Electrolux Oxygen Canister Vacuum

We recently moved, and left behind a central vacuum system. The new house doesn't have one, so my wife began talking about retro-fitting a central vacuum system. She missed the powerful cleaning and filtering (waste air goes outside) of a central vacuum system.

We ended up trying an Oxygen-Ultra - and the pressure to install a central vacuum system has diminished greatly.

One advantage of a central vacuum system is it's power - it will literally suck up a sock and transport it to the basement in the blink of an eye. The Oxygen surprised us with it's power - it appears to be nearly as strong.

The Oxygen has a power head that can be turned on and off, so we use it on carpets and on tile. It tackles dog hair (from a Border Collie) in stride. We've added a turbo nozzle, so we can use it to clean chairs.

I also use the turbo nozzle (a small attachment with a brush that spins because of the suction of the cleaner) on the stairs. It does a nice job and allows me to get the face of the stairs clean (as well as the step). The hose isn't quite long enough to do the stairs all at once, so I end up doing 1/2 with the canister at the bottom of the steps, and then moving it to the top of the steps to finish. It's light enough (much lighter than an upright) to make this fairly convenient.

The power head has a reset button in it. When I caught a sock in the power head, it shut itself off immediately. I pulled out the sock and had to hit the reset button to get the power head to spin again. On other cleaners, the sock would have jammed in the power head - and often would ruin the belt. The reset button protects the head and belt on the Oxygen.

The filtering on this vacuum is very good. The literature says that it captures just about everything (the ads say "don't let the fresh air out"). I know we never have that dusty, "just vacuumed" smell in the house after using it. The exhaust air comes out of the top of the cleaner - and it will surprise you if you lean over the cleaner while it is running. The exhaust air doesn't smell - it is just moving quickly - and it is warm.

I used this vacuum shortly after going over the carpet with an older upright vacuum. This cleaner picked up dirt that the older upright did not. My impression is that this vacuum picks up dirt from deeper down in the carpet.

Overall, this is an excellent product. We both like the design and color - and I have actually left it out once or twice - just because it looks nice. I actually look forward to cleaning with it!

From www.electroluxusa.com website:

Model Number: EL6989A
Container: Bagged
Dust Capacity (Quart): 2.0
Hose: Power, direct connected
Power (W): 1400
Filtration: HEPA H13
Product Weight (lbs): 13.0
Tools: Uph, dust, crevice, caddy
Depth (in.): 9.5
Height (in.): 18
Width (in.): 12
Warranty (year): 2
MSRP ($): 599.99


Link to manual:

http://www.electroluxusa.com/files/international_english/0-999/OxygenOwnersManual.pdf

Link to cool graphics on website:

http://www.electroluxusa.com/node40.asp?benefit=2&prodid=3