something easy, effective and fast. I would like to be able to vacuum and still have enough energy left to mop.


JLM

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Re: Vacuum for hard floors only
« Reply #1 on: 17 Sep 2017, 11:32 am »
Hard floors will only transfer dirt/moisture to rugs/carpet.  Most houses (including ours) are furnished to make the mistake of requiring travel on hard floors and then transition to carpet.  Best to go the other way around and intensely clean a small amount of carpet at the doors with the idea of frequently needing to replace.  Dirt wears like sandpaper, whether on hard or woven floors.

One or two steps onto the initial carpet/rug is not enough to get the dirt off.  In healthcare renovations it is recommended to use 8 feet of wet carpet, then 8 feet of dry carpet, then 8 feet of sticky mats to keep construction debris contained as workers re-enter the active clinical space.

Recommend central vacuum to ensure the dirt leaves the house.  No portable vacuum filters the smallest (and most dangerous) particles.  Companies that advertise HEPA filters on portable vacuums should be sued.  Brushes on hard floors scratch, in fact our central vacuum has a brushless setting for hard floors and the brush setting for woven floors.

Seems like you already have decent cleaning tools.  Recommend a smaller house or adding a maid.

Photon46

Re: Vacuum for hard floors only
« Reply #2 on: 17 Sep 2017, 01:18 pm »
JLM is correct, you aren't going to win the battle to keep your carpet clean by keeping the tile clean. There's fine particulate matter than evades the best cleaning intentions. We use a top of the line "hepa" Miehle vacuum cleaner and then follow up with the "Woodpecker" hardwood floor cleaner system. It is astounding how much fine dirt remains behind after a thorough vacuuming with a good vacuum with a rotating brush. (FWIW, the rotating brushes in the Miehle vacuum have never scratched the aluminum oxide finish on our hardwood floors.) We have wool wall to wall carpet in the bedrooms, hardwood in most of the house and tile in the kitchen, entry areas, and baths. To prevent the spread of dirt as much as possible, we keep runner carpets at the entries and basically behave like Japanese people, no shoes in the house. When we bring in groceries, we drop them at the end of the runner rug and then take off our shoes when we move them to the fridge. We keep weatherproof sandals or flip-flops outside all the exits and use them when we go outside and take them off before we come inside. The Japanese figured out a long time ago that's the best way to keep floors as clean as possible. Easy, fast, and effective cleaning? Isn't going to happen in house the size you have. My wife or I spend at least 1 1/2 hrs. every week just vacuuming and cleaning floors in a 2100 sq. ft. house. Then there's tile mopping after that.

We purchased a well reviewed steam cleaner and used it for years. As time has passed, it's become our opinion that they are best kept and used to clean up after a spill or for spot cleaning. They are VERY slow to use for cleaning an entire house if you do it right. I would strongly advise you talk to a reliable flooring store in your area, consult Angie's List, etc. and find a local carpet cleaning service that knows what they're doing. They don't charge that much and their industrial equipment is going to do a way better job than a puny home unit.

I.Greyhound Fan

Re: Vacuum for hard floors only
« Reply #3 on: 18 Sep 2017, 03:14 pm »
I have dogs along with wood and tile floors.  I also live in MN and during the winter sand gets in the house from sanding the roads. I use an Oreck.  I bought it because it is light weight and easy to more around.  It works great for the dog hair and sand and has plenty of suction.

I also own a Meile canaster vac and it works great.  But the Oreck is much more nimble and works just as well.  Oreck use to do free maintenance on their vacuums, I don't know if they still do.  The Meile is very durable and has great suction and excellent tools.

roscoe65

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Re: Vacuum for hard floors only
« Reply #4 on: 18 Sep 2017, 04:00 pm »
I have a dog, two cats and a chinchilla.  Needless to say, we are constantly cleaning up after them.  We have a combination of wood floors and carpet.

I've found that the Shark vacuums generally do well in this environment (they have a two-stage, cleanable exhaust filter).  We own a larger model which is good for just doing carpets, and a Rocket Ultralight we use 95% of the time.  It can be used on bare floors, carpets and even upholstery.  It is designed so that it traps dirt to keep the brushes from spreading it over bare floors.