Spec me a Vacuum for Wool Carpet

Soldato
Joined
19 Nov 2004
Posts
12,508
Location
Wokingham
Exciting stuff here for the house husbands amongst you. I've got a Bosch cylinder vacuum that's about 6 years old. It does a good job overall as it's 2000w but it's not great on the wood floor downstairs as my 3 year old gets glitter everywhere, which then gets into the crevices of the floor that the Bosch can't get out due to it having no brush.
This is turn makes me want to get a new vacuum that can work well on the floor downstairs, but upstairs we have wool carpet throughout and I was told to not use a brush style vacuum on the carpet as it'll pull all the fibres up. So I'm kind of stuck in the middle.
I've seen some Shark models that allow you to turn the brush off - NV681UKT - but what put me off is the apparent lack of spares for when parts break.
I also like the look of the Dyson Lightball Multifloor as you can raise and lower the roller. Also the roller doesn't look particularly aggressive like some other ones. The only thing that puts me off this is that we had a V6 from 2014 and it was the worst vacuum cleaner we've ever owned.
They're both ~£200. Any other suggestions that would work for a wool carpet and good hard floor cleaning?
 
Soldato
Joined
11 Apr 2006
Posts
7,047
Location
Earth
Shark, exact model you mentioned. Felt like new carpet after using a wireless £400 dyson for a few years.

Builder ruined shark after doing a job and sucking all the dust up. Went on shark website and bought all the spares for about £40

Back to brand new practically.

Edit: I got my Shark from AO ebay outlet, £50 cheaper than in their own website and other retailers and still brand new
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Mar 2010
Posts
21,892
but it's not great on the wood floor downstairs as my 3 year old gets glitter everywhere
have never tried glitter, but the Bosch power animal regular brush gets the wood flooring clean,
for carpet, to avoid ruining it think you need an upright like friends have a Sebo which has a proper powered head, speed controlled with decent bristles,
unlike my bosch power head and dyson brands .. I previously posted pictures of their so called power heads.
 
Associate
Joined
6 Jul 2010
Posts
2,059
Miele C3. Best vacuum I have used. Comes with multiple heads so that you can use the non-turbo brush heads if you so wish.
 
Associate
Joined
1 Dec 2017
Posts
293
As an ex cleaner/caretaker I think I'll always have a Numatic Henry. Solid as a rock, easy to repair, more suction than any man needs, and a smiling face to boot. Only issue is they're a bit big sometimes.
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Mar 2010
Posts
21,892
I think you need some kind of rotary brush on carpets ?

Miele and Bosch have near identical power heads ...
the turbo head, apart from being noisy, alweays feels as though it is beating the hell out of the carpet, brushes scraping the top rather than really penetrating the pile ?
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
19 Nov 2004
Posts
12,508
Location
Wokingham
I think you need some kind of rotary brush on carpets ?

Miele and Bosch have near identical power heads ...
the turbo head, apart from being noisy, alweays feels as though it is beating the hell out of the carpet, brushes scraping the top rather than really penetrating the pile ?
The problem with wool pile is that it will get pulled apart easily by a rotating brush, so the cleaner needs to be able to retract the brush on command when used on the carpet upstairs, but engage on the floor downstairs.
 
Associate
Joined
26 Jan 2018
Posts
1,089
Location
Southampton
We got a 'Miele Blizzard CX1 Cat and Dog' - Can't recommend it enough.

We had a Henry before that was very reliable but was crap at picking up stuff, pet hair (2 indoor cats) was always left in the carpet after. The Miele has been great - Gets everything.

Bag-less too which is also a plus.
 
Last edited:
Soldato
OP
Joined
19 Nov 2004
Posts
12,508
Location
Wokingham
We got a 'Miele Blizzard CX1 Cat and Dog' - Can't recommend it enough.

We had a Henry before that was very reliable but was crap at picking up stuff, pet hair (2 indoor cats) was always left in the carpet after. The Miele has been great - Gets everything.

Bag-less too which is also a plus.
I've seen this model and it does look very good but I'm sceptical as to how good it would be at getting small particles (glitter) from in between the wood grain as it doesn't have a rotating brush.
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Mar 2010
Posts
21,892
We had a Henry before that was very reliable but was crap at picking up stuff, pet hair (2 indoor cats) was always left in the carpet after.
but because miele has a better brush ?

With the bosch bagless / vortex type the amazon reviews suggested it was not as effective as the bagged ...
(but amazon reviews are maybe like a Boris' words ... need something new in the english language ... he did a Boris ?)
I've never researched if dyson really have some useful patent that makes theirs superior .. but the technique was being used long before they deployed it in vacuums.
 
Associate
Joined
26 Jan 2018
Posts
1,089
Location
Southampton
but because miele has a better brush ?

Yes, because it's got that 'turbo brush' that digs into the pile and gets the dirt up.

I was sceptical, so tested using the Henry hoover over the rug, fair few passes, then got the Miele out with that turbo brush thing. The amount of cat hair and general crap in the dirt container after was shocking, showed what the Henry was missing all these years.

It sucks so hard (giggity) that I could barely move it. I had to twist the dial at the end of the brush that allows some of the air to escape, releasing some of the suction.

Had it a year now and still pleased with it :)
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Mar 2010
Posts
21,892
I thought this was a good article https://homevacuumzone.com/riccar-vacuum-reviews/

Direct Air Vacuums
Direct air technology agitates carpet fibers, releasing dirt particles. It’s well-suited for carpet cleaning. Direct air motors are used in vacuums like the Kirby, Oreck, old Hoover Elites, Sanitaire, and some Eureka uprights.

Direct air motors differ from air clean motors as they use a fan to blow the air and dirt into a bag which captures the dust and filters the air before releasing it back into your home. You will know a direct air vacuum when you see one as the outer bag inflates when you turn it on.

This motor system can deliver a very high amount of air flow and agitation when combined with a good brush roll system. As a result these systems have great performance on carpets.

However, the downside is that these systems do not provide good suction for using attachments and also their filtration capabilities are limited to what can be achieved with the vacuum bag.
and dyson video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6MA7DeXtIw

moreover https://homevacuumzone.com/beater-bar-vs-no-beater-bar/
Depending on the type of your carpets be it Persian or any other type of the carpet, using a bristle bar frequently, may be damaging. Some carpets have soft fibers, which can come off, as the brush runs along the carpet. They include some Orientals and Berber.

Hence, if you really want to maintain the brand new look of your carpet, you need to know your carpet type and whether it is safe to to vacuum with the brush roll/ beater bar switched on.

For vacuum cleaners with brush rolls that are specifically designed to care for your carpets we have taken advice from the Carpet & Rug Institute for advice. They actually certify vacuum cleaners that take the best care of carpets and we used this to select our favourite vacuums for different carpet types.
some of these are USA exclusive products, but it explains the tech.

I think I'll have to borrow my folks Sebo one and try it on the carpet versus the Bosch turbo-head ..
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
19 Nov 2004
Posts
12,508
Location
Wokingham
Back
Top Bottom