secular_mom Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Are these worth the money? I have developed asthma, and this home is SO dusty. The carpet is old and hard to keep clean, especially with four kiddos and the sliding glass door that opens to the back yard. This is a rental home, it was built in the 70's and has the original A/C unit and water heater. :tongue_smilie: I have a Dyson, but I hadn't been cleaning the filters in it and it was making me sick to vacuum. We just got new filters to replace the old ones, and DH is going to give the dust bin a good scrub (I can't do it). Will using my Dyson every day and having DH clean the filters for me often work as well as a Rainbow? I like the part where the Rainbow collects the dirt in water, so it doesn't end up back in the air and there wouldn't be any dusty bin to empty. But it is SO expensive. Would a used one be a good idea? Any advice appreciated. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herbalgirl Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 :lurk5: I also want to know this. My MIL had one when my husband was growing up and he remembers it worked really well. I think you can get them used/refurbished, also, to cut down on cost. He keeps "threatening" to get me one, but I've been feeling it is way too much money. I hope more people chime in to let us know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 My MIL has a rainbow and she *loooooves* it, she's had it for years and years. I've never been able to bring myself to shell out that kind of money for a vacuum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoyfulMama Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 I like the part where the Rainbow collects the dirt in water, so it doesn't end up back in the air and there wouldn't be any dusty bin to empty. But it is SO expensive. Would a used one be a good idea? I grew up with a Rainbow - my mom LOVED it, and she has a lot of allergies. It died years ago - and since then my DAD does the vacuuming. If the used one has some sort of warranty AND a return period, I would try it. The return period would be able to give you an idea if it worked better for you, and the warranty would lessen the risk of parts wearing quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sputterduck Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Nooooooooo. I bought one and it was ok. There is a mess dealing with dumping the dirty water out, and it did clog my toilets a few times. But the kicker for me was when consumer reports tested vacuums, the Rainbow cleaned the worst... My Rainbow cost me an arm and a leg. The vacuum I've switched to based on consumer reports data only cost me 150 dollars or so and cleans better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 The vacuum I've switched to based on consumer reports data only cost me 150 dollars or so and cleans better. Please share the brand and model. Inquiring minds want to know. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sputterduck Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 It's a Eureka Boss Smartvac. Don't get a Eureka with a canister. Get the bag. The canister vacuums do a horrible job apparently when testing what comes out in the air from them. There is a cheaper Eureka that also doesn't clean well. I think there is a more expensive one, too, and wasn't worth the money according to consumer reports. Apparently they have several version of the smartvac now. http://www.eureka.com/index.php?option=com_family&view=family&task=getproductsbyfamily&familyid=17&categoryid=1 Mine is the red one. 149 at Walmart. I just checked. I want my 1800 dollars for the Rainbow back... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muffinmom Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 I only remembered this thread because I posted in it! http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39623&highlight=vacuum HTH (although it *is* almost 2 years old)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in IL Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 We bought one years ago and the whole "water canister" thing, albeit a cool idea - is the grossest thing in the whole world. You certainly don't want to flush it if you are on well and septic - and then where do you put it? It isn't just dirty water - but pet hair/etc. that comes out like a big wet mat soaked in a ton of dirty water. YUCK! Obviously, if you let it set longer than a day trying to decide what to do with it - it stinks to high heaven. Ask me how I know!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sputterduck Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 We bought one years ago and the whole "water canister" thing, albeit a cool idea - is the grossest thing in the whole world. You certainly don't want to flush it if you are on well and septic - and then where do you put it? It isn't just dirty water - but pet hair/etc. that comes out like a big wet mat soaked in a ton of dirty water. YUCK! Obviously, if you let it set longer than a day trying to decide what to do with it - it stinks to high heaven. Ask me how I know!! What *do* you do if you have a septic tank? :001_huh: If I couldn't put mine down the toilet... I would have no clue. That stuff is so gross. As it was, it did create toilet clogging issues. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 I grew up with a Rainbow - my mom LOVED it, and she has a lot of allergies. Me too! Except my mom loved for ME to use it. :glare: I still remember that water slugde vacuum... It was the bane of my existence as a teenager. :D Off to google rainbow vacuums.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonshine Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 I married into the whole Rainbow vacumn thing. My husband and his family have a lot of allergies and they swear by them. I can't imagine dumping the stuff in the toilet - it's not meant to be dumped in the toilet. We dump ours in an unused area of the yard. When not in use, either keep the top off of the water storage part or store without the water in it (the preferred way). If not, the water will rust out the engine. I got all of ours used, both through ads in papers, etc. and from the Rainbow Store refurbished. I don't think they vacumn better (they do do a decent job, and by the way I am not an expert on vacumns) but they do help get allergans out of the air while they vacumn, and do trap the allergans in the water rather than spew them back into the air to make the allergic people even sicker. It is a pain to lug the heavy part around behind the hose, but I guess most vacumns are a pain to use. I would recommend them for people who have reactions to things the typical vacumns spew into the air, otherwise I don't recommend them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in OH Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 My mom had a rainbow for nearly my entire childhood. She loved it. I never heard a complaint about it. She doesn't have it anymore, it may be because she's now on well water/septic system. The dirty water always made me ill, but I'm sensitive to things like that. I gag cleaning hair out of the bathtub drain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LG Gone Wild Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 We bought one years ago and the whole "water canister" thing, albeit a cool idea - is the grossest thing in the whole world. You certainly don't want to flush it if you are on well and septic - and then where do you put it? It isn't just dirty water - but pet hair/etc. that comes out like a big wet mat soaked in a ton of dirty water. YUCK! Obviously, if you let it set longer than a day trying to decide what to do with it - it stinks to high heaven. Ask me how I know!! Totally agree!!! So nasty. :thumbdown::ack2: Plus, I found that dragging that thing around was such a pain. Save the dough and get one of those fancy room purifiers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Rainbow ranks WORST for allergy sufferers. WHy? The allergy particles just bounce off the water and back into the air. You know how powder is so fine it just sits on top of the water? Allergens are even smaller and bounce right off of it. If you visit an allergist, they should have a list of vacuums and how well they do at removing allergens. On the list they gave me, Rainbow was on the worst list. Also, it is just a pain to use. If the canister accidentally tips, and it will, the water stain left behind is virtually impossible to remove from carpet; even when professionally cleaned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 I used a Rainbow when I was in college and cleaned houses. Often times when I was emptying the slush, there would be dry powdered dust and stuff floating on top of the water. Sometimes even dust-coated bubbles that would pop as I was emptying it, spewing dust into the air. All of what was not wet would become airborne when I was emptying it. I don't think it does a particularly good job of vacuuming (sucking up stuff), so why bother putting up with the lousy job of disposing of the mess?? hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secular_mom Posted January 29, 2010 Author Share Posted January 29, 2010 Thank you all SO very much for your replies. Now I can put the Rainbow idea to rest for good. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Sorry to dredge up a month old thread, but I had a rainbow salesperson come to my house last month. I had no intention of buying, but I did want the freebie (and holy cow do they hound you later, many phone calls, etc....) Anyway, I am seeing several of you say it doesn't clean well. Isn't that what the sludge in the water shows you, how much it cleans? He had me vacuum with our vacuum cleaner and then use the Rainbow afterwards to see what else it would pick up. I guess I should have gone back over it again with a cloth on top of my vacuum to see what the Rainbow missed. I did like the fact that it was a whole house air purifier, however, was that not accurate either? Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 My mom had a rainbow for nearly my entire childhood. She loved it. I never heard a complaint about it. She doesn't have it anymore, it may be because she's now on well water/septic system. The dirty water always made me ill, but I'm sensitive to things like that. I gag cleaning hair out of the bathtub drain. My mom had one for years and years as well. She really liked it and used it often. We always dumped the water outside in the garden though. I guess I never considered to flush it or that it would clog something up... As much as she loved the rainbow, what she loves most of all is her central vacuum unit. The huge powerful motor cleans carpet like nothing I have ever seen. There is no dust because it is all wisked to a large container in the garage that is only emptied when full. I take my rugs to her house because it can clean them better than my new, very expensive Dyson. The house they bought was plumbed for the central vac when they bought it, but they could have easily done that themselves since it is PVC pipe thru the walls. The hoses and such were expensive in the beginning but have lasted over 20 years with near daily use. As soon as we have money I plan on plumbing our house for central vac and then saving my money to buy the rest of the equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LG Gone Wild Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Nooooooooo. I bought one and it was ok. There is a mess dealing with dumping the dirty water out, and it did clog my toilets a few times. But the kicker for me was when consumer reports tested vacuums, the Rainbow cleaned the worst... My Rainbow cost me an arm and a leg. The vacuum I've switched to based on consumer reports data only cost me 150 dollars or so and cleans better. On my top 10 list of my life's worst purchases. Don't do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuckabella Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 We had a Rainbow growing up. Wow, that thing was awesome! It was like a little R2D2 (at least that is what I called it!). Yes, the dirt in the water definately helped the dust from coming back out. That said, we have a Dyson. I LOVE that thing! It sucks up more stuff than I can believe! Yes, you have to clean the filters. I would try cleaning the filters more often before plunking down the $$$$$$$ for a Rainbow. If no relief, then I would then buy a Rainbow. The only thing I hated about the Rainbow was carrying it up and down the stairs. It was SO heavy with the water in it! Do you have a toilet to dump it in when done on each floor? Maybe you dispose of it another way, this is what we did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuckabella Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Sorry to dredge up a month old thread, but I had a rainbow salesperson come to my house last month. I had no intention of buying, but I did want the freebie (and holy cow do they hound you later, many phone calls, etc....) I did like the fact that it was a whole house air purifier, however, was that not accurate either? Dawn Umm, no, that is NOT a whole house purifier. It is not a purifier at all. It is a vacuum. If you want a great air purifier for your home, look into an Ecoquest Fresh Air. The company just changed names though - to Vollara. That thing is AWESOME and GREATLY keeps the allergens down for me. Also, sorry to post on such an old thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Wow, ok.....the guy said it WAS a whole house purifier. Now, I don't plan to get one, but I wanted to ask anyway as I may need to purchase a vacuum if we ever move. We currently have a central vac that uses 220 and we love it. So, because we have the central vac and mostly hardwoods, the guy tried to sell me on the air purifying aspect of the machine. Good to know.....thanks. Dawn Umm, no, that is NOT a whole house purifier. It is not a purifier at all. It is a vacuum. If you want a great air purifier for your home, look into an Ecoquest Fresh Air. The company just changed names though - to Vollara. That thing is AWESOME and GREATLY keeps the allergens down for me. Also, sorry to post on such an old thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susancollins Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 My son was diagnosed with restrictive airway disease when he was nine months old which is a precursor to Asthma. The doctor said they don't want to label kids with Asthma so young. He was on Albuterol and Pulmicorteveryday. A friend of ours suggested a rainbow. I asked my doctor about it and she gave me a prescription so I could write it off on our taxes. Our insurance wouldn't cover it. We got it when he was about a year old. He has never had to use his nebulizer or any other medication. The doctor was amazed at home much he improved. To me a rainbow vacuum is worth its weight in gold! We have the attachment we vacuum the beds and the furniture. I sometimes let it run with nozzle of to cycle dust out of the air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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