Oct 04, 2002 02:08 AM
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(Updated Oct 04, 2002 02:08 AM)
ACHOUGOO's Guide For Buying Vacuum Cleaners
Cheez I am really fed up of this dust. However much I clean it, it settles all over again. Darn! Where does it come from? I don't live in a dusty surrounding and yet check my TV screen, tabletop. Dust laden! How many of you have really looked at that tube light, the fan edges, the top surface of your TV? Of course most of us are really comfortable cleaning using the broom. Nothing can really beat that simplicity. But how many of you are comfortable cleaning the ceilings with the broom and have all the dust falling on yourself? How many of you are experts cleaning the portion between the wall and that heavy cupboard, with the broom? Do you clean pillow covers with the broom? Gosh! So what to do? Get yourself a vacuum cleaner. But then I don't know which one to buy and why? Do not worry dear ones, just read Achougoo's guide!
«« WHERE TO BEGIN? »»
Yes, lets start with what type of cleaning are you comfortable. I am sure that most of you are comfortable with brooms for floor cleaning. But then with broom you tend to also scatter some dust, which may settle elsewhere. Ok! But if you have a thick carpet, you would require a different type altogether. Would you prefer a VC that would clean wet surfaces too or are dry surfaces sufficient? Keyboard cleaning may require fine nozzle or soft brushes. Large use(plenty of dust) or less suction power will suffice? Also note that besides vacuum, you may also take advantage of blowing action for blowing out that dust from behind the cupboard before it can be sucked in. These are some of the initial considerations
«« PLENTY OF VARIANTS »»
Probably the confusing part! Nein!
Canister: If you have read my reviews onTornado Trendy and Euroclean Jet already then I would say these are the Canister type - most popular in India. The main body is slightly heavier 5-7 Kgs. Please note that compact models like Tornado Zen from Eu. Fb and Spark by LG are also available, but are often without blowers.
It houses the dust bag, the motor and is essentially the main unit. It always comes with castors. It has both - suction and blowing. The unit is enhanced though with the type of fittings - several brushes like floor brush, all surface brush, nozzle cleaners, aromisers, spray cans. These are fitted to the main unit by a long flexible pipe. Note that this is mainly available for dry type dirt only. It is useful for most households since it facilitates easy cleaning of floors, curtains, drapers, bedsheets, sofa, windowsills, and chandeliers. It is easier to clean inaccessible areas such as ceilings, gaps behind cupboards. However, it is not suited for thick carpets. The attaching/detaching is quite cumbersome. Again storage can be a problem. I lost the aromiser already.
Wet/Dry Cleaner: It looks round and cute like the robo in Star Wars. They are very heavy duty. Here it uses bucket rather than any dust bag. It is effective in suking liquid as well as solid waste. Also the use of bucket eliminates the recurring cost of paper bags. **Aqua Plus and Aqua Jet by Modi Hoover and Euroclean Jet WD from Eu. Fb are most famous in India.
Upright:These are for those who have royal plush carpets to clean. They are pretty compact and easy to store. It has a rotating brush ideal for carpet cleaning. It is called upright cause the main unit is mounted above the brush and the entire unit is moved together in'upright' position, by a single handle. This maneuvering is important and one should real test this by trying to move the VC around the house and holding the hosepipe in the other. Though it also has accessories like the canister type, it is not used in India. I haven't yet seen this except in the Hollywood films.
Handy: The Super Vac by Moniba Anand, Wet & Dry handy vac by Modi Hoover and Handy Vac by Eureka Forbes belong to this category. These are very light, ideal for sofa, keyboard cleaning and light household use. The suction power is not high. They come with battery operation or power cord. The disadvantage is lesser suction power and smaller dust bags. These need to be cleaned often.
«« EXTRA FEATURES TO LOOK OUT FOR »»
Suction power and motor ratings as against power required.
Variable power control knob
Dust bag size
Dust bag full indicator
Auto-cord retractor
Cord length should be greater than 5 meters
Motor protection trip circuit or thermal cutout against overloading.
Presence of multi-stage filters to prevent dust from entering the motor.
A wide range of accessories.
Noise produced should be low
Should be lightweight.
«« PRICES »»
The handheld models are the cheapest and are in the range of Rs. 2, 500. The compact canister models are nearly Rs. 5, 000. I have never seen the upright models. The canister type are from Rs. 5, 000 to Rs. 8, 000. The costliest are the wet/dry type and are Rs 9, 000 above.
Thus at the end I would suggest that the Canister type VC is best for Indian households and suits both light and heavy vacuum requirements. Eureka Forbes and Modi Hoover are the most famous with a good support network, though LG and BPL are also some upcoming players. But I would also like to warn that using a VC could be inconvenient for regular cleaning.
