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Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

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Thank you, Peter.

The main gripe I have with CU is that for washers and dishwashers, they don't tell you how well the machine rinses. The British testing magazine "Which" at least in the old days was very candid about the rinsing ability of the washing machines they tested. Maybe now with the problems encountered with the no-phos dishwasher detergents leaving deposits behind, CU might pay more attention to rinsing performance in dishwashers, but I'm not holding my breath.
 
Awwww, Damn!!!! --And I bought some of those "not so Best Buys"!!!! (Just kidding...)

There are some good comments posted, there, of which if you get past the irrelevant ones, (causing there to be over-900????) you can gain some worthwhile insight on the quality of new goods vs. the durability of how they used to be made...

-- Dave
 
Vacuum Cleaners

I noticed on reading about the canister models, both were bagless. When did this happen? To the best of my knowledge, they've always been bagged devices.

I was also under the impression in reading the results that neither canister or upright received a very high score (67 for canister, 74 for upright), but were chosen as a "CR Best Buy". IMHO, that's basically putting them just a notch or two above the "average" mark (perhaps a "good" rating).

Dyson cleaners intrigued me when they first came out, but it seems their ability to clean carpets isn't what it's cracked up to be. And even though the Dirt Devil performed much better, their reputation isn't all that great either. The life expectancy on these machines is maybe 3-5 years tops. Lord knows how many I've seen sitting on curbs waiting to be picked up on trash day.

We've discussed this topic before on here. Bagless cleaners seem to do a less than average job because of air leaking through the top of the canister. Bagged seems to be the #1 choice for the majority of us, so I'll stick with those models.

(BTW, I've now had my Kenmore Whispertone for 10 years old, and has outlasted ANY other vacuum cleaner I've owned. The belt was replaced on it about 8 months ago, and at times, it seems as if it wants to do the carpet by itself. If only it would.)
 
Bagless issue

This is something I find quite often with Dyson Cleaners it seems everyone has an adversity to cleaning the filters hence the machine loses suction in the end. I have had a DC 01 since 1997 and with it I got given a set of washable filters so every so often I changed them and chucked the filters in with the dog towels and they would come out as clean as new kept them in the drawer untill needed never bought any replacements at all. Over the years have encountered many different bagless cleaners all suffering from the same fate of blocked filters why do people let them get into such a state then moan about the cleaner being crap when a little preventive maintenance is all it takes.

Austin
 
I hate bagless vacuums!!!!

The very first bagless vacuum I ever used was a red Kirby with some sort of emptying thing that vaguely looked like a football. I had NO choice, I was employed then by an office cleaning company. Otherwise, it was a perfectly ok device, but I much preferred my Hoover Convertible.

Bagless vacuums are terrible if the person dumping it has dust allergies.

I LOVE my Miele Capricorn! Dysons can be all right, I suppose, but I like a quiet, bagged vacuum.

Lawrence/Maytagbear
 
Dirtybuck

You've had your Kenmore for ten years? Damn!

Do you use it everyday? I've had three in seven years and I've taken really good care of them (but used them A LOT) and the most I got out of one was three years. I'm sure they could have been fixed.

Rinsing:

Yea. Isn't it crazy CR doesn't do a rinsing test? I've always wondered why? That's very important.
 
Bagless Vac's:

I've had a Eureka, which I thought was better than a bagged-vac but sadly, there were all those filters that needed to be cleaned & eventually costly replacement, so luckily I could at least keep the feather duster it came with, after enduring the numerous times the main intake kept getting clogged up (& causing little dirt to go into the chamber, which was hard to empty w/o all the dirt inside it, when it did pick up, to go everywhere & need to be vacuumed again!)...

I have a Kenmore canister & not that much carpet to clean (2 rooms--or 3, counting the basement) so because it uses a bag, works a lot better although it has a HEPA filter of some sort, which I don't think I've bothered looking for just yet...

-- Dave
 
Awhile back I visited my local Miele vac dealer. They sell several different brands (Riccar, Miele, Panasonic, Bosch) and also repair all brands. There were about 8 Dyson's sitting there awaiting repair. I asked the guy behind the desk why he had so many Dyson's in? He said that they weren't really broke, the people who owned them just never took them apart to clean the filters inside of them. He said that was all that was wrong with them.
 
I have a Kirby Tradition, it has an option for bagged or bagless use.

From what I understand the Dysons are also very hard on carpet, because of a very hard brushroll.
 
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