Review Of Eureka Vacuum Cleaners

Eureka started making vacuum cleaners in 1913. Since then, the company has gone through many changes and is now called Electrolux Home Care Products North America. It sells Eureka vacuum cleaners as well as Electrolux, Sanitaire, and Beam. Electrolux is a higher end vacuum cleaner, and Eureka models are usually less expensive. Eureka vacuums come in uprights, canisters, and lightweight broom vacuums.

Boss SmartVac 4800 Features

Eureka’s best vacuums are its full-sized uprights. Its Boss SmartVac 4800 series did very well on a leading consumer test (was ranked one of only three best buys). For the money, it was exceptional. It outperformed vacuum cleaners several times its cost. The Eureka Boss SmartVac was great on both bare floors and carpet. It has a switch to turn off the beater brush which is best for hardwood floors and more fragile floor rugs. When it vacuums carpet, it has a manual pile adjust which is crucial to properly cleaning carpeted flooring. If you’ve never set a pile adjust, you should. If the pile adjust is set for high pile carpets and you have Berber or other low-piled carpet, the beater bar is not hitting the carpet fibers to extract the dirt. If your pile adjust is set too low and you have high pile carpet, you are beating your carpet too hard, and it is likely damaging your carpet fibers. This is one of the main reasons carpet pile unravels and pulls from the carpet backing. These are definitely two features you should look for in any vacuum if you have both carpet and bare floors.

Filtration System

This Eureka vacuum cleaner line also has an excellent filtration system that allowed hardly any emissions to escape the exhaust. It’s a true, sealed, HEPA filter that traps almost every particle in its path, and it actually stays in the bag. Eureka suggests replacing this filter once every six months with “normal” household use. Normal use is usually weekly vacuuming. If you vacuum more often, you should periodically check your filter as it will probably need to be replaced sooner. The filter costs around $20 to replace. Replacement bags are inexpensive – about $2 each. This is a little below the average cost of vacuum bags. Eureka bags are recommended for optimal filtration.

Brushes and Attachments

One of the best features of the Eureka Boss SmartVac 4800 series is the “Power Paw Stair Brush.” This is a mini turbo attachment that is excellent for stairs. It specializes in picking up pet hair. With regular vacuums, pet hair that is tangled in the carpet fibers is often missed. Most attachments offered by uprights don’t have a spinning brush roll. The Power Paw is a 5 1/2” spinning brush attachment that penetrates carpet pile to deep clean stairs, corners, and rugs. The switch to go from upright to hose power is large, easy to turn, and conveniently located on the machine.

Cons

There are a few drawbacks to this Eureka vacuum cleaner. It is a little harder to pull than other vacuums. It weighs a little over 20 pounds and is not self-propelled. It also lacks suction control which is good for draperies or delicate rugs. You have to bend over to adjust the pile control and turn the brush roller on or off. It also doesn’t have a light or other indicator to tell you when the bag is full.

The Eureka Boss SmartVac series is not the best machine available, but it’s the best one available for the low cost. The machine retails for $140, which is low for vacuum cleaners. For twice the money, you can get a better vacuum with additional features including self-propelled motion, a longer hose, and suction control. For the money, however, this line is excellent.

Other Models

Eureka’s High Performance line offers a bag and bagless model. It’s a powerful vacuum that offers a longer power cord, longer hose, and more attachments that are conveniently stored in the machine. It doesn’t offer quite as many features as the Boss SmartVac line, but it’s a good vacuum for about $80.

Falling below expectations is Eureka’s Boss SuperLite line that includes the top-selling model 402A. At 7.6 pounds, it truly is super light. It’s around $50 and can be found for less online. This model only uses 2 amps of power, so it’s not very powerful and is more of a “quick vac” for spills or spot cleaning between regular vacuuming. There are better performing lightweight machines for the price.

Eureka also offers model 4750A of its Maxima line that is nice for allergy sufferers. It offers exceptional filtration like most Eureka vacuum cleaners. It has an added bonus of a no-touch dust bag. You drop the bag into the collection container, and you dump it out with the mess, having never touched any of the dirt. This model is light weight at 13.5 pounds, and it retails for around $50.

Eureka Vacuum Recomendations

While Eureka vacuum cleaners aren’t the best vacuums available at any price, they are exceptional as low-priced, powerful vacuum cleaners. If you want the cleanest floors you can get for a low price, Eureka is an excellent solution.