Conference 7.286::home_work

    Have you looked at either the CONSUMER or GADGETS conferences? 
    They tend to have more discussions on small appliances.
    
    ep

    Any recommendations from owners (past or present) of the Rainbow vac? 
    I have seen these before, used (borrowed) one once, and would like to
    look into getting one.  I'd like to hear anyone's feedback.  
    
    I believe it would be very helpful, since I have allergies to dust and
    mites, and we have two dogs.  We also have a good central vac system,
    but I'm looking for something that will help with cleaning upholstery,
    etc.
    
    Thanks!
    
    Rgds,
    marcia

    This doesn't pertain to use of Rainbow vacs, but...  I'm told that a
    system "with all the bells and whistles" is priced around $1500.00 (!)
    but if you're a good negotiator, you can get the price down well below
    $1000.00, maybe even close to $500.00!
    
    /dlw

	A recent issue of Consumer Reports reviewed vacuums, including the
	Rainbow. You might want to check it out.

	Roy

A few comments on Rainbows:

1.   It is a good vacuum cleaner, but not necessarily a good
     value.  Make sure you get it at a discount; I wouldn't buy
     from a salesman.  By shopping around, we were able to get
     ours much cheaper.

2.   Disposing of the water can be a pain in the behind.  First,
     you need to find a place to dispose of it.  It was a
     particular problem for us because for some insane reason our
     dog liked to get in the "sludge".  It's an irritation if you
     have just a small job to do, such as a quick touch-up to get
     rid of dog hair (this may not apply to you, if you also have
     a central vac).  You cannot let the water sit, or it starts
     to smell, particularly in the summer.

3.   You have to be very careful not to tip it over.  We burned
     out a motor when some "sludge" got into the motor and we
     didn't clean it out properly.

4.   If you have the buck$, there are "dry" vacs around that have
     filters that are fine enough for dust, pollen, etc., but
     they are very expensive.

Clay
 

    The Rainbow has been discussed in the LYCEUM::CONSUMER notesfile.
    Consumer Reports, BTW, hated it - said it was ineffective at
    cleaning or removing dust from the air and was difficult to clean.
    
    Definitely read the Consumer Reports article.
    
    			Steve

    
    also don't buy from the salesrep, buy from the local used paper.
    
    Simon

    	I bought one 15 - 20 years ago and it was in the neighborhood of $500
    then.  As I recall it didn't do anything spectacular in fact I found a 
    regular shop vac was just as good and in most cases better.  After
    about a year I vacuumed something in the basement and left the vacuum
    down there forgetting to empty the water out.  Well the next time I
    went to use it (about a month later) the motor was frozen solid.  So if
    you buy one don't ever leave the water in it.

    Joe

We've had one for several years now, and my wife and I both really like the
cleaning job it does.  Neither of us likes the actual job of using it, because
the thing is kind of awkward and heavy (right off the bat, it has about 4
pounds of water in it!).  But, again, we love the results.  It leaves a clean
fresh smell in the air afterwards, instead of a hot dusty smell like our
previous vac.  And, when done, it's really satisfying to see all the dust and
junk in the water that the vacuum picked up.

We bought ours used from a vacuum store, about $500 or so, and it came with the
store's one year guarantee.

Once it tipped over and fell down the stairs, but you're supposed to leave
it running after you right it again, not shut it off.  We had no problems
after doing this.

Once the plasterer used it (without our prior knowledge) to vacuum up plaster
dust.  He didn't know it takes water, and the motor became, um, a little caked
up.  He bought us a new motor.

We've cleaned up spills and potty-training mistakes on the carpet by repeatedly
saturating the spot with a spray bottle and just vacuuming it up!  No worries
about vacuuming up water, right?

The sludge is ugly, I agree.  I just reach in and grab the dust and hair and
squeeze it out and throw that in the trash.  The remaining water I just dump
outside in the garden.

You are supposed to dump the water after each use.  In fact, you're supposed to
scrub a little plastic part attached to the motor after each use, but we rarely
do it!  Our vacuum came with its own little toothbrush.

Were we to do it again, I would opt for a central vac system which exhausts
outside, mainly because the Rainbow is a real chore to lug around.  But I see
you already have one of these.  Couldn't you get some extra attachments to do
the jobs you need?

-Chris

    	My mother bought one recently. She seems to like it. She's seen the
    Kirby, Electrolux, and Rainbow demos and chose the Rainbow. Like anything
    else it has its pluses and minuses.
    
    	The water may be somewhat of a hassle, but then you don't ever need 
    to buy bags/filters. Not sure what the previous note meant about removing
    dirt from the air as I've never used a vacuum cleaner for that.
    
    	In many cases, when a salesperson comes in for a demo, they are
    comparing their $500+ model to a $100 Hoover, or some such thing. I
    would expect the much more expensive model to do a better job. It just
    comes down to how much you want to spend for a vacuum cleaner and how
    good is good enough.
    
    	Ray

    
    We bought a rainbow back in the early 70s when they were made of
    steel. Not the bowl tho'.  :^)
    
    The part we like best is that whatever goes up the hose, no matter
    how small, gets trapped in the water bowl. 
    
    One little test you can do is to take your present portable vac. and
    a good flashlight in a darkened room. Start the vac., run the head over
    furniture or a carpet while holding the light across the discharge
    hole or aimed about 6" from the bag. You'll see all that is NOT being
    captured, is made airborne only to be breathed in or to re-settle
    on furniture.  Now that you've vacuumed, it's time to wipe down the 
    furniture - again.   With the rainbow you won't see anything exiting
    the unit.
    
    The wife accepted a kirby demo which gave a girlfriend a gift if she
    got 3 people to accept.  Ok. This guy goes thru about an hour and a 
    halfs demo and picked on the rainbow. Said the ONLY thing the rainbow 
    could do that the kirby couldn't was pick up water.  This was about 10
    or 12 years after we bought the rainbow. Now, remembering something
    that the rainbow salesperson mentioned, I asked the Kirby man to hook
    up his hose attachment without any endpiece.  We started both units,
    I took the two hoses and plugged them together with a rubber connector
    that comes with the rainbow. (for what I don't remember) and the Kirbys
    bag flattend out and the water bowl got filled.  Not one of the nicest
    things to do to a salse person but he was really getting my goat with
    why his was so much better and his degrading the rainbow.  He packed up
    and left.
    
    Now then, that wasn't meant to de-grade Kirby.  They are an excellent
    machine. If they weren't, you wouldn't see them being used in as many
    medical facilities as they are.
    
    I did replace the bearings in the rainbow about every three years.
    Two years ago the motor shorted and cooked.  Not needing it in the new
    home with central, I retired it.  It served us very well, and I'd buy
    another one.
    
    Fred

    Some vacuum cleaner salesmen like to do a "comparison" test by using
    your vacuum on a portion of carpet, and then run their vacuum over the
    same spot with an additional "filter cloth" or something in the air
    line to catch what it picks up.  They then show you all the dirt their
    vacuum picked up that yours missed.  I like to run the same test in
    reverse on another equal-sized patch of carpet, and often show them
    that my vacuum picked up as much or more dirt that theirs missed.
    
    Mark

    	re: -1
    
    	Sounds like you saw the Kirby demo ;-)
    
    	Ray

    >Sounds like you saw the Kirby demo ;-)
    
    I've seen it for Kirby (a friend was selling them -- they have a
    special gizmo to replace the usual dirt bag with a small piece of white
    filter material), I've seen it for Rainbow (another friend was selling
    them).  It's fun when you can show a vacuum salesman that your vacuum
    picks up dirt as good as their $$$$ one.  (I've also "deflated" a Kirby
    with an old Hoover canister-type vacuum.  I think a Kirby's greatest
    suction is applied to your wallet....)
    
    Mark

    
    The Kirby moves more air (CFMs) than most others, but is not 
    capable of pulling a vacuum as deep as - let's say the rainbow.
    
    I asked that salesman how deep a vacuum it would pull.
    Said, "It'll pull 52 pounds of vacuum pressure."  We discussed
    that statement at length. After showing him compound refrigeration
    guages and engineering data sheets proving there is no such thing,
    "Well, that's what they teach us to say."
    
    It's fun being one step ahead of a door to door sales person.
    
    A couple of weeks ago in Dudley, someone pulled a shotgun on
    some vacuum cleaner salesperson.  Believe it was the electrolux
    man.   :^)    
    
    Fred

    Don't have a kirby or a rainbow but we have a Handy Way or some
    such...when we bought it (from a vacuum store) the salesperson
    said I would rather sell you this than this Rainbow (he also had
    a Rainbow and other brands)because it is better vacuum. He then showed
    us the filters (3) (I *think* down to a micron) and the sturdiness
    of the unit as compared with the Hoovers and Eurekas etc. He also
    picked up a bowling ball (10 pin ball) a softball, and then he took
    off the end (its a canister type) and stuck the unit to the wall and
    the vacuum held itself up.  He said if at the end of the 5 year
    warrenty I couldn't do this then they would repair or replace it.
    I wasn't sold I went ot Sears and a few other places and saw the
    plastic and garbage the others were made of (the Handy way is steel)
    and came back and bought the Handy Way I think the price was about
    $450 with extra bags and filters.  4 years later mine still works
    excellent and my mother liked it so much she bought one too.  It comes
    with a range of attachments and the head has those rotating brushes 
    that seem to dig out the dirt very well.  I would buy another of these
    should this one ever die.
    
               Dean