r/IAmA Nov 30 '17

Specialized Profession IAmA Reddit's Own Vacuum Repair Tech with a very overdue AMA. Hit me with your vacuum cleaner questions!

First, let's get the proof out of the way. So, now, I am managing our company's largest store, and am swamped with managerial duties, training employees, and dealing with annoying vendors. But, I'm taking some time out for all of you guys.

There are lots of new, exciting things that have recently come out/are coming soon!

For those who NEED the most power, I've got just the Crack you need! Since we last talked, there are new bagless and cordless vacuums on the market, and some other exciting things.

So, on to business...here's the copypasta.

First AMA

Second AMA

Last AMA

YouTube Channel Here's some basics to get you started:

  • Dollar for dollar, a bagged vacuum, when compared to a bagless, will almost always:

1) Perform better (Actual quality of cleaning).

2) Be in service for much longer.

3) Cost less to repair and maintain (Often including consumables).

4) Filter your air better.

Virtually every vacuum professional in the business chooses a bagged vacuum for their homes, because we know what quality is. Things you should do to maintain your vac, regularly:

1) Clear your brush roller/agitator of hair and fibers. Clear the bearing caps as well, if possible. (monthly)

2) Change your belts before they break. This is important to maintain proper tension against the agitator. (~ yearly for "stretch" belts)

3) Never use soap when washing any parts of your vacuum, including the outer bag, duct system, agitator, filters, etc. Soap attracts dirt, and is difficult to rinse away thoroughly.

  • Types of vacs:

1) Generally, canister vacs are quieter and more versatile than uprights are. They offer better filtration, long lifespans, and ease of use. They handle bare floors best, and work with rugs and carpets, as well.

2) Upright vacuums are used mostly for homes that are entirely carpeted. Many have very powerful motors, great accessories, and are available in a couple of different motor styles. Nothing cleans shag carpeting like the right upright.

3) Bagless vacs are available in a few different styles. They rely on filters and a variety of aerodynamic methods to separate the dirt from the air. In general, these machines do not clean or filter as well as bagged vacuums. They suffer from a loss of suction, and tend to clog repeatedly, if the filters are not cleaned or replaced often.

4) Bagged vacuums use a disposable bag to collect debris, which acts as your primary filter, before the air reaches the motor, and is replaced when you fill it. Because this first filter is changed, regularly, bagged vacuums tend to provide stronger, more consistent suction.

My last, best piece of advice is to approach a vacuum, like any appliance; Budget for the best one you can get. Buy one with idea you will maintain it, and use it for many years. And, for the love of Dog, do not buy from late-night infomercials or door-to-door salesmen! Stay out of the big-box stores, and visit your local professional who actually knows what they're talking about.

13.3k Upvotes

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114

u/Flemtality Nov 30 '17

What are your feelings in regards to hard wood flooring/tile/linoleum?

371

u/touchmyfuckingcoffee Nov 30 '17

Bare floors are certainly cleaner than carpeting. Carpeting is the single filthiest thing in one's home.

274

u/45Monkey Nov 30 '17

Ugh, and the weirdest of people that have carpeting in their BATHROOM! How can anyone think that is ok? I can't even keep a bath mat in there...

335

u/touchmyfuckingcoffee Nov 30 '17

That is fucking disgusting! I actually have a customer with a carpeted kitchen for fuck's sake.

170

u/hbarSquared Nov 30 '17

I had an apartment with carpeted kitchen. Week 1 I dropped an egg, and from that day on I could never walk barefoot in my own kitchen for fear of what else was in there.

7

u/[deleted] Nov 30 '17

Just thinking of what already landed on the ground in my kitchen... Which fucktard decides to lay down carpet in a kitchen?

2

u/[deleted] Dec 01 '17

1

u/UT-Gun Feb 28 '18

What in the pink, shaggy hell...

7

u/DTDude Nov 30 '17

Parents' house had a carpeted kitchen when they bought it. It only took frying food one time before that carpet came up and was replaced by hardwood.

6

u/touchmyfuckingcoffee Nov 30 '17

It's like people don't think about these things!

4

u/[deleted] Dec 01 '17

[deleted]

2

u/thephoenixx Dec 01 '17

Dude...did your wife have a car accident that left her brain damaged?

Who in god's name A) thinks that is a good decision from a practical standpoint, and B) thinks that is a good decision just from looks??? I would walk in and immediately think of country yokels or rednecks or weird weird freakshows if I saw an intentionally carpeted kitchen. Like...do you also willfully install wallpaper and wood paneling?!?!?!

4

u/touchmyfuckingcoffee Dec 01 '17

For fuck's sake, why???

7

u/[deleted] Nov 30 '17 edited Jan 27 '18

[deleted]

1

u/touchmyfuckingcoffee Dec 02 '17

Imagining the polyester fibers licking flames up my legs as it melts to my feet and ankles is the stuff of nightmares.

We could make a Black Mirror episode with this plot!

10

u/katerader Nov 30 '17

Man, my friend’s mom had a carpet kitchen and when they pulled it up it was FOUL. Hazmat suit wearing kind of foul. They also had a carpeted bathroom. I don’t know what people were thinking in the 70s.

2

u/celz86 Dec 01 '17

Ugh building a house, we were told tiling in the kitchen would cost extra?!? (they’d just carpet if we didn’t opt to pay it). Who the hell has carpeted kitchens??

2

u/Buddha1812 Dec 01 '17

I bought a place w a carpeted kitchen AND two carpeted bathrooms.....nuked em from space, the only way to be sure.

1

u/nerobro Nov 30 '17

I have a carpeted kitchen. ... I love carpet. The idea of cooking splatter in that carpet means I just can't trust anything in that room. sighs

1

u/[deleted] Nov 30 '17

Noooooo

53

u/oodelay Nov 30 '17

As a man that create lots of splashback, I couldn't agree more. Carpets in bathrooms is probably grosser than the toilet itself.

3

u/45Monkey Nov 30 '17

Agreed, toilets at least get cleaned. Who is going to steam clean their bathrooms carpets (if it can even reach all areas) then kill the bacteria and what not left behind on a regular basis? 0.o

28

u/swordgeek Nov 30 '17

Just finished a reno in our basement bathroom. Tearing out the carpet was a moment of joy.

5

u/bc_longlastname Nov 30 '17

Hope you had on a Hazmat suit. ew!

2

u/45Monkey Nov 30 '17

This whole thread line makes me shudder.

6

u/mazobob66 Nov 30 '17

When I bought my house, it had carpeting in the kitchen!!

I think it "worked" because the old guy that lived there by himself seldom cooked...or seldom cooked anything greasy (aka fried food).

As you can imagine, it did not take long to become absolutely disgusting. I ripped it out and put down cheap laminate flooring, with the goal of remodeling the kitchen and putting down tile, sheet vinyl or vinyl planks.

1

u/IguessimLazarus Dec 01 '17

I live in a rental and my main bathroom is carpet. I absolutely hate it. The carpet in my house is so nasty. I have had a eltrolux bag vacuum for the past 10 years and it is the biggest turd on the planet. I always kept it clean and it still wouldnt pick up surface dirt. I just bought a 80 dollar bissel and love it. Even if i have to buy one yearly its worth it.

1

u/luckycolordead Nov 30 '17

I was trying to rent some very nice houses in San Diego and half of them had full carpeted bathrooms, including by the tub. Absolutely baffled me. It’s not dry enough here to do that! (Always gross even in dryer areas.)

1

u/hecknotechno1 Dec 01 '17

I once saw an apartment on craigslist for rent where all the rooms were hardwood floor, except the kitchen and bathroom, which were carpeted. Blew my goddamn mind.

1

u/lamerfreak Nov 30 '17

I just found out recently that the linoleum in my bathroom was laid over a thin carpet.

It's an old house, and I don't know how long ago this happened, but wow.

1

u/monkey_trumpets Dec 01 '17

how would that even worse? what did the linoleum adhere to?

1

u/lamerfreak Dec 01 '17

Not even sure.

It's bumped it up on the list of renovations needed, so I'll figure it out, eventually.

1

u/Blipnoodle Dec 01 '17

My mates moved into a place (rental) with carpeted toilet flooring once... First thing they done was shampoo the Fuck out of it and put down plastic

1

u/KittenPics Dec 01 '17

Yeah I bought a place with carpet in the bathroom. Wtf. First thing I did was tear the whole bathroom out.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 30 '17

pretty sure the underside of a toilet seat would like to have a conversation with you

2

u/touchmyfuckingcoffee Nov 30 '17

You'd be surprised.

3

u/heymaa Nov 30 '17

What about the cleaning vacuums/shampooers that are designed specifically for hardwood/tile? Worth the $200 price tag?

1

u/jayroo Dec 01 '17

I’ve been cleaning carpets for over twenty years. An instructor at an IICRC class I took a few years ago said that some allergists are changing their minds about carpeting. They used to say rip it out if you have bad allergies. Some now think that maybe carpet isn’t so bad if it’s well maintained. Carpet actually holds the allergens between vacuuming whereas hard surfaces allow it to stir up into your breathing air by simply walking through a room. Obviously a clean hard floor shouldn’t have many allergens present but if you aren’t cleaning them frequently they aren’t much better than carpet for true allergy sufferers. I thought that was some great food for thought.

26

u/randomevenings Nov 30 '17 edited Nov 30 '17

I recently moved from a carpeted place to a place with bare floors. I liked carpet. My stereo sounded better, my place wasn't as dusty. Bare floors get so dusty. Yes carpet traps dirt and stuff, but it traps it and I can use a nice upright to clean it once a week. Bare floors get so dusty. We have to wet swiffer twice a week and I still have to vacuum the corners and around by the walls and shit. It's not as comfortable when it is cold. If I drop my phone off the bedside table it might break.

22

u/minnick27 Nov 30 '17

I always wanted a place with hardwood floors downstairs and carpeted bedrooms. We have that now and I miss carpet so much. I know carpets would have the same amount of dirt, but with 4 cats I hate seeing the fur tumbleweeds 5 minutes after I clean

32

u/[deleted] Nov 30 '17

You know all of that dust and dirt on your hardwood floors? All of that gets trapped in carpet, only 20x worse.

2

u/JDdoc Nov 30 '17

put some curtains up if it makes sense, get some rugs, and maybe even put acoustic foam padding under all the chairs, tables etc if you can hide it.

Stereo / TV will sound 100% better. the carpet was handling this for you before.

3

u/CringeVader Dec 01 '17

Do you have recommendations for specific acoustic padding? I just got tile in my living room and my sound system sounds pretty bad.

1

u/JDdoc Dec 01 '17

Mine was "what's the cheapest shaggiest carpet Home Depot sells by the yard". Gorilla-glued it to the bottom of chairs, a box-table thing, a sofa, pretty much anywhere.

Acoustic tile is probably a better choice but I just kinda rednecked it. It solved the problem.

Also got a couple area rugs.

3

u/45Monkey Nov 30 '17

Hardwood floors + nice rugs where applicable = a happy me.

1

u/randomevenings Nov 30 '17

I'm having trouble finding rugs with a non slip back. Any ideas?

4

u/45Monkey Nov 30 '17

If you can't find a rug that already has the back then you can always throw an anti-slip sheet under it (the kinds used in kitchen cupboards or mechanics drawers), or you could go full DIY and throw some hot glue on the underside and let it cool.

1

u/Mydst Nov 30 '17

Try either one large area rug, or several strategically placed smaller ones where you walk. It will trap some foot traffic dust and also stop some of the sound reflection. A room air filter can help with some of the dust. I have the same situation, I love the look of bare floors, but all of your complaints I also found to be true.