Vacuums

[tcmb04]

I had invested in a dyson myself and really like it. It impresses customer's when they see all the dirt it picked up around house. Yeah they are pricey.

I do alot of times use the customer's vacuum but sometimes there's is not picking up so i get mine out.

Tina

[jdinstl]

Oh boy, I'm gonna get in trouble.

Staged throughout this place is a total of 15 Kirby's, spanning 50 years of Scott and Fetzer technology. Truth be told, the recipe for water has changed more than the basic design of the Kirby upgright. My passion for them started with the purchase of an old Sanitronic off eBay that I completely broke down, rebuilt the motor and restored. He's sort of the daily vac in my place. I've a small number of hand vacs, vintage, as well. More modern Kirby equipment includes two G3's -- don't ask why two -- double the price, call it a bargain, and I'm kicking down your door to give you cash -- almost bought a 3rd one a few weeks ago.

They clean up well, and are easy to maintain I've diddled with them for so long I can rebuild them blindfolded -- I can even rebuild the TechDrive self-propulsion unit if need be. Paying too much for parts from eBay vendors has me branded a sucker, so if I need a part, I can send out 5 emails and be assured of 3 quotes withing 48 hours from greedy vendors who know my inability to say no to a question of purchase that contains the word "Kirby."

On the G3's, the transmissionn is a bit clunkier than later models, so if you put the attachement hose on, give it a tug, you can trip the clutch and hold your own Kirby Drag Races! Be careful, because that puppy will come chasing after you. Remember, it's about 25 pounds of cast aluminum, and if it picks up a goodly amount of speed -- NASCAR stand back!

Kirby engineering (does such a thing exist, given the simplicity, and frankly old fashioned design of these vacs?) ever the Suzy Safe Sweepers, split the shift toggle bar and dampended the clutch, so the torque just isn't there on taking off the line. Top end though, it can pick up some good speed -- but can't catch up to the G3.

My polishing station to keep these puppies showroom new is an old 1970's Kirby Classic Omega. A "Handi-Butler" is attached in place of the nozzle. The front side has the grinding wheels for sharpening knifes -- the backside has a port for a "Flexi-shaft" for versatility. The Flexi-Shaft has a universal keyless chuck, able to receive a buffing wheel. Dremel Tools quicker in fear of this configuration, some even break down crying in defeat.

I've a series of wheels for emery compound, tripoli compound, and white rouge for powered buffing motiviated by the old Omega. Finishing off with repeated hand buffings using Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish gets rid of the buffing swirls.

:-)

Cheers,

John

[kim]

Hi, My name is Kim. New to the forum. I cant stop reading it. But I must reply to this post. I used to do all janatorial at a company I worked for on the coast. I m very surprised nobody has mentionad the Back Pac Vac . Cant remember the brand. But the square blue ones work great for high low vacuming, stairs etc. floor attachment works best on floors and short carpet. For homes you can also get a beeter bar for it.
I relocated and now I m working for another company doing houses and some construction cleans. With a few accounts of my own. I bought a dyson. I love the long hose and the fact that it is bagless but its alittle heavy and a pain to carry in my car. I use it at first time cleans and occ. at my regulars. But I love the oreck. They are so light and you can get them with all the attachments. I seen 3 at a flea mkt for 20 dollars a piece. I bought all three. So what does that tell ya!!! LOL They dint have the attachments but thats ok I got a great deal and still have my dyson. Kim

[RJ Cleaning]

kim you think the oreck would be good in commercial.

[Pages Personal Cleaning]

I think the best vacuum I have used next to the Dyson is the Simplicity. It has a stair attachment that is long enough to do the whole stairway without having to take the vacuum up and down the steps.
Patti

[Kevin]

One thing that I like about any commercial vacuum is the easy ability to fix on the job site if needed. What is everyone spending average budget for a good commercial vacuum? What Brand?
[glow=blue,2,300]Welcome to the forum KIM! [/glow]

[J4K Cleaning]

I am a fan of [glow=red,2,300]Panasonic [/glow]commercial vacuums. For the money, about $205, you can't beat them. Durable and easy to use. I also like the Pro Team back vac's for common areas we clean, very versatile. Seems like the vacuums I have purchased in the past that were in the 4 to 500 dollar range give me more problems then the Panasonics.

[tcmb04]

I've never seen a oreck with attachments. How do they even connect to the upright? or is there a hand held one your talking about?

Tina

[gailm]

All right checkmate - I'm with you. Can't beat a well built commercial. And you're right about residential owners being picky. Some even asked us if we would change the vacuum bag before cleaning their house! Thank goodness I had my "special" vacuum and could snow them with all the reasons I didn't need to change it (nobody had ever seen a vacuum like this).

I was also surprised nobody mentioned the back packs, except they are a bit pricey. And with a good commercial upright, you don't need to spend the money because all your attachments are right there.

For flooring I purchased used canisters from the local vac shop. Had them replace the cord with 40 - 50ft cord and you could vacuum large areas. They lasted a long time.

I really enjoyed reading all your posts (LOL).

You might enjoy reading how I built my business around a vacuum cleaner! You can read my article on my site:
housecleaningpro.com/articles.html

Find ways to make your residential business stand out from all the rest. One of my subscribers had labels made with his logo and they put one on each used roll of toilet paper (after folding it, of course!) in every bathroom.

That's an excellent way to make a statement with the clients that will pay your price.

[RJ Cleaning]

I usaully buy mine from ebay, because I have to buy to many. I have mostly royal comercial uprights. good suction, very light, easy to move around, and they fit nicely on the janitorial carts. reason I don't buy them new, because most of the accounts I have, need about 4 - 5 vacuums there, so it can get costly. for the condo and apartments complexs I use back vac's.
ones a hummer, had it for a while, its okay, little heavy. also have one thats a no name brand that I got for $100 and actually I like that one, light and has a very good suction..

[kim]

Orecks do come with attachments. Check with comsco Jan. supplies. I have seen them there.
As for maintenance on the oreck, They are very basic to repair and can be done on the job site. They need to come out with bag less ones though.

[RJ Cleaning]

I just seen some orecks on ebay for sale. running from $50.00 and up. heres a link
home.search.ebay.com/vacuum-cleaners_Oreck_W0QQcatrefZC12QQfromZR4QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQsacatZ71243

[kim]

:)Thanks for the vac. link,
kim

[RJ Cleaning]

no problem, thats what were all here for, to help one another.

[kjaser]

I have two bagless Sanyo canisters that I got recently from Amazon.com for $100 ea delivered. They have a beater that can be turned off to do wood/tile floors (although I prefer the (bagless) Mighty Mite to do wood/tile floors - does a GREAT job - but stinks as far as vac'ing carpets). My cleaners love them. Also have a few Bissell bagless uprights which have been real workhorses - but, again, don't do great on non-carpeted surfaces. Have tried several customers' Dysons and don't care for them. Orecks are good all-around vacs - but the bags are pricey and they don't do well getting into corners/edges on non-carpeted floors. Sigh. Still looking for that perfect vac that can do carpeted and non-carpeted floors.