Yes, get a high-end vacuum cleaner

I simply classify anything too big to be sucked up as ‘furniture’ and leave it where it is. Apropos TOP, all the cleaners in Englandland use Henrys, pretty much.

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What about when idiots like me block the pipes?

We’ve gone with Shark. Cheap, work well, clever design - Like the way the typical stand up US type vacuum quickly breaks down into a small portable canister.

Nice vacuum, but I really want that chair in the advert.

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I actually became MORE white just reading your reply.

And I loved how those things would vacuum up an entire cat in the Warner Brothers cartoons.

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E
LEC
TRO
LUX

Yep.

I’ve used a plumbing snake to clear some blockages.

I remember not long after I installed it that I had a bad blockage in the ceiling at a Y joint. I had to saw the pipe to remove the stick/thing (I think it might have been a pencil or dowel). While I was in there, I replaced the sharp Y with a sweeping Y. Never had the problem at that spot again.

I recommend plumbing it with 90 degree angles right at the wall behind the inlets, forming a kind of trap that you have a chance of reaching with a grabbing tool. Avoid hiding 90 degree bends after that as much as you can help it. Use two 45s, for example.

Also, make sure your cuts are square and your joints are fully seated. You don’t want to leave a crack that a sharp thing can catch in.

If you buy your kit from a local, be nice to the seller. There’s a chance they can swap out your unused fittings for more useful ones at no extra cost. You’ll probably need a local source for the pipes anyway.

Finally, I try to avoid sucking up hard long sharp pointy things like pencils or sticks.

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Better than dragging around the stupid heavy canister dongle everywhere.

(I have a Meile Complete and while it definitely sucks very well, it’s pretty much convinced me to never get another canister vacuum because it’s such a pain in the ass to lug around)

I don’t get all the hate for Dyson vacuums. I’ve had a few through the years and they have been great and bagless vacuums rock.

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They’re over-engineerered in a bad way. There’s an inherent premium one pays for the brand and there are cheaper alternatives that do just as good of a job. That said i’m not going to actively discourage someone from buying one if they can afford it.

Should you be not too busy and in the mood to visit the servants’ quarters.

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I murdered my Dyson (the humans in my house shed an appalling amount of hair, it’s eventually killed every vacuum I’ve bought) and bought an Electrolux that has the automatic hair remover button. I LOVE it. It doesn’t get all the hair off the brushroll, but it gets most of it. And it’s way lighter than the Dyson was.

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Bags, the answer to vacuums is bags.
If it doesn’t have a bag, it’s not a vacuum.
This bag-less shit is just an overpriced bit of plastic taking up the space that could be taken up with a vacuum that has a bag.

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consume. 

Not just cleaners, all of the builders do as well. If a vacuum can cope with everything from office grime to building rubble, it’s good enough for me.
Plus mine was cheap because I bought it off my brother. Weirdly it has his old company’s name on it it but I’m sure that’s just coincidence…

Edit, in case no-one outside of the UK knows what we’re talking about, this is Henry:

And there’s a whole range, most of which get different names (eg Hetty, George, Harry)

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The $60 new vacuum I bought 25 years ago served well. I must not need a stronger vacuum. But the toys on the new Shark that replaced it are fun.

I do miss bags though. Just so much better getting a new huge filter every bag change.

Two different schools’ custodians sold me on the ProTeam backpack, looks like a jet pack, sounds like the apocalypse, vacuum repair guy will work on it but has never had to.

I picked up a yard sale Kirby for $3.00 that seemed to have been used to clean a flooded morgue. I spent an entire weekend getting it suitable for mixed company again, and then got a decade of good performance before permaloaning it to an ex who has dogs and carpet. A+++, but not so likely to do that initial cleanup again.

That is my problem. I was going to try going with a more expensive one this time around but I ended getting a hand me down dyson v8 - just had to get a new battery. I may well kill it too but I am currently liking the fact it is light and works well enough. Vacuuming was on the list of things I really needed to not do for too long due to the back pain.

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