Eureka Boss Smart-Vac Upright HEPA Vacuum Cleaner, 4870MZ
by Electrolux Home Products (floorcare)
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Eureka Boss Smart-Vac Upright HEPA Vacuum Cleaner, 4870MZ
Customer Review: I Love This Vac!
Summary: 5 Stars
A coupla weeks ago, my old Eureka decided to take a powder on me and died after 10 faithful years. I found myself in the process of looking for a new vac. My last 2 vacuum cleaners were Eurekas and each lasted roughly 10yrs b4 needing replacing. I was only looking at that brand and settled on this little beauty (which is now known in my household as Big Red) after reading many reviews at Amazon and checking out Consumer Reports. I haven't had it very long but have used all of the attachments as well as thoroughly vacuumed my apt a few times. I can echo most of what everyone else has said about
yes it it quite heavy but after you get used to the heft of it, it isn't so bad at all. The moving forward is a breeze-it's the pulling back that is the tough part. But if you move the carpet height adjustment so that it isn't hugging the carpet so strongly, that can help tremendously with the amount of effort required.
And the suction is incredible! It really does fluff up the carpet very well and pulls all the crud out of it. My carpets look so nice afterwards that it's amazing and I thought my old Eureka did a fine job.
The attachments do stay on if they're attached properly. I haven't had any problems at all with them falling out or any problems with the hose either. And the power paw attachment is a wonder with it's little whirring beater bar. I have multiple cats and the cat hair on the couch stands no chance when the power paw goes after it. Any pet parent will love that attachment. As for some of the problems that some folks have mentioned, it's somewhat of a trial and error journey to find out what works best. The release pedal for the handle is much stiffer than what I was used to. But all I need to do is put the heel of my foot (barefoot btw) on the lower part of the pedal,press down firmly and move the handle forward a bit and then back. I can hear a little click as the handle is released and it comes down quite easily. No karate chops needed here. And moving the handle ALL the way down so as to vacuum under low furniture just requires my hand on the pedal. A little more effort is required than my old pedal but it isn't hard to move.
The yellow carpet/bare floor switch can be a might tricky. Make sure that you have turned the height adjustment to the bare floor segment and then b4 releasing the handle push the yellow knob to the bare floor arrow and push HARD until you hear it click in place. Then lower the handle and yellow knob stays put while you vacuum your tile or hardwood floors. It will automatically go back to the carpet setting after putting the handle in the upright position for your next use.
Some folks have expressed concern about all the plastic on this vac and worry about the durability of it. Unless one is very rough with it or maybe got a lemon, I can't see any reason why it wouldn't last as long as my other Eurekas have. But only time will tell in that regard. I certainly do hope the longevity is at least equal to what I have become used to.
All in all, I'd give this vac 10 stars if I could. I really am glad that my old vac bit the dust. This one is so convient to use with the attached hose and accompanying attachments plus the overall power of the thing for it's intended purpose would be very hard to beat regardless of price. I actually look forward to housework now!
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this vacuum to anyone unless they have limited upper body strength and/or arthritis, shoulder, arm or hand problems. Then a lighter weight vacuum would be in order.
And a plus that I wasn't aware of is that for what I was used to, this vac is amazingly quiet! My old vacs would just about break your eardrums and Big Red has a nice low hum to it. I can even hear the phone ring now while I'm vacuuming and it doesn't even scare my cats like the old one did!
A wonderful vacuum cleaner at a very good price!
Customer Review: I was fooled by the reviews
Summary: 1 Stars
I do not always trust those sparse negative reviews when there are alot of positive ones on a product, but please do not be fooled like I was! Please take the time to read this because I have no idea why there are so many positive reviews, and I will be honest here. This vacuum is a huge headache.
I was in desperate need of a vacuum because my dyson's belt broke and I could not find any repair site that would touch it. (It is impossible to fix without special tools, but I digress.) The dyson was incredible but it was $399 and could not be fixed when it broke.
I spent hours & hours of vacuum research on Amazon for something that was highly rated, but low cost. I came across the eureka and it had 300+ incredible raving reviews. Which now I am scratching my head wondering if those were employees of the Eureka company because this vacuum is nothing what the reviews say it is. It is hard to use, a piece of junk, and unreliable. The parts do not fit together and the whole thing is made of cheap plastic. It will make you HATE using it.
Why, do you ask? Let me count the ways...
The plastic door that covers the bag is warped and wont close properly. It came out of the box that way. You will slam it and slam it and look at what is catching and slam it again, and try to line up the right slot over and over to no avail. Trying to close it takes about 10 minutes of stress and it will easily crack if you get frustrated. This happens every time.
It is very hard to step on the button that releases the handle to take it from a up & down position to a working position. You stomp and stomp and it will not unlock. It seems to be a plastic foot plate that does not push down unless you stomp so hard you think it will crack.
The brushes sometimes turn and sometimes they dont, and I cannot figure out how the switch starts and stops the rollers. You cannot move the switch unless the handle is in a certain position and even if you switch it to the right position the rollers do not start sometimes.
Sometimes it sucks the dirt but sometimes it does not, and if something as simple as a used dryer sheet gets caught in the tube the suction is greatly reduced, however you cannot tell because it is loud no matter what.
It is very VERY LOOOOOOUD. I have not heard a vacuum this loud ever. It will hurt your ears after awhile and the neighbors in the house next door can hear it through their walls. If you have a young one who takes naps, it will not be the time to vacuum.
It is very HEAVY, and it will wear you out after about one room. For someone who does not like vacuuming in the first place, this machine will make you hate it even more.
To use the hose you have to turn a huge wheel to shift the suction power to the hose. It is very hard to turn even when it is off. It does not automatically hook up to it like most vacuums and it just is extra weight. The hose also clogs with very little effort. Clearing the hose is very hard because you cannot tell how the parts come apart and there is not one bit of help in the manual.
The bags are not sold in any store that I have found and you have to special order them online. If you are going to buy this machine, buy a bunch of extra bags. There is also no indication anywhere on the machine what size bag you need. Nothing on the inside or outside and you do not find out until you have thrown the bag in the trash and it has gone out the door. I would take a piece of tape and write on the inside so you can remember.
I hate this machine, but I am stuck with it because we just cannot afford anything else. I am contemplating going to goodwill and getting an old one because anything would be better than this.
I hope another person is not fooled by all the positive responses like I was because those are nothing but lies.
Customer Review: After 3 yrs I'm throwing in the towel!
Summary: 2 Stars
I have the older version of this model (paid $150 06/2007, on Amazon), which was very highly rated by Consumer Reports. I will give kudos to this vacuum's "suckability" which is strong and good. When the bag starts to get full I always noticed a decline in cleaning effectiveness. The things I hated about this vacuum was it's weight and terrible manuverability-it was like pushing and pulling dead weight around. I see the weight is listed as 26 lbs and let me tell you that is probably accurate and this thing is HEAVY!! There is absolutely no gliding around on carpets or bare floor. I also didn't like the width of 15"- the vacuum ends up being cumbersomely too large and you can't move it around and between furniture/objects. My accessories also constantly fell off which I see as a major complaint on many of the lower reviewers. It's a total pain to not be able to keep the accessories on board while you are using the vacuum. The weight and cumbersomeness makes doing stairs a sweaty job, combined with the fact that the unit blows out quite a bit of hot air when in use. It's like having a blowdryer on you! Just yesterday I bought the Eureka Airspeed AS1000A (for $120, a Walmart exclusive item) which is bagless and weighs about 18lbs. I was thrilled with it! Current customer reviews are 5 stars out of 5 w/ 45 reviews. I thought about getting a Dyson, but the claims on the Airspeed box said it was supposed to have better suction than 3 models of dyson at only 1/3 the cost. I figured I'd give it a try and return it if I didn't like it. I love that this new vac glides around w/ great ease on both carpet and my wood floors! I love how this unit gets in and around obstacles much easier because it is about 2" less in width. At first I wondered if the vacuum was going to be as effective at cleaning because it was so much easier to push and pull on the carpet. It was incredibly effective in cleaning! I have 4 cats and a new puppy (in and out constantly for potty training) and two young kids. I usually vacuum about once every week or two at the most. My old bag gets full after about 4 times use. This new bagless unit got "overfull" in one use! I was absolutely shocked at the volume and filth extracted from my carpets which are 6 yrs old when I emptied the container! If that amount had gone in a new vacuum bag it would have been at least 1/2 full! All the accessories snap in place very securely on the new Airspeed unit which I really like; even the power stair nozzel which didn't even have a place to go on my old unit! What I was dissappointed in in the new Airspeed model was that I liked being able to tip the vacuum back to pick up the brush head in order to avoid going over the cord or to decrease the likelihood of sucking up area carpets. When in use, and the Airspeed is tipped back, the brush head section does not lift up off the floor unless the vacuum is practically horizontal to the surface it is on. The other thing I didn't like was that the power cord clips to keep the cord on the back side of the unit (while in use) did not adequately secure the cord and the cord repeatedly fell out of it's clips. The design of the handle does lend itself to being able to thread the cord through the loop of the handle which then obviously would never fall out back toward your feet while using the unit so I will probably try that the next time I use the vacuum. The power nozzel attachment for stairs or upholstry has a handy flip shield which enables you to vacuum in either a horizontal or vertical plane (w/out changing your grip or twisting and turning the nozzel attachment) and it works very, very well- the brush spins very rapidly (powered by the very strong suction airflow) and it does not stop spinning with even moderate pressure while in use. So far I think the Eureka Airspeed is an amazing vacuum for the inexpensive price!Customer Review: Excellent choice for the money!
Summary: 5 Stars
Can I just say that this vacuum is wonderful?
I originally believed I wanted a Dyson--you know how well done, classy commercials and hype can suck you in. However, I was not comfortable with the $400-$500 price tag. But our current vacuum is 9 years old and while it sort of works OK, it smells horrible. Somehow I came upon this model of Eureka. I began reading the reviews, and was impressed. I then went to 2 other websites and read those reviews. These were consistent with what I read here--even the complaints. I went with my gut and ordered this vacuum, great price, free shipping--and crossed my fingers.
WOW! Didn't get to try it for a few days after receiving it but immediately was impressed. Heavy? Yes, but only about a pound more than my Hoover. Loud? Sure but not as loud as my Hoover! I have never worried about being able to vacuum when someone is sleeping. Life is too short to worry about something like that. Difficult controls? No, I didn't think so. Not even the lever you have to push to release the vacuum from upright position-the key is to click to down & to the left, not straight down. Works like a charm. The other controls were OK for me, no complaints. The tools are so well stored on the unit that I actually thought it didn't come with any. The Power Paw was amazing on my couch. Can you go weeks before cleaning off pet hair? No, I wouldn't recommend it, but for regular cleaning it will get the majority of pet hair off your furniture. The bare floor setting actually worked. I walked barefoot looking for that grainy sand feeling and was impressed. Will it hold up in the spring when we're tracking in the sand on the roads from winter? This remains to be seen. The unit has a slight self propelling feature so be prepared for it to roll away on you while vacuuming. If you're not paying attention, you could drop it.It also came with 2 bags, and an extra replacement belt.
What I would change? I wish the flexible hose was longer, it was a little awkward while cleaning the couch. I don't know how clumsy changing the bag will be and that tends to be an issue with this style of vacuum. And sure, I wish it weren't so heavy but it's minor. I'm hopeful the HEPA filter will improve the air quality, as I have a dog allergic to dust, grasses, you name it. That may or may not be obvious as time goes on. My biggest caution to a buyer would be cleaning area rugs, especially long shag styles or ones with loose threads (ANY carpet with loose threads.) The suction is so strong it started to suck up my shag kitchen rug and it will lift the nap of your carpet, except in really heavy traffic areas. The fact that its lifting the nap means it's pulling up that much more dirt and dust from under those fibers and that's a good thing! Once I figured out how to use it without causing the rug to get sucked into the machine, it came cleaner than I've seen it since new...even after washing it in the washing machine.
Overall, this vacuum is a champ and for right around $120, affordable enough that I didn't even bother buying the extended warranty. I've never had a vacuum completely die on me, just not work as well. If I had to replace it in 2 or 3 years, I'd be disappointed but I wouldn't feel near as bad as having to replace a $500 model!
Customer Review: stands up to Alaskan mud, 4 boys, and a dog
Summary: 5 Stars
The title says it all. We live in Alaska, we have 4 boys and a long-haired dog, and this vacuum keeps up with all of it. Consumer Reports said this vacuum was their 'best buy' and I'll add my vote to that. It's an awesome vacuum. I am SO thrilled to have it!
PROS
* Hepa filter
* Bags (I may have to buy refills, but they are so much less messy than my bagless dustbuster...and amazon has the bags so I just ordered a package with the vacuum.)
* 12 amp engine '
* It SUCKS like no vacuum I have ever used--not my mom's, not my mother-in-law's, not my father-in-law's shop vac, not the industrial one we use when cleaning the church... I was using the hose to clean up my sewing area the other day and it picked up thread jumbles and fair-sized fabric scraps without hesitation. I have warned the boys that if they don't pick up their legos or marbles they will undoubtedly be eaten by the vacuum...if the intake were large enough, I think it might suck up whole articles of clothing or possibly small children.
* It works beautifully on our tall carpet, short carpet, and bare floor. I don't see any dog hair left behind, and especially the first time I used it I could hear the dirt wooshing up the tube. It's quite satisfying actually. Our (far-from-new rental-apartment) carpet looks plusher and feels softer than it did when we moved in. I wouldn't hesitate to believe that this vacuum can extend the life of our carpeting.
* The "power paw" (a hose attachment with a rolling brush like the main vacuum) took all the hair off my dog's bed. I have vacuumed over that bed so many times, run the cover through the washing machine, and even just taken the whole thing out and beaten it...I'm fairly certain it has not been this clean since the day we brought it home. I think the paw is meant to be used on couches and upholstery, but our dog stays off the furniture so I haven't tested that application yet.
* This may seem silly, but I really like that the handle is a loop rather than a stick...it makes it easy to pull around (since I don't want to lift it) and it's easier to hold for the back and forth motion of vacuuming...I have had a vacuum fly right out of my hands on the forward motion before (please tell me I'm not the only one who's done that!) but that can't happen with the loop handle.
CONS
* Yep, it's heavy. I wouldn't want to haul it up and down stairs on a regular basis. SO, if I ever have a house with stairs, I will probably just buy a second SmartBoss for the other floor.
* The location of the power switch is a bit inconvenient for regular vacuuming. (It's down on the top part of the body, rather than up on the handle.) It means I can't switch it on with the same hand I'm 'driving' with... it's not an issue when using the hose, but it is sortof a hassle. This is the one thing that actually does bug me about this machine.
* As for the noise question? Well, I've definitely heard louder...but the very first time I used it I was excitedly vacuuming away in the bedrooms and when I came out I found that my toddler had fallen asleep on the couch...so it must not be that loud!!