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Name of Product: “Majestic 360” Floor Cleaners
Units: About 44,000
Manufacturer: HMI Industries Inc., of Strongsville, Ohio
Hazard: The recalled cleaners’ wiring can overheat, causing electrical arcing and melting. This poses a burn hazard to consumers.
Incidents/Injuries: HMI has received 40 reports of overheating and damage to carpets. No injuries have been reported.
Description: The recalled floor cleaner is a [...]

Name of product: Ergorapido, Pronto and Precision Vacuums
Units: About 320,000
Distributor: Electrolux Home Care Products Inc., of Bloomington, Ill.
Hazard: The vacuum’s battery can expand and burst, posing a risk of injury to the user and bystanders.
Incidents/Injuries: Electrolux has received 34 reports of incidents in the U.S. involving damage to the vacuum and surrounding property. There have [...]

If you like having a cordless vacuum handy for quick clean-ups, and you have a house with hard surfaced floors, Dirt Devil’s KRUZ cordless floor vac might be your next lightweight vacuum purchase.
This five pound, bagless upright offers easy maneuverability, allowing you to twist 360 degrees to reach around furniture and into hard [...]

This is just like winning a new appliance in retroactively. All you need to do is register your GE appliance, and you will be automatically entered in a monthly drawing for $2500 from GE. The contest lasts until October 2009 and winners will be awarded a check for the full amount. You [...]

Do you have the cutest pet in the world?  Come on, you know you think so.  Or maybe not.  Maybe you know that the zany uniqueness of your family pet is what stands out.  Either way, Bissell, the carpet cleaner specialist is offering you a chance to show your pet to the world.
One winner will [...]

If you’ve been planning on picking up one of those robotic vacuums next time they’re on sale, LG would like you to choose theirs. This new addtion to the robot vacuum family has a very powerful motor, with suction power that can reach up to 100W, which is by far the strongest suction performance [...]

In today’s economy, with consumers watching their spending, manufacturers of countertop appliances are evaluating how these conveniences are used in our homes and what will spur us to buy their brand when a new one is needed. We all want to feel we are getting all we can for our dollar.
With this in mind, many [...]

Name of Product: Dirt Devil Vacuum Power Brush Attachment Tools
Units: About 987,000
Manufacturer: TTI Floor Care North America, of Glenwillow, Ohio
Hazard: Plastic pieces inside the vacuum tool can break apart and be ejected, posing a laceration hazard to consumers.
Incidents/Injuries: TTI Floor Care has received 140 reports of incidents involving the recalled vacuum tool, including 12 reports [...]

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Fisher & Paykel, the New Zealand appliance manufacturer well known for it’s dishwasher drawers and washing machines is consolidating it’s manufacturing and moving to Reynosa, Mexico, just south of the U.S. border.
The range and DishDrawer factory in Dunedin, New Zealand, the refrigeration plant in Brisbane, Australia and the DCS manufacturing plant in Huntington Beach will [...]

Bissell introduces a handy little deep cleaner for use around the house. It’s portable and can be used in the car as well. It has a long power cord and since it can be hand-held, you can easily clean in hard to reach areas and on stairs. It can be used on [...]

Here’s something that sounds good in theory, but doesn’t seem to work in practice- The people at Electrolux thought that putting a vacuum in a pair of shoes might appeal to the overworked multi-tasker. Well, it’s been over a year since this concept debuted and we’re waiting to see if our local discount store will [...]

If you have carpets in your home, it has probably occurred to you that despite regular vacuuming and scheduled cleanings, they likely harbor a great variety of unsavory bacteria.  I know that even though we all take off our shoes when we come home, I can’t require that visitors do the same and so the [...]

Do you need a HEPA filter on your new vacuum?  First, it helps to know what a HEPA filter is.  HEPA is an acronym for “High Efficiency Particulate Air”, which means that it traps smaller dust particles than an ordinary filter.  A vacuum with a HEPA filter should not blow as many dirt particles back [...]

If you take a minute now to visit www.howstuffworks.com, you will be prepared the next time a small child asks you how the vacuum works.  This site gives a clear, and very detailed description of a vacuum’s mechanics.

When you plug the vacuum cleaner in and turn it on, this is what happens:

The electric current operates [...]

As the population ages, many people choose to move to smaller homes or condos for ease of maintenance.  Some Baby-Boomers are purchasing smaller, second homes that can become retirement homes in the future. 
Marriette Mifflin at about.com advises:
Take a serious look at your appliances, large and small, and consider their age, general condition, capacity, performance, and [...]

Many children enjoy collecting things- stamps, coins, baseball cards, dolls, vacuums–vacuums?! Yes, Kyle Krichbaum of Michigan has a collection of 165 vacuums including an antique Hoover model O worth about $10,000. He repairs and enjoys using his collection and plans to continue this hobby into his future. You can see him here:

Related [...]

If you are considering buying a wet/dry vacuum for your garage, this video will give you tips and make some recommendations.

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Do you know how a vacuum is made? Pull up a chair and learn about it the way your 5 year old would.
Did you ever get tired of dragging your old canister vacuum around the house? Well maybe what you need is a central vacuum. A central vacuum is to your handheld what a central [...]

Popular Mechanics compares with dry flour and wet kitty litter

Black & Decker 18volt Pivoting Nose Cordless Hand Vac
Dirt Devil Kone
Dyson Root 6 DC16 Handheld Vacuum Cleaner – $149 at Amazon

The impatient can order the winner. Seems like the only benefit of the conclusive loser is that you can get it in designer colors.

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Consumer Reports tells us “the nameplate doesn’t always indicate who makes your fridge, oven, or washer”.
Our recent tests of refrigerators included more than 70 models from 20 brands.
That’s a lot of companies, until you play appliance detective and discover that the $20 billion annual market for refrigerators, ovens, washers, and other major home appliances isn’t [...]

Watch video of a cool Wii Roomba hack.
More very cool stuff. We approve.

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Watch video of a cool Bluetooth roomba hack.
Roomba hacking website with source code.
Very cool stuff. We approve.

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Another great American brand bites the Dust. Hoover got Sucked up by Chinese conglomerate Techtronic Industries (TTI) of Hong Kong.
Whirlpool washed its hands of its floor care products today and dumped the Hoover brand along with all of its assets to TTI. TTI already controls the Dirt Devil brand and is [...]

Here are a few thoughts about vacuum cleaners. I think the basic differences are between the uprights and the canister types. I’ll admit right here that I prefer the canisters. I grew up with the old Hoover Constellation that came out in the 1950’s. The world was getting excited about space travel and that excitement [...]