"Light weight" Vacuum for Grandma?

I vote for fixing her Kirby. They really arent all that heavy to wheel around and if she doesnt have to lift it or use the hose and attachments, just fix it up, and give it back to her. My Grandfather, who never had anything other than a Hoover, purchased a non self propelled Windtunnel 2 years ago, going against my advise. Anyway, Grandpa was 90 years old at the time and he had a pace maker for several year by then. We noticed that the carpet in their house seemed to be dirty even though he had just bought a new vacuum (he threw out his 1983 Convertible Elite cuz he clogged it again!). Well, as it turned out the strain of vacuuming on Grandpa's body caused his pace maker to kick in. I can't even imagine vacuuming a room and then being shocked by a pace maker! I had told him to buy the self propelled WindTunnel since he had to have a Hoover, but being the cheapskate that he was, he purchased the regular windtunnel at costco on their senior citizens special day. He also fired the housekeeper my father hired for them because he thought she charged too much, my grandparents were 91 and 88 at the time with plenty of money, who wants to or is able to scrub the bathroom at that age?! I love using my Diamond Edition and I wish I bought my grandfather a G-series, he would have loved it, especially since he knew how I felt about Kirby's. Their house certainly would have been cleaner and he could have vacuumed without risking being shocked. Grandpa has been gone for almost a year now, but my sister and I still laugh at how rediculous this whole thing was, all I could have said was "I told you so" lol The self propelled system in the G-Series machines is unlike any other that I have ever used, its so smoothless and almost undectable. The PowerDrive system in the Hoover is absolutely awful, its very jerky and non-intuitive. You would think that after almost 40 years of PowerDrive models, they would have perfected this feature.


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Post# 109707 9/29/2010 at 11:09 (4,955 days old) by kirbyluxhoover (Pinole, CA)
Checkrate/Likes Hi yall, I currently have my Grandma's Kirby G4 apart because a few bobby pins got sucked into it. I am replacing the fan, volute deflector and brush roll while I have it. Anyways... Grandma likes the machine very much but mentioned maybe she should just get a light weight sweeper. Her house has no stairs and she is an 85 year old 5 foot petite lady so the fact that she can roll her G4 everywhere it needs to go is great. I got her the G4 about 9 years ago because her Hoover Dimension Upright was to “handle heavy” and didn’t move as easily as the G4. Any suggestions on what would be easy for her to use but also clean well. I think she wants to stay with an upright.

Post# 109708 , Reply# 1 9/29/2010 at 11:13 (4,955 days old) by kirbyluxhoover (Pinole, CA)
Checkrate/Likes *Clean Air* My grandmother takes very good care of everything she owns so my guess is that bobbi pins got sucked up by my cousin or by accident because at 85 she couldn't see them on her beige carpet. Makes me think maybe a clean air vac would be better than a dirty air vac.

Post# 109718 , Reply# 2 9/29/2010 at 12:28 (4,954 days old) by kirbysthebest (Midwest)
Checkrate/Likes I was going to make a suggestion up until you threw the "clean air" requirement into the mix. After that I've got nothing unless you go with a canister/powernozzle machine. In the fan first machines, though I love my Kirby, I like my Riccar Supralite. It does a very good job cleaning, though nosier than a Kirby, and much more fragile than a Kirby. Good luck with your quest.

Post# 109723 , Reply# 3 9/29/2010 at 13:14 (4,954 days old) by vacman117 (Chicago, IL)
Checkrate/Likes A Riccarr Supralite or Hoover Windtunnel Air would be perfect.

Post# 109726 , Reply# 4 9/29/2010 at 13:38 (4,954 days old) by kirbyluxhoover (Pinole, CA)
Checkrate/Likes *Clean Air a thought NOT required* I was just thinking of a clean air but it is not required. Thanks for any and all input.

Post# 109735 , Reply# 5 9/29/2010 at 14:45 (4,954 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)
Checkrate/Likes *I would recommend the new Hoover Platinum Bagged Upright Mod* In the latest Consumer Reports ratings of uprights, it really is the best lightweight upright around. It is quieter than the Riccar Supralight, and cleans carpets better than the best Oreck. It is rated "very good" at handling and at emissions control. If your grandmother has any dogs or cats, this Hoover rated "excellent" at picking up pet hair. Like the Oreck, this Hoover comes with a mini canister vacuum to clean furniture and other non-carpet surfaces. But the Hoover is $200 less than the Oreck. Here's a Youtube clip: CLICK HERE TO GO TO eurekaprince's LINK

Post# 109739 , Reply# 6 9/29/2010 at 15:56 (4,954 days old) by powertank ()
Checkrate/Likes I don't mean to contradict you, but I would NOT recommend the new platinum Hoovers. Although their warranties are great, the motors are really poorly made and there are a lot of sensors and circuits to go wrong. We've seen a lot of them in for repair with blown boards and shorted motors- I'm sick of seeing them. Also, parts are very expensive if the warranty has expired or doesn't cover something. The Riccar Supralite is way way better in quality and that it pulls itself along the floor like a rocket.

Post# 109803 , Reply# 7 9/30/2010 at 01:44 (4,954 days old) by beerad (Beautiful Vancouver BC)
Checkrate/Likes *try a..* Hoover windtunnel AIR on sale at Sears right now for $199 VERY light and quiet and powewrful,

Post# 109804 , Reply# 8 9/30/2010 at 01:59 (4,954 days old) by bimmer740 (Long Island, New York)
Checkrate/Likes *Kirby* I vote for fixing her Kirby. They really arent all that heavy to wheel around and if she doesnt have to lift it or use the hose and attachments, just fix it up, and give it back to her. My Grandfather, who never had anything other than a Hoover, purchased a non self propelled Windtunnel 2 years ago, going against my advise. Anyway, Grandpa was 90 years old at the time and he had a pace maker for several year by then. We noticed that the carpet in their house seemed to be dirty even though he had just bought a new vacuum (he threw out his 1983 Convertible Elite cuz he clogged it again!). Well, as it turned out the strain of vacuuming on Grandpa's body caused his pace maker to kick in. I can't even imagine vacuuming a room and then being shocked by a pace maker! I had told him to buy the self propelled WindTunnel since he had to have a Hoover, but being the cheapskate that he was, he purchased the regular windtunnel at costco on their senior citizens special day. He also fired the housekeeper my father hired for them because he thought she charged too much, my grandparents were 91 and 88 at the time with plenty of money, who wants to or is able to scrub the bathroom at that age?! I love using my Diamond Edition and I wish I bought my grandfather a G-series, he would have loved it, especially since he knew how I felt about Kirby's. Their house certainly would have been cleaner and he could have vacuumed without risking being shocked. Grandpa has been gone for almost a year now, but my sister and I still laugh at how rediculous this whole thing was, all I could have said was "I told you so" lol The self propelled system in the G-Series machines is unlike any other that I have ever used, its so smoothless and almost undectable. The PowerDrive system in the Hoover is absolutely awful, its very jerky and non-intuitive. You would think that after almost 40 years of PowerDrive models, they would have perfected this feature.

Post# 109913 , Reply# 11 10/1/2010 at 05:16 (4,953 days old) by riccarlover ()
Checkrate/Likes *What about...* The cheap Bissell bagged upright at Walmart. Granted it's not the Cadillac of vacuums but for a cheap vac, they sure can take a beating! Clayton :)

Post# 109947 , Reply# 12 10/1/2010 at 16:07 (4,952 days old) by joe22 ()
Checkrate/Likes get her an oreck off ebay, tell her its green its recycled, clean it up and she will love it

Post# 110279 , Reply# 13 10/5/2010 at 10:04 (4,949 days old) by chicktavlas (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Checkrate/Likes *I have an idea....* Though I'm a die hard kirby fan, when it comes toa lightweight upright, I would suggest a Sanitaire SC679 vacuum that is very lightweight and does a decent job. It's a shake out bag, but you can always convert them with little to no trouble. Try: www.abcvacuumwarehouse.com... I believe that's the right address for great prices.

Post# 109823 , Reply# 9 9/30/2010 at 07:46 (4,954 days old) by kirbysthebest (Midwest)
Checkrate/Likes When I said the Riccar was much more fragile I am referring to the fan mostly. Though the entire machine is a high quality Polycarbonate the fan seems to be a bakalite type of material. The fan makes loud protest at the smallest of things such as sand or kitty litter. I am a careful person and have used fan first machines my whole life without a mishap (except that time I sucked up a rock while cleaning the car). In any case I have broken the fan on the supralite twice in three years. Both times on something the Kirby would have clinked on and forged ahead. I still like the machine, but it does require you to exercise more caution.

Post# 109845 , Reply# 10 9/30/2010 at 11:04 (4,954 days old) by kirbyluxhoover (Pinole, CA)
Checkrate/Likes *Shot myself in the foot* Grandma use to pay me to vacuum she hated how handle heavy and jerky her brown Hoover Dimenision Powerdrive was and I loved my G4 I got her one (used) for Christmas of 2001 ( I think). Well that put out of a job. I keep hoping I will be able to add her Hoover to my collection. I have the Wards (Eureka Powerteam) she replaced with the Hoover. I might take her my Extra Oreck which was in like new condition for $20 at Thirft Town and let her try it out for her spare vac. She lives almost two hours away so a spare is good.