Vacuums Reviews

I'm satisfied with the performance of the product. It works fine for vinyl floors, which is all I have. Unfortunately, I can't find bags. The company has been out of them close to three months and all I get is the run-a-round and empty promises when I call customer service. The bags that I was promised were arriving in the warehouse three weeks ago and would be shipped to me IMMEDIATELY, still have not arrived at my home. I have an almost brand-new product that is useless. I will not be buying any Euro-Pro product simply because their lack of customer service.

Attractive canister (as if that were important--not), reasonably lightweight, excellent pick up (yes, it sucks good), and cord a bit too short. I have 3 cats with male-pattern hair-loss-syndrome and this vacuum makes the daily clean-up a near delight. Sign me "vacuuming-crazed woman."

I guess I'm not the best person to review this product, since I had a MIELE vaccuum cleaner before, and those are simply the best ones, in my opinion. Nevertheless, I think for this price, the Shark is a good deal, it has indeed all the advantages other reviewers described (lightweight, easy to maneuver, looks good, good suction, good set of crevice tools). I hope the hose, made of plastic, will last long enough--I'll treat it with caution, it may be a bit delicate. Only what I miss is sort of a brush in the nozzle that could be pushed out when using it on hard floors, and pushed back in when using it on carpet. (I also like to use it pushed out on carpet in order to collect long hair from it). However, there's no such brush to be put in or out. But that's about it I could say about it in a negative way. Whether the bags are to small--can't say yet, because haven't had it long enough.
Taken altogether, I'd say this vaccuum is good, if not very good value for money (got it on amazon on sale for even $99 instead of 169, so that was an extra plus in my case! May not have bought it for 169, though). (However, my next vaccuum will be a Miele again, no matter the price.)

PSI offers a version of this connector, reviews of it are also available here at amazon. I wish I had read those reviews before buying this. The PSI reviews are more critical and more numerous than those for the Jet version, and not knowing to look there, I decided to buy this and give it a go. My mistake.

Well, on the plus side, its well made, solid and the correct dimenstions.

On the negative side, I don't have any 4" OD hookup that fits securely in the tapered end of this connector. Sure, all of them will go inside to some degree. Most will slide in about 1/2", some a little more, and some only about 1/4". None of them make an airtight seal. They will pivot in the taper under vacuum pressure and allow air gaps, reducing static pressure significantly.

Worse, nothing seems to want to stay put. Any bump on the hose, such as tapping it with a board or your elbow, will usually cause your hose to pop free of this connector. And I do not mean bumping the hose near the connector, but instead near your tool. Yes, the connection is really just that delicate and weak. I spent more time reconnecting, twisting, mashing, tapping, etc., my splices into this quick disconnect than I would have by just loosening a clamp, sliding hose over a standard connector and tightening the clamp again.

This is NOT a complete solution. What is lacking is the male counterpart connector, which should have a tapered end to match that on this female connector. I cannot find that such male connectors exist. Perhaps they are in the works and we'll see them soon.

Fazlok by Woodtek has done this scheme right, or so I tend to believe by reading some reviews of it. Both sides are tapered to match each other.

However, I don't own and have never used the Fazlok products. I won't therefore endorse them. As of this review date, Woodworkers Supply seems to be the sole reseller for Fazlok (I could be wrong). Result: You pay 8 bucks per connector, which is 1 dollar MORE than the MSRP. You'll need 1 female for your collector end, and each tool will require 1 male end (either at the tool itself, or at the end of a short length of hose attached to the tool). Lack of competition in resellers makes this an expensive alternative.

OK, let's be fair, this connector by Jet/PSI is also 8 bucks. Assuming any possible future male connector becomes available, it had better be much less than 7 dollars to make the resulting system cheaper to own and use vs. the Fazlok. If such a male connector ever comes forward, and if it sells at 8 dollars also, then I'd recommend taking a long look at Fazlok if you are willing to spend that kind of money on a simple piece of plastic. At least the Fazlok is transparent and includes a twist-lock to prevent accidental slippage, which given identical prices between the competing makers, offers a slight edge
to Fazlok for the dollar spent. Still, 8 dollars for a simple mold of plastic? There's probably 25 cents of plastic in these things. The engineering and manufacturing costs can't be THAT much (it's a cylinder, and how difficult is that to engineer?)

I think I'll stick with the old way of fiddling with hoses and clamps until either (1) Jet makes a male connector to match this female one, or (2) Woodtek gets more resellers for Fazlok so the price comes down to below MSRP per connector.

Since I don't have room for a permanent fixed dust collection system I am stuck doing the dust collection dance with all my tools. This quick disconnect has never let me down. I haven't been using it all that long, but I have been using it long enough to fill my dust collection bag by about 1/3. I can move from table saw to band saw to planer without any hassle.

This simple device is a time saver for me. I do not have the space for a permanent workshop floor with convenient built-in dust collection. Instead, I use the drag things around the garage or driveway method. The flaired end connects easily to a rigid 4" fitting and I use this to move my dust collection from table saw to router table to planer, etc. The quick connect moves from tool to tool without delaying my work progress. At first I thought the connector might disengage itself while the tool was in operation but I've had no problems. I'd recommend the quick disconnect for anyone needing to change tool connections quickly and reliably.

I bought this cleaner for use in between major vacuuming. It clogs very quickly without having swept up very much. It is probably fine for floors without carpet.

I purchased this vacuum because I was tired of being pregnant and lugging my heavy Hoover upright around the house. The Flair does a great job on bare floors and a reasonable job on rugs (I don't have wall-to-wall carpet, so that is fine with me). It also does a great job picking up dog hair. Because it's so easy to maneuver, I vacuum almost daily, and it's amazing how much dirt it picks up. It's also much quieter than my regular vacuum. A few complaints: this model doesn't stand up by itself, so you have to lean it against something sturdy or leave it flat on the floor when it's not in use. I would upgrade to the next model because this is an annoying problem. The bagless filter needs to be emptied often, about 3 times before I finish the house. Like other bagless vacs, you need to be careful emptying the filter so that you don't disperse the dust back into your house. It would be nice if Hoover made a bagged version.

Was pleased with the timeleness of the shipment and the cost of the cleaner. Was not the cleaner I was looking for but I am beginning to suspect they don't make them anymore as I could not find it on line or in the stores. Such is progress.

Their claim is that the Dyson doesn't lose suction with use. If kept in top condition, clean and emptied then it might not lose suction. But if you allow the canister to fill up or the filter to get dirty then it definitely looses suction.

The beater brushes were never really effective. I have thick plush carpet, all one length, and I never got vacuum tracks with this vacuum. So I knew it wasn't really beating the carpet very effectively. They claim the height is auto adjusting but it doesn't seem to adjust at all and therefore is only effective on certain carpet heights.

The wand wore out early due to design errors. The hard part of the wand tube rubs against the flexible hose causing it to wear early and break. Each of the attachments broke early too.

I got about a years use out of this vacuum and threw it away. I bought a Bissell lift off upright to replace and it is already 100% better than the Dyson. In the first vacuuming with the Bissell I filled the dirt canister with dust and dog hair from my first floor alone, which shows the Dyson had been missing it all along. I now get vacuum tracks with the Bissell and my carpet looks 100% better

We bought the Dyson in Dec. of 2002, and it gets used for approximately 1 hour x twice a week on carpet.

In the vacuum cleaner market which, in our opinion, is dominated by poor product design, plastic parts that break easily, motors that burn out, belts that stretch and break, expensive bags that fill up virtually instantly, and a very short useful life, our Dyson has acquitted itself rather well.

Many of the other favorable comments apply and will not be repeated here.

We would add that Dyson has good telephone customer service as well as an on-line diagnostic guide.

We note the following negatives:

- The "off the floor" hose suction is not as strong and is much more awkward than with a "tank type - non upright" cleaner. If you are doing mostly off the floor cleaning, probably no upright is recommended.

- While the parts that you can access are easy to remove for cleaning and "unclogging", there are some critical non user serviceable parts on the Dyson. Even the drive belt and hepa filters are supposed to be changed by a service center.

- There are very few designated service centers capable of fixing the Dyson. So keep the box in case you have to ship the machine back to the company and hope you never need to use it. I would guess that with parts and labor, a major repair could easily be between a quarter and half the price of a new machine.

- The hepa filter, which is supposed to last the lifetime of the machine, doesn't. But notwithstanding instructions, it can be removed and replaced by the user (special replacement filter must be purchased from the company or from a dealer). We found it necessary to replace the filter (ourselves) when the machine constantly cut off due to overheating.

- While it is NOT in the instructions, customer service will tell you that vacuuming up powder (plaster, carpet cleaner, carpet deodorant) will clog the hepa filter and eventually destroy the machine. If you plan to do this kind of work, get something with a disposable bag.

- Periodically, the regular filter and basket need to be washed. Not a big deal but it needs to be done.

- Periodically, the tank needs to be thoroughly washed by running water through it and letting it dry.

Notwithstanding the above, this is probably a better and more reliable machine than anything else available (which, as noted, says something about vacuum cleaners in general), so with reservations, we recommend it.

Product designed to meet user needs and convinience.Does outstanding job on the carpet and hardwood floors, but can't reach under limited hight spaces without taking the house out.Best product i ever have to vacuum hardwood stairs.Looks and works like new.