I ordered a Sirena


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Thread Number: 34582 / Tag: Brand New Vacuum Cleaners
I ordered a Sirena

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Post# 373848 6/13/2017 at 23:10 (2,498 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)
Checkrate/Likes So, after seeing the Sirena at Tom's house at the vacuum convention, I decided to get one, I love the motor sound on it, and I'm a big lover of canister vacuums. I can't wait to get it, got a few questions. I'm thinking that rainbows would work in the same way. When using these as an air cleaner on low speed, how often do you need to change the water? I'm assuming that water evaporates over time, so this also has a humidifying effect. Is attaching the Sirena to the dolly difficult? I guess you're not supposed to store these with the basin and motor unit attached, I guess you just store them separately. I'm assuming that cleaning the basin is pretty simple, just like washing a cooking pan. This is the only kind of bagless vacuum I would ever consider getting. Mike

Post# 373861 , Reply# 1 6/14/2017 at 07:59 (2,498 days old) by s31463221 (Frenchburg, KY)
Checkrate/Likes *Sirena* Mike, I can't speak for the Sirena, as I don't own one of them, but as someone who owns a new(ish) model Rainbow (with the lighted basin), when running it in the low speed setting to purify the air, I typically have to add water to the basin almost every day. It's amazing how well they clean the air around you though, and it does put humidify the air as well, which accounts for the water loss in the basin. Cleanup is fairly easy, at least on the newer models. I rinse out the excess stuff after I've dumped it, then I take it to the utility sink I have in my laundry room and just wash it out with dish soap and a an old rag. The separator and fans are a little more tedious to clean, but the Rainbow comes with this mini brush built into the base (reminds you of a mini toothbrush at one end, and a wrench at the other for removing the separator nut) and using it gets the separator clean as well. For the fans, I take pipe cleaners, or a small brush that came with my Bunn coffee maker and it seems to work really good as well. I do not store my vacuum on the basin.....my aunt did that with her D4SE Rainbow and over time it ruined the motor in hers.....Good luck with your Sirena, let us know how you like it! Steve

Post# 373867 , Reply# 2 6/14/2017 at 09:18 (2,498 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)
Checkrate/Likes When you store the Sirena, put the pan on TOP of the machine. The machine itself will lock into the dolly. The pan, when placed into the dolly, locks from back to front. So put the back of the pan in first, tipped, then let the front down until it locks. When using on low speed to clean the air, use distilled water and fill the pan half full (to the max line). You probably won't let the machine run 24/7 on air clean mode - the motor does have carbon brushes as opposed to the brushless Hurricane motor used in the Rainbow. It would be hard for me to believe you'd have much dirt in your apartment - you could definitely get away with cleaning the separator about every 5 or 6 times you use the machine. Congratulations, and enjoy your new machine. I do like mine.

Post# 373870 , Reply# 3 6/14/2017 at 10:10 (2,498 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)
Checkrate/Likes *attaching to the cart* I'm a bit confused, when using the machine, you fill the basin, then does the motor unit go on top of the basin, kind of like how some humidifiers work? I know you should store the basin separate from the motor unit, is it the motor unit that attaches to the cart or the basin? I'm assuming the machine itself has no wheels, but when attached to the cart, it will follow you around like most canisters do. I'm assuming you could also drop a bit of essential oil in the water to provide a fragrance. Can't wait to get it, I really want to try it with my CT10 power nozzle which is designed for hard floors. For those who do have a Sirena, how is the hard floor brush that comes with it? Pairing it up with the Riccar WOW floor tool would be interesting as well. Nothing like getting a new vacuum, a very thrilling experience. Mike

Post# 374112 , Reply# 4 6/18/2017 at 08:19 (2,494 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)
Checkrate/Likes *got my Sirena, it's a great machine* Stay tuned for a full review, I want to use it a bit more before writing that, but it's a great machine. If you want something similar to a Rainbow but don't want to pay the Rainbow price for a new machine, this is the way to go. Mike

Post# 374113 , Reply# 5 6/18/2017 at 09:22 (2,494 days old) by mark40511 (Lexington, KY)
Checkrate/Likes *I own a Sirena* and a gold 2 speed rainbow bought brand new in 2006 (so it's now 11 yrs old) never had service. As for the Sirena - I agree that it's the next best option to a Rainbow. It does it's job...But I do not like it as well as my Rainbow. Things I've noticed about it after using it for a year or more - The Dolly is a little tricky. You have to get it just right for it to lock in place. The under side is more difficult to clean than Rainbow. There is a small sunken area surrounding by rubber where the separator stays - It's a different type of rubber than on Rainbow and it is harder to clean. The separator needs cleaning after every use - It shows visible dirt on it whereas rainbows doesn't get dirty nearly as quickly...I notice the belts on the PN seem to need changing more frequently (and I have berber) I never use Low speed on my Sirena or Rainbow because I feel like it accomplishes nothing major (I could be wrong) It has great suction and the hepa filter is easy to clean compared to rainbow. two suggestions : It's odd shape makes it want to fall over on one of the latches when you go to take off the separator and change it. I've had the latch pop off twice but it's super easy to get back on. I've gotten used to being careful in that area The instructions say to fill to min line when vacuuming (do not do this), fill it up between max and min (closer to max)

Post# 374240 , Reply# 6 6/20/2017 at 23:11 (2,491 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *my review of the Sirena* This is the first time I have owned a water filtration vacuum, after seeing it at the vacuum convention a couple weeks ago, I decided to get one since I'm a big fan of canisters and I really like the motor sound of this machine. Here are my impressions. When you open the box, you will find two more boxes, one contains the Sirena machine, a nonelectric hose that can be used to vacuum wet or dry material, a curved wand, a telescopic wand, a bottle of ocean breeze deodorizer, and four small bottles of fragrances that you can use. The other box contains the power nozzle, another telescopic wand which has a cord holder, a hard floor brush, and an electric hose which should only be used when vacuuming dry material. The other attachments are shipped in the water basin and include a dusting brush, appoulstry tool, crevvis tool, and an inflator tool. Let's talk about the Sirena machine itself. It consists of three parts, the motor unit, the water basin, and the dolly. The motor unit has the cord attached, not sure how long it is, but I would guess around 20 feet, there is a cover on the front which covers the hose in take, and on the back there is a cover on the exhaust port. The Hepa filter is also in this area. There are two buttons, the top one is the power button, pressing this starts the motor on high speed, pressing the button again turns it off. If you want to run the Sirena on low speed for purifying the air, press the top button first, then press the bottom button. In order to go back to high speed, you need to turn it off and back on so you would press the top button twice. The motor unit is secured to the base by two latches, one on each side. The water basin looks like a large bowl, and this is what holds the water as well as whatever is vacuumed up. When dumping the basin, you can just turn it over and dump everything out, or there is a spout that allows you to just dump the water and leave everything else in the basin, although I can't imagine why you would ever want to do this, it's best to get as much vacuumed dirt out as possible with the water, so dumping it all at once is definitely the way to go. The dolly has four wheels that also will rotate 360 degrees, allowing the Sirena to roll easily and to turn corners. The dolly rolls very easily and this has a good and a bad side. It's good because it's very easy to pull the Sirena along while vacuuming, the down side is that, while attaching the machine to the dolly, it sometimes rolls away from you and makes it a bit more difficult to get everything lined up. Still, I don't think I would change it, the good outweighs the bad here. Ok, on to the hoses. The Sirena includes two hoses, one is electric and the other is nonelectric, I think this is a good thing. I know with the newest rainbow, you can do wet pick-up with the electric hose, I'm sure this has been tested, but, I think I would prefer to vacuum liquids with a hose that has no electric wires, it just seems much safer. The nonelectric hose has one end that will connect to either the in take or exhaust port, the other end has an oval shape, at first I couldn't figure out how this was supposed to work, what you need to do is attach the curved wand to this end of the hose. I'm not sure why this is required, you can't use attachments on the hose without the curved wand so it would have made more sense to just have this as part of the hose itself. Once the curved wand is attached, you will probably never need to remove it. The electric hose has one end that will go in to the in-take, it's slightly larger since it mates with an electrical connector that is right above the air in-take port. Because of this, when using the blowing features, you need to use the nonelectric hose. The other end of the electric hose has a gas pump grip, there is no suction relief and to activate the power nozzle, you need to press and hold a trigger. I find this a bit annoying, if you forget to hold the trigger the nozzle will not work, I guess it was designed this way so if you walk away, there is no chance of carpet damage, but I think an on-off switch would have been much easier. The other annoyance with the electric hose is that it does not swivel, actually there is no swivel in either hose. The electrical connector on the electric hose is slightly larger than most of the other two prong connectors. For most users this will not matter, I like to pair my vacuums with different power nozzles, this does work, but the connection is a bit loose. The power nozzle that is included with the Sirena is their own design, it's not a third party nozzle. There is a platinum version of the Sirena available which does include the Wessel Werk ebk360 which is a very good power nozzle, as far as I know, this is the only difference between the regular and platinum versions. The power nozzle that comes with the standard model has three height adjustments, and it does use a flat belt which will require more frequent replacement. Ok, on to preparing for use. The instructions say to fill the basin to at least the minimum line when doing regular every day vacuuming. I have heard that filling to between min and max will work better and keep the separator clean longer, and I have also heard to just fill it to max. I tend to fill it to just below the max line. You can add some of the deodorizer or fragrances if you wish, personally, I was not really fond of any of the fragrances. Any fragrance you use must be water based, apparently essential oils will cause the basin to crack, kind of a shame because there are some very nice essential oil fragrances, but oh well. I tried the Sirena on low speed for a while with some of the ocean breeze deodorizer but honestly I did not notice much difference. On low speed, the machine moves very little air, this is one feature I probably will not use, but it's there if you want to use it. Ok, now on to the performance which is probably what everyone is most interested in. I wanted to give the Sirena a good test, so I took it to my girl friend's place, she has two cats, so there would be cat hair and of course plenty of dust from the litter box. The apartment is mostly hard floors, so I used the hard floor brush. The Sirena had no problems cleaning up everything, one thing I did notice, and this probably happens with any water filtration vacuum, if you vacuum up something that has a smell, that smell will be noticeable, especially when the machine is running on high speed. We vacuumed up a bit of cat food and it kind of smelled like fish. Thanks to the wheels on the cart, the Sirena will have no problems following you around, and it's unlikely that it would tip over. The Sirena can also be used to vacuum liquids, although I did not test this feature. In order to vacuum liquids, you need to use the nonelectric hose. The basin holds around three liters. While this may work for cleaning up small wet messes, it will not take the place of a dedicated wet dry vac, and if I needed to vacuum liquids, I would probably just grab one of the wet dry vacs in my collection. At this time, there is no attachment available for spraying water to clean carpets or hard floors, although you could get the parts to make one yourself. You would need a wand with a spray jet, a water hose that would attach to a faucet and an attachment for cleaning carpets or hard floors as appropriate. I got this to work using a wet dry vac, and it should work with the Sirena just as well. There is no shut off float in the Sirena, so if you vacuum liquids, you need to keep an eye on what is in the basin. When the vacuuming was done, the water was quite nasty as expected. After dumping the water, there was some clean up that needed to be done. The bottom of the motor unit was quite dirty, probably from the litter dust, I cleaned this with a wet rag, the separator looked fairly clean, but I did remove it and clean it as well. On the under side of the motor unit, close to the exhaust port, a brush is stored for this purpose. To clean the separator, remove the brush, and use the wrench at the other end of the tool to loosen the nut on the separator. The separator looks like a small impeller. After removing and cleaning it, place it back on the motor shaft and turn it until it goes all the way on, then tighten the nut and put the tool back in the provided compartment. The basin also needed to be washed, I used some dishwashing soap in the sink and warm water to wash it out. When storing the Sirena, it's best not to store it with the basin attached, apparently this can damage the rubber gasket on the bottom of the motor unit. It's actually the motor unit that attaches to the cart rather than the basin, so, I store my motor unit and cart in the closet and the basin under the sink. As far as actual suction and airflow, I did attach my rug rat turbine brush to see how fast the Sirena could spin it. It actually spun the turbine much slower than my other current model canisters, it spun about as fast as when using the Electrolux 1205. I think because of their design, water based vacuums will also be a bit less powerful than other vacuum types, the motors are not spinning as fast. And, while this test is always interesting, it doesn't necessarily mean that the Sirena will not clean as well as other vacuums, as long as you have enough airflow and suction to remove the dirt and dust particles, the vacuum has done its job. So, on to the question that reviews are mainly designed to answer, is it a good product and would you recommend it? First, let me say that I have always believed that for the best overall filtration and cleanest dirt disposal, a bagged vacuum, especially a vacuum that uses hepa cloth bags is the way to go. The Sirena has not changed my view on that, because of this, the Sirena will not become one of my daily drivers. That said, I'm glad I got it and I do plan to use it every once in a while. I have no intention of starting to add a lot of bagless vacuums to my collection, this will probably be the only bagless vacuum that I will have. Is it a good product? Yes, I think it is, as long as you understand what is required to maintain it and are willing to do those things. If you want a water filtration vacuum but don't want to pay the ridiculous price for a new rainbow, this is the machine to get. The cost is similar to, and in some cases less than some other high end canister and upright models. I don't have a rainbow so I can't compare the differences in performance, I will leave that to those who have used both products. I would say the Sirena would be good for someone who insists on having a bagless vacuum, while they require more work to maintain than a bagged vacuum, it's easier than maintaining bagless vacuums such as those from Dyson, Shark, and other brands.

Post# 374241 , Reply# 7 6/20/2017 at 23:19 (2,491 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)
Checkrate/Likes *interesting Sirena presentation* This is a presentation done by the company, but I do think some of what they say is misleading, they say that the Sirena is the only bagless vacuum that washes the air and that it's the only bagless vacuum that can be used to vacuum liquids, of course, this is incorrect. The rainbow does all of those things, Sirena is a great product, but they did not invent anything new here. CLICK HERE TO GO TO n0oxy's LINK

Post# 374258 , Reply# 8 6/21/2017 at 13:04 (2,491 days old) by Kirbysthebest (Midwest)
Checkrate/Likes *Mike* What a good review. I own a Sirena, and I second that you should fill above the min line. I actually fill mine to the top of the post, like a Rainbow, but not to the max line. I have had no problems, with very little dirt getting passed the water bath. After a year the after filter is still as white as the day it arrived. I will say, however, that I don't use my Sirena daily, but I do vacuum daily so there is little except dog hair to pick up. I do, out of habit clean and dry the basin and separator after each use. Be sure that you fully seat the electric hose. Wiggle it back and forth to make sure both latches catch. Otherwise the hose can be loose and allow an electrical spark at the contacts. As I have said several post before, so I will only reiterate. The Power nozzle is my least favorite part of the vacuum, second to the short hose and cord. I don't like the adjustments, I wish it had more, and because I too have some visual impairments, wish the settings were better marked. What I found with the Ocean Breeze is it isn't powerfully strong in smell, but after you have finished vacuuming, you notice that the house just smells fresh. I prefer Rainbow's fragrances over those of the Sirena. The eucalyptus is one of the more noticeable, the pine is a little too strong. the tropical is ok. Hope you enjoy your new Sirena.

Post# 374260 , Reply# 9 6/21/2017 at 13:21 (2,491 days old) by sebo4me (Cardiff)
Checkrate/Likes 2 Is it a review or a novel? :)

Post# 374261 , Reply# 10 6/21/2017 at 13:24 (2,491 days old) by mark40511 (Lexington, KY)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Hmmmm?* I have used (Now Brand) Lemon, orange, and eucalyptus essential oils in my Rainbow and Sirena and none of them have cracked the basins. I think I've vacuumed a couple of pieces of cat food before and I never noticed it caused the exhaust to smell differently (maybe because I always use some essential oil or Rainbow Fragrances) - I do not like the Sirena fragrances. They smell generic to me. Filling the basin to just below the MAX line is better. When I used to fill to the min line (per instructions), the underside where the separator sits was terribly hard to clean....When using more water, it's not nearly as dirty. I don't use mine daily, but I wouldn't say it's used infrequently either. I always just clean the basin,separator and underside after I'm done out of habit as well. I also use a toothbrush to clean the separator instead of the separator cleaning brush.

Post# 374272 , Reply# 11 6/21/2017 at 22:57 (2,490 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)
Checkrate/Likes *fragrances and power nozzle* According to Tom, using essential oils will crack the basin, and I do trust what he says. Even though I have a visual impairment, once you figure everything out, you really don't need sight to use the Sirena. The min and max lines can be identified by touch. I think the sirena fragrances mainly smell like rubbing alcohol. If you don't like the Sirena power nozzle, you can use several others that are available, the plug will be a bit of a loose fit but it will work. Whenever I put in the hose, I always give it a bit of a tug to make sure it doesn't come out. Alternatively, if you're cleaning just bare floors and don't need the power nozzle, you can just use the nonelectric hose. Since I normally won't be cleaning things like cat litter, the separator probably won't need to be cleaned every time, although I think I will clean it every time. I may just take it out and wash it right along with the basin, in that case, no brush would even be needed. I don't see the Sirena becoming a daily driver because of the extra work involved. With a bagged vacuum, you can pull it out, do your cleaning and put it away, you just change the bag once every few months. Mike

Post# 374293 , Reply# 12 6/22/2017 at 14:32 (2,490 days old) by cuffs054 (monticello, ga)
Checkrate/Likes I am interested in going to a water cleaner full time. My H20 turbo is not the one however. In reading I understand that 'water soluble' dirt goes into the water. But what about pet hair? I am blessed with a ton.

Post# 374294 , Reply# 13 6/22/2017 at 14:38 (2,490 days old) by Kirbysthebest (Midwest)
Checkrate/Likes *Pet Hair* I have had no problems with pet hair being drown in the water bath. You want to watch your water that it doesn't get too thick. When I'm done I empty the basin in the compost bin.

Post# 374300 , Reply# 14 6/22/2017 at 17:57 (2,490 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)
Checkrate/Likes *pet hair and water vacuums* I would think the hair would just go in to the water like most other things. Where you might have a problem is if you try to vacuum dry wall dust or ashes from a fire place. As far as water vacuums, if you're going to get one, you definitely want one with a separator. Rainbow and Sirena are probably the best ones, although the Ocean Blue also looks like a nice model. I would say that if you want a bagless vacuum, water filtration is the way to go, it still requires more work to maintain than a bagged vacuum, but not as much as a Dyson, Shark, or all of the bagless junk sold at Walmart. Mike

Post# 374347 , Reply# 15 6/24/2017 at 03:24 (2,488 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)
Checkrate/Likes 1 Looose fit PN connectors-maybe alright to use as a test-but not continuously-the contacts will burn if the connections are loose.

Post# 375373 , Reply# 16 7/14/2017 at 14:44 (2,468 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)
Checkrate/Likes *homemade floor scrubber for my Sirena* Going to try an experiment this weekend, I have a couple of cleaning wands that have a spray jet on them, one of them fits the Sirena nonelectric hose perfectly if you take off the curved wand. Going to hook it to the faucet using a water hose and attach a squeegee attachment and see how it scrubs my hard floors, I'm guessing it will work really well. Mike

Post# 375464 , Reply# 17 7/16/2017 at 21:05 (2,465 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)
Checkrate/Likes *a Sirena discovery* Well, I'm very happy, the homemade floor scrubbing add on I built for my Sirena works beautifully. I just scrubbed all of my hard floors with it, and when I was done, the basin was actually filled past the minimum line, it works perfectly, and I will also be able to do my couches and chairs as well, a little creativity can go a long way. While using the nonelectric hose, I did a little test, I connected my rug rat turbo brush, and it actually spins a bit faster than when using the electric hose, so I'm guessing the nonelectric hose has a bit more airflow. So, when using your Sirena, use the nonelectric hose unless you need to use the power nozzle, it will provide a bit more cleaning power. I wonder if Sirena will ever come out with an attachment like what I built, it was actually fairly simple to make. Mike

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