Best vacuum cleaner for "House of Cats"?

Hi.

I would really like to hear people's views on what kind of vacuum
cleaner is best for a house of cats! The reason I'm asking is as
follows.

For about ten years we have had an industrial vacuum cleaner in our
house - the sort used by cleaners in office buildings, etc. It's a very
powerful upright cylinder on wheels and you vacuum the carpet by way of
the long "snake" attachment. The suction is extraordinary and you rub
the carpet with the snake thing, with either the brush retracted or
extended. (We've always used it with the brushes extended in order to
try and rake up as much cat-hair as possible.)

For ten years, short of buying a Dyson, we have thought we couldn't do
better than this machine. However, the previous owners of this house
left an old upright Electrolux in the loft of our garage and, finally,
after three years of ignoring it, yesterday we got it down and gave it a
go on our regularly cleaned carpets. It's like an old Hoover. You push
the whole thing round the carpet as if it were a brush. Anyway, before
we tested it we turned it over, switched on the power, and put our hands
around the front to gauge the amount of suction. LOUSY! Compared to
our industrial cleaner it was a joke!

Anyway, we made sure the bag inside was empty to start with and then we
gave the Electrolux a spin over the carpets of our living-room and
dining-room. If it didn't perform it was destined for the recycling
centre down the road! We took out the bag to see what "the lousy
sucker" had managed to pick up and . . . WE WERE AMAZED! The bag was
no longer empty but practically FULL ! Furthermore, the stuff inside
was ALL cat hair! There was no dust, no dirt, no bits - because our
carpets are regularly cleaned by the "expert sucker"!

Clearly, our expert sucker is useless at picking up hair that clings to
carpet, or hair which gets trapped in carpet. But why?

We examined the Electrolux in action again and paid more attention to
the RAPIDLY revolving cylinder of brushes immediately below its suction
point. These really give the carpet a good brushing - in addition to
the suction.

Maybe we should use both machines?

But the Electrolux is old. Maybe there's a new model out there that
combines excellent suction with rapid circular brushing?

I've had a look at the Dyson website today and from what I've seen the
Dyson only sucks. Our discovery with the old Electrolux suggests that
excellent suction is simply not enough where cat hair is involved!

What's best? What do you think? What do people recommend?

Eddy.

On Jun 27, 1:11 pm, Eddy Bentley
wrote:
Hi.

I would really like to hear people's views on what kind of vacuum
cleaner is best for a house of cats! The reason I'm asking is as
follows.

For about ten years we have had an industrial vacuum cleaner in our
house - the sort used by cleaners in office buildings, etc. It's a very
powerful upright cylinder on wheels and you vacuum the carpet by way of
the long "snake" attachment. The suction is extraordinary and you rub
the carpet with the snake thing, with either the brush retracted or
extended. (We've always used it with the brushes extended in order to
try and rake up as much cat-hair as possible.)

For ten years, short of buying a Dyson, we have thought we couldn't do
better than this machine. However, the previous owners of this house
left an old upright Electrolux in the loft of our garage and, finally,
after three years of ignoring it, yesterday we got it down and gave it a
go on our regularly cleaned carpets. It's like an old Hoover. You push
the whole thing round the carpet as if it were a brush. Anyway, before
we tested it we turned it over, switched on the power, and put our hands
around the front to gauge the amount of suction. LOUSY! Compared to
our industrial cleaner it was a joke!

Anyway, we made sure the bag inside was empty to start with and then we
gave the Electrolux a spin over the carpets of our living-room and
dining-room. If it didn't perform it was destined for the recycling
centre down the road! We took out the bag to see what "the lousy
sucker" had managed to pick up and . . . WE WERE AMAZED! The bag was
no longer empty but practically FULL ! Furthermore, the stuff inside
was ALL cat hair! There was no dust, no dirt, no bits - because our
carpets are regularly cleaned by the "expert sucker"!

Clearly, our expert sucker is useless at picking up hair that clings to
carpet, or hair which gets trapped in carpet. But why?

We examined the Electrolux in action again and paid more attention to
the RAPIDLY revolving cylinder of brushes immediately below its suction
point. These really give the carpet a good brushing - in addition to
the suction.

Maybe we should use both machines?

But the Electrolux is old. Maybe there's a new model out there that
combines excellent suction with rapid circular brushing?

I've had a look at the Dyson website today and from what I've seen the
Dyson only sucks. Our discovery with the old Electrolux suggests that
excellent suction is simply not enough where cat hair is involved!

What's best? What do you think? What do people recommend?

Eddy.

I've heard mixed reviews over the Dyson thats specifically marketed
for pet owners
.. I wanted one, untilI did some research and read some reviews...now
I'm not so sure.

I've never seen an Electrolux upright! My mom had a canister one,
which really was awesome
in its day.

Sherry

On Wed 27 Jun 2007 06:44:23p, Sherry wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
oups.com:

I've heard mixed reviews over the Dyson thats specifically
marketed for pet owners
. I wanted one, untilI did some research and read some
reviews...now I'm not so sure.

I've never seen an Electrolux upright! My mom had a canister
one, which really was awesome
in its day.


Count me in on one who loves the Dyson. Every time I vacuum it
picks up enough fur to knit another cat. And I vacuum now 2x per
week. Should do it more, though.

Someone I know loves one called Rainbow. It sucks the stuff up into
a water chamber, which has pros and cons. My SIL had one of those,
but now has a Dyson and she likes it better. But the person I know
who still has a Rainbow swears by it.

--
Cheryl

On Jun 27, 7:01 pm, Cheryl wrote:
On Wed 27 Jun 2007 06:44:23p, Sherry wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
oups.com:

I've heard mixed reviews over the Dyson thats specifically
marketed for pet owners
. I wanted one, untilI did some research and read some
reviews...now I'm not so sure.

I've never seen an Electrolux upright! My mom had a canister
one, which really was awesome
in its day.

Count me in on one who loves the Dyson. Every time I vacuum it
picks up enough fur to knit another cat. And I vacuum now 2x per
week. Should do it more, though.

I'm going for the black and decker leaf blower. I never want another
square inch of carpet in my house. I love the bare clean floors. I
just take a leaf blower to mine, cat hair and sox and everything out
the door! so ez

Someone I know loves one called Rainbow. It sucks the stuff up into
a water chamber, which has pros and cons. My SIL had one of those,
but now has a Dyson and she likes it better. But the person I know
who still has a Rainbow swears by it.

yakkin like a pac man

"Eddy Bentley" wrote in message
...
Hi.

I would really like to hear people's views on what kind of vacuum
cleaner is best for a house of cats! The reason I'm asking is as
follows.

For about ten years we have had an industrial vacuum cleaner in our
house - the sort used by cleaners in office buildings, etc. It's a very
powerful upright cylinder on wheels and you vacuum the carpet by way of
the long "snake" attachment. The suction is extraordinary and you rub
the carpet with the snake thing, with either the brush retracted or
extended. (We've always used it with the brushes extended in order to
try and rake up as much cat-hair as possible.)

For ten years, short of buying a Dyson, we have thought we couldn't do
better than this machine. However, the previous owners of this house
left an old upright Electrolux in the loft of our garage and, finally,
after three years of ignoring it, yesterday we got it down and gave it a
go on our regularly cleaned carpets. It's like an old Hoover. You push
the whole thing round the carpet as if it were a brush. Anyway, before
we tested it we turned it over, switched on the power, and put our hands
around the front to gauge the amount of suction. LOUSY! Compared to
our industrial cleaner it was a joke!

Anyway, we made sure the bag inside was empty to start with and then we
gave the Electrolux a spin over the carpets of our living-room and
dining-room. If it didn't perform it was destined for the recycling
centre down the road! We took out the bag to see what "the lousy
sucker" had managed to pick up and . . . WE WERE AMAZED! The bag was
no longer empty but practically FULL ! Furthermore, the stuff inside
was ALL cat hair! There was no dust, no dirt, no bits - because our
carpets are regularly cleaned by the "expert sucker"!

Clearly, our expert sucker is useless at picking up hair that clings to
carpet, or hair which gets trapped in carpet. But why?

We examined the Electrolux in action again and paid more attention to
the RAPIDLY revolving cylinder of brushes immediately below its suction
point. These really give the carpet a good brushing - in addition to
the suction.

Maybe we should use both machines?

But the Electrolux is old. Maybe there's a new model out there that
combines excellent suction with rapid circular brushing?

I've had a look at the Dyson website today and from what I've seen the
Dyson only sucks. Our discovery with the old Electrolux suggests that
excellent suction is simply not enough where cat hair is involved!

What's best? What do you think? What do people recommend?

Eddy.


I have a Dyson "The Animal," and it's fantastic. I've read mixed reviews so
can't say if I have just been "lucky," but this one cleans rings around my
previous vacuums (most recently, a Panasonic). And, it does have brushes,
even though their ads focus almost entirely on suction power. You can also
get a smaller rotating brush for furniture. They're not really brushes in
the traditional sense -- more a series of spaced bristles -- but it works!
The Dyson is big and heavy, but it's very easy to maneuver because it has
large wheels.

MaryL

Barry wrote:
I'm going for the black and decker leaf blower. I never want another
square inch of carpet in my house. I love the bare clean floors. I
just take a leaf blower to mine, cat hair and sox and everything out
the door! so ez

That's original, Barry! But doesn't your leaf-blower also blow a lot of
the dust and fur into the air . . . floating back down to the ground
after you passed by?

Eddy.

MaryL wrote:
I have a Dyson "The Animal," and it's fantastic. I've read mixed reviews so
can't say if I have just been "lucky," but this one cleans rings around my
previous vacuums (most recently, a Panasonic). And, it does have brushes,
even though their ads focus almost entirely on suction power. You can also
get a smaller rotating brush for furniture. They're not really brushes in
the traditional sense -- more a series of spaced bristles -- but it works!
The Dyson is big and heavy, but it's very easy to maneuver because it has
large wheels.

Hi there, Mary. Thanks for the info.

If you lie your Dyson "Animal" on its side and then switch it on, can
you see brushes revolving? And if you can, then do they revolve really
fast - so that as you pass over the carpet every bit of it is likely to
brushed half a dozen times at least?

Thanks.

Eddy.

On Jun 27, 6:30 pm, "MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER
wrote:
"Eddy Bentley" wrote in message

...





Hi.

I would really like to hear people's views on what kind of vacuum
cleaner is best for a house of cats! The reason I'm asking is as
follows.

For about ten years we have had an industrial vacuum cleaner in our
house - the sort used by cleaners in office buildings, etc. It's a very
powerful upright cylinder on wheels and you vacuum the carpet by way of
the long "snake" attachment. The suction is extraordinary and you rub
the carpet with the snake thing, with either the brush retracted or
extended. (We've always used it with the brushes extended in order to
try and rake up as much cat-hair as possible.)

For ten years, short of buying a Dyson, we have thought we couldn't do
better than this machine. However, the previous owners of this house
left an old upright Electrolux in the loft of our garage and, finally,
after three years of ignoring it, yesterday we got it down and gave it a
go on our regularly cleaned carpets. It's like an old Hoover. You push
the whole thing round the carpet as if it were a brush. Anyway, before
we tested it we turned it over, switched on the power, and put our hands
around the front to gauge the amount of suction. LOUSY! Compared to
our industrial cleaner it was a joke!

Anyway, we made sure the bag inside was empty to start with and then we
gave the Electrolux a spin over the carpets of our living-room and
dining-room. If it didn't perform it was destined for the recycling
centre down the road! We took out the bag to see what "the lousy
sucker" had managed to pick up and . . . WE WERE AMAZED! The bag was
no longer empty but practically FULL ! Furthermore, the stuff inside
was ALL cat hair! There was no dust, no dirt, no bits - because our
carpets are regularly cleaned by the "expert sucker"!

Clearly, our expert sucker is useless at picking up hair that clings to
carpet, or hair which gets trapped in carpet. But why?

We examined the Electrolux in action again and paid more attention to
the RAPIDLY revolving cylinder of brushes immediately below its suction
point. These really give the carpet a good brushing - in addition to
the suction.

Maybe we should use both machines?

But the Electrolux is old. Maybe there's a new model out there that
combines excellent suction with rapid circular brushing?

I've had a look at the Dyson website today and from what I've seen the
Dyson only sucks. Our discovery with the old Electrolux suggests that
excellent suction is simply not enough where cat hair is involved!

What's best? What do you think? What do people recommend?

Eddy.

I have a Dyson "The Animal," and it's fantastic. I've read mixed reviews so
can't say if I have just been "lucky," but this one cleans rings around my
previous vacuums (most recently, a Panasonic). And, it does have brushes,
even though their ads focus almost entirely on suction power. You can also
get a smaller rotating brush for furniture. They're not really brushes in
the traditional sense -- more a series of spaced bristles -- but it works!
The Dyson is big and heavy, but it's very easy to maneuver because it has
large wheels.

MaryL- Hide quoted text -

Mary, the way I understood it, the Animal vac is the exact same
vaccum as the regular Dyson, as far
as the motor and amperage, it just has different attachments that are
more suitable for picking
up fur. Do you know if that's true? Also, does it seem top-heavy to
you? That seems to be one
of the complaints I keep hearing. I need to just go try one out.

Sherry

"Sherry" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Jun 27, 6:30 pm, "MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER
wrote:
"Eddy Bentley" wrote in message

...





Hi.

I would really like to hear people's views on what kind of vacuum
cleaner is best for a house of cats! The reason I'm asking is as
follows.

For about ten years we have had an industrial vacuum cleaner in our
house - the sort used by cleaners in office buildings, etc. It's a
very
powerful upright cylinder on wheels and you vacuum the carpet by way of
the long "snake" attachment. The suction is extraordinary and you rub
the carpet with the snake thing, with either the brush retracted or
extended. (We've always used it with the brushes extended in order to
try and rake up as much cat-hair as possible.)

For ten years, short of buying a Dyson, we have thought we couldn't do
better than this machine. However, the previous owners of this house
left an old upright Electrolux in the loft of our garage and, finally,
after three years of ignoring it, yesterday we got it down and gave it
a
go on our regularly cleaned carpets. It's like an old Hoover. You
push
the whole thing round the carpet as if it were a brush. Anyway, before
we tested it we turned it over, switched on the power, and put our
hands
around the front to gauge the amount of suction. LOUSY! Compared to
our industrial cleaner it was a joke!

Anyway, we made sure the bag inside was empty to start with and then we
gave the Electrolux a spin over the carpets of our living-room and
dining-room. If it didn't perform it was destined for the recycling
centre down the road! We took out the bag to see what "the lousy
sucker" had managed to pick up and . . . WE WERE AMAZED! The bag was
no longer empty but practically FULL ! Furthermore, the stuff inside
was ALL cat hair! There was no dust, no dirt, no bits - because our
carpets are regularly cleaned by the "expert sucker"!

Clearly, our expert sucker is useless at picking up hair that clings to
carpet, or hair which gets trapped in carpet. But why?

We examined the Electrolux in action again and paid more attention to
the RAPIDLY revolving cylinder of brushes immediately below its suction
point. These really give the carpet a good brushing - in addition to
the suction.

Maybe we should use both machines?

But the Electrolux is old. Maybe there's a new model out there that
combines excellent suction with rapid circular brushing?

I've had a look at the Dyson website today and from what I've seen the
Dyson only sucks. Our discovery with the old Electrolux suggests that
excellent suction is simply not enough where cat hair is involved!

What's best? What do you think? What do people recommend?

Eddy.

I have a Dyson "The Animal," and it's fantastic. I've read mixed reviews
so
can't say if I have just been "lucky," but this one cleans rings around
my
previous vacuums (most recently, a Panasonic). And, it does have
brushes,
even though their ads focus almost entirely on suction power. You can
also
get a smaller rotating brush for furniture. They're not really brushes
in
the traditional sense -- more a series of spaced bristles -- but it
works!
The Dyson is big and heavy, but it's very easy to maneuver because it has
large wheels.

MaryL- Hide quoted text -

Mary, the way I understood it, the Animal vac is the exact same
vaccum as the regular Dyson, as far
as the motor and amperage, it just has different attachments that are
more suitable for picking
up fur. Do you know if that's true? Also, does it seem top-heavy to
you? That seems to be one
of the complaints I keep hearing. I need to just go try one out.

Sherry


Yes, I think that is correct (concerning the attachments). I have not found
it to be top-heavy. It is very heavy in weight but is easy to maneuver
because of the large wheels. On the other hand, I would not want to have to
carry it up and down stairs. It has a very long vacuum extension for the
attachments (17 feet, if I remember correctly). I can leave the vacuum in
the middle of the room and use the attachments with the vacuum hose (the
hose that connects to attachments, not the cord) to clean furniture. I have
seen pictures of people using it in that same way to clean stairs. It has
never fallen over, compared to some other vacs that seemed to topple with
the slightest pull on the hose.

MaryL

Photos of Duffy and Holly: 'o'
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
...

"Eddy Bentley" wrote in message
...
Hi.

I would really like to hear people's views on what kind of vacuum
cleaner is best for a house of cats! The reason I'm asking is as
follows.

For about ten years we have had an industrial vacuum cleaner in our
house - the sort used by cleaners in office buildings, etc. It's a very
powerful upright cylinder on wheels and you vacuum the carpet by way of
the long "snake" attachment. The suction is extraordinary and you rub
the carpet with the snake thing, with either the brush retracted or
extended. (We've always used it with the brushes extended in order to
try and rake up as much cat-hair as possible.)

For ten years, short of buying a Dyson, we have thought we couldn't do
better than this machine. However, the previous owners of this house
left an old upright Electrolux in the loft of our garage and, finally,
after three years of ignoring it, yesterday we got it down and gave it a
go on our regularly cleaned carpets. It's like an old Hoover. You push
the whole thing round the carpet as if it were a brush. Anyway, before
we tested it we turned it over, switched on the power, and put our hands
around the front to gauge the amount of suction. LOUSY! Compared to
our industrial cleaner it was a joke!

Anyway, we made sure the bag inside was empty to start with and then we
gave the Electrolux a spin over the carpets of our living-room and
dining-room. If it didn't perform it was destined for the recycling
centre down the road! We took out the bag to see what "the lousy
sucker" had managed to pick up and . . . WE WERE AMAZED! The bag was
no longer empty but practically FULL ! Furthermore, the stuff inside
was ALL cat hair! There was no dust, no dirt, no bits - because our
carpets are regularly cleaned by the "expert sucker"!

Clearly, our expert sucker is useless at picking up hair that clings to
carpet, or hair which gets trapped in carpet. But why?

We examined the Electrolux in action again and paid more attention to
the RAPIDLY revolving cylinder of brushes immediately below its suction
point. These really give the carpet a good brushing - in addition to
the suction.

Maybe we should use both machines?

But the Electrolux is old. Maybe there's a new model out there that
combines excellent suction with rapid circular brushing?

I've had a look at the Dyson website today and from what I've seen the
Dyson only sucks. Our discovery with the old Electrolux suggests that
excellent suction is simply not enough where cat hair is involved!

What's best? What do you think? What do people recommend?

Eddy.


I have a Dyson "The Animal," and it's fantastic. I've read mixed reviews
so can't say if I have just been "lucky," but this one cleans rings around
my previous vacuums (most recently, a Panasonic). And, it does have
brushes, even though their ads focus almost entirely on suction power.
You can also get a smaller rotating brush for furniture. They're not
really brushes in the traditional sense -- more a series of spaced
bristles -- but it works! The Dyson is big and heavy, but it's very easy
to maneuver because it has large wheels.

I've had a cylinder Dyson for years, it's a DCO2, that's how old it is. I
love it. Every time I use it (twice a week) it picks up enough cat hair and
regular fluff to knit another cat. I can't recommend Dysons highly enough.
It knocks spots off every other vacuum cleaner I ever had.
I like the cylinder version because it is designed to sit on every stair as
I go up vacuuming. If you have a bungalow or live on one floor only, the
upright version might suit.

Tweed