just couldn't resist-

[Designgeek]

Numatic: interesting! Are these actually made in the UK? (Nice to see some good British industrial products again!)

I looked them up and found them available in the USA here:

http://users.erols.com/cleanair/numatic.html

and here:

http://www.vacuums.com/readcore.php?doll=numatic

Price range about $200 to $500.

One of them has an extraction head for picking up liquid from floors, and another is an ultra-quiet two-speed. The higher-end units have stainless steel tubes. Aside from the cute appearance factor, I think these could be quite practical. I recently resurrected an old Kenmore which is a fairly quiet machine with two speeds, and it does a good job; but it would also be nice to have the high-filtration feature and the option of a powered carpet brush. The 24-volt system is a very smart idea, surprising others haven't tried it yet.

I wonder about this: You wet-mop the kitchen floor (scrub, wash, rinse), and then use the extraction nozzle on the vacuum to slurp up the water after each step. Now you have water droplets in the vacuum hose (the smooth clear hose provided for this purpose) and water inside the tank. Presumably after emptying the tank you have to dry it with a cleaning rag and then leave it open like the door on a washing machine to prevent mold forming inside, right? And then also, not vacuum any dry surfaces until the tank is completely dry, to avoid a layer of dust adhering to the water and building up a hardened layer inside?

Presently, mopping is one of those annoying chores, particularly the matter of getting all the water up with the mop itself. Then I typically put a fan outside the kitchen (or bathroom) to dry the floor after the rinse stage, which can take an hour or two depending on the weather, during which time I can't go in the kitchen (or bathroom!). A vacuum that picks up the water & leaves the floor dry would be a great thing, that would practically justify the purchase price in terms of time saved. And the maintenance steps of leaving the vacuum open to dry out aren't a big deal, "take care of your tools" etc.

Dumb question #3: So I'd mop the kitchen and bathroom with a cleaning solution that contains bleach or ammonia, and then slurp up the water with the vacuum, and end up with a nice dry floor. Do these vacuums deal with water that has bleach or ammonia, or would those ingredients cause the vacuums to wear out prematurely? For example corrosion of metal parts, or weakening or embrittlement of hoses or other plastic elements? How do the fumes from those cleaning solutions affect the motors in the vacuums?

I think I've just found a possible solution to a really irksome task...

 

[tolivac]

using wet-dry vacs

This is what one usually does when using wet-dry vacs such as Rainbows,Watermatics,shop-Vacs.BE SURE TO USE THE WET PICKUP HOSE!!!!Usually a wet pickup hose is provided with the machine.If not you can get it from the vac builder or a well equipped vac store can make up one for you.
You shoudn't have to worry about the liquids-a ball valve in the WaterMatic or shop-Vac stops the airflow when the vac drum is full of water.The ball valve prevents the water from going into the motors suction fans.In Rainbows-the seperater prevents the water from being sucked up.Its the screen like device on the motor shaft covering the suction fan intake opening.You will find when the Rainbow water tank is full it will change in sound and start to shake or vibrate.When wet pickup with the Rainbow-do not put any water in its water-dust container.If you have a cleaner with a ball valve-make sure its in place-(Watermatic)It goes in place of the cloth dust filters under the powerdome
I have used both in cleaning up water from mopping floors--If you rinse out and dry the vac container the cleaners shouldn't be a problem.Just don't leave them in the vac drum.To rinse the hose--empty the vac drum.Fill up a sink or bucket with clear water-allow the vac to suck that up into its hose,attachment.that will rinse those out.Now empty the containers and allow the vac to run for sevral minutes with the hose and drum attiached.That will help dry the inside of the hose.You may still have to dry the vac container by hand.
The motors in these wet-dry vacs have true bypass motors.the suction fans airflow are isolated from the motor.The motor has its own fan for cooling.However I think the bleach and ammonia fumes would present more of a hazard to the user.I don't use those-there are other products that do the same job more safely-and safer for the vac.Again a well stocked vac shop usually has all kinds of floor and carpet cleaning products that are less hazardous and more effective than bleach or ammonia.Rainbow sells a good bare floor cleaner at their shops.And it woun't harm you or the vacuum.

 

[tolivac]

Hard floors

Some other entry made reference to this-more homes built and remodeled today have less and less Wall-wall carpets.I noticed that while doing TriStar Demos.Saw this in many new and remodeled homes.The householders in those loved the TriStar or other similar canister vac.Kirby has provided bare floor kits with their uprights-a pad you can put on the floor-carpet nozzle-and a polishing attachment for the machine-and it works pretty well on wooden floors.also they provide a floor waxer.