Sanitaire Commercial - Tradition QuietClean Upright Vacuum SC889D

Just buy an old bag vacuum like a sanitaire and clean it good like once a year. It'll last forever. https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-3480/Upright-Vacuums/Sanitaire-Industrial-Vacuum?pricode=WA9567&gadtype=pla&id=H-3480&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21320861276&gbraid=0AAAAAD_uetNKI_bxxjneYO4Er6-4Mnf3x&gclid=CjwKCAjwgeLHBhBuEiwAL5gNERqhW9HkIeBi_ktL3CvEH_YTEVhpEOzfAHtgITZMyovlnXe8cBKm7xoCDIAQAvD_BwE

Workhorses are relatively durable and the bagless design shows all the dirt which is great for videos and showing off to the customers. I would not use a Kirby commercially, they're too heavy and their fan is susceptible to damage. The Sanitaire Tradition is a similar vacuum to Kirby while being lighter and much easier to repair. But both Kirbys and Sanitaire Traditions have low water lift so they can leave a lot of heavy particles behind. Also the dump-out and dump-cup Traditions have terrible filtration. The Workhorse isn't popular here because the pre-motor filtration is poor and they don't have brushroll shutoff or on-board tool storage so they aren't well rounded vacuums. Cool vacuums, but too niche to recommend to most people.

Kirbys and Sanitiare Traditions have very similar very high cfm due to their direct air design but low water lift. The Workhorse and other clean air vacuums will have lower cfm but higher water lift. I think the Workhorse makes better videos because you can dump out all the dirt and show the viewers. Are you thinking about getting a new vacuum for yourself? I think there are a lot of other specs and features to consider if you want a vacuum for your home such as filtration, weight, built in hose and tools, etc.

You could try an old school commerical vacuum like the Sanitaire Tradition SC888N $292. These are carpet-only vacuums with no hose or tools. But they have a metal brushroll and carpet height adjustment. You still get hair wrapped on the brushroll but you can remove the baseplate without any tools and clean off the brushroll. Even just one long haired person in the house I would clean off the brushroll after each use on every vacuum that has a brushroll. The Sanitaire Traditions are good at cleaning carpets because that's all they can do. The brushroll is always spinning so you shouldn't use it on hard floors. It has no hose or tools. There are several version of the Tradition plastic hood and chrome hood doesn't matter. But there are different bag versions. You don't want the fabric dump out bag or the dump out cup attached to the fabric bag. You want one of the disposable inner bag versions that either uses F&G bags or ST bags. ST bags are better they're Hepa-like synthetic bags and they attach easily. The F&G bags use a spring you have to roll on to the collar of the bag, they're not as convenient. The different model numbers denote hood and bag version so I would stick to the SC888N chrome hood and ST bags or the SC889D gray metal hood and ST bags with a 2 speed switch. Sanitaire Traditions have been around for decades you can also find them used but many do get beat up in commercial use. What do you think?

Until last year we had the classic Sanitaire. Then the motor burnt out on all of them because nobody can take care of them. They replaced them with shitty little battery powered Ryobi ones definitely NOT made for commercial use. Surprise, mine already had a wheel fall off this week 😒

I wouldn’t recommend any cordless for this application, they will all meet the same fate as your last shark. You need something that can withstand commercial use. Within budget: a Sanitare Tradition. Is this for picking up popcorn? Would a good old fashioned lobby dust pan and broom suffice?

I know the Sanitaire Tradition machines work great on thick carpet (mainly because the design hails from the original era of plush carpets) but it's a carpet-only machine.

Unfortunately, a $50-$200 budget isn't in line with a daily commercial use cordless machine. You could look at a Tornado LW 13/1 if the budget can be raised to $600 and you must have a cordless machine. If the budget and weight requirement isn't flexible, you're looking at a Sanitare Tradition. If you can be flexible on weight, something like a Sanitare Professional is in budget. Hoover and Bissell Commercial sell the same machines with different colors and names. Anything cordless <$200 will break quickly like all of your previous machines. Your movie theater uses a vacuum more in a day than a household does in a month. Any big box store machine lasting two months or more is impressive.

I would argue certain Bissell and Hoover models are okay, the bagged ones of course because they're more simple. The Bissell Big Green Commercial and it's Sanitaire counterpart are good machines for their $100-$130 price point and parts are readily available. For someone on a very strict budget that has predominantly carpet they're not horrible options by any means. Same with the Bissell Zing for someone with hard floors.

Huh... I'm sure all those vacuums are really good, but I personally think that a commercial machine is would end up being more BIFL. I have a Sanitaire tradition that's run flawlessly for years now. Which makes sense because it's meant to clean entire hotels, not one dinky house.

A bagged eureka or sanitaire upright would be a good upright. Very easy to maintain and virtually no tools needed for most repairs. Parts of arby's available can I do a great job on Carpeting and floors ( Depending on the model). Try to find one that has a 7 Amp motor. Use Hepa type  bags. A Kirby would also be a good option.. The newer models have what's called Tech Drive which kind of compensates for the weight of the Kirby .

I use a Sanitaire upright for the heavey extraction of fur ,dirt,and dander. And my Sebo D4 Premium for the fine dust vacuuming. The filtration on the Sebo is just amazing. But it would overwelm my machine with tasking it to do the the heavy lifting+ expecting it to filter that much fur.

If you want a tough commercial vacuum- get a Sanitaire or spend the big bucks for German made like Miele. Consumer store brands like Shark and Dyson will not last that long. Vacuums reviews are a plague of affiliates/shills/dishonest actors.

As a restaurant owner and a vacuum store owner. Get a Sanitaire or a Titan commercial. Need one that has a clutch so you don’t burn your motor when someone clogs the brush roll.

I used to really like the sanitaire when I did hired cleaning jobs, just because they are so lightweight and the bags are cheap so I could change them as much as I needed to without feeling some type of way. Some of those places were so bad, I would have to change it after every room and then go over it a couple more times and change it again before moving on to the next to get it adequately clean and/or prepped for the steam cleaner bro's. Cheap bags and belts and lightweight really matters when you're doing that kind of heavy vacuuming lol. Plus I liked that you could just tip it back a little and it would pull in everything from the edges and corners, and it was light enough that I could grip the back of the headshell and move it around on carpeted stairs and it would actually do a pretty adequate job on them. I have used the Kirby before, it's alright I guess but I couldn't really get the hang of it and I found it kind of annoying because I couldn't fit it in tight closets or under stuff, and the side mounted bag is forever in the way for lefties, lol. Plus it was just generally heavy and it would tire me out more quickly, and it seems like nobody knows to ever empty them or change their belts, and a lot of people run them without disposable bags because they don't know any better too. Lots of people don't do any basic maintenance on their machines for some reason and wonder why they don't work right 😆

Well you’re going to have the same sort of problems with Shark, they’re worse. Mine wasn’t even meant to have the brushroll removed and cleaned, found that out the hard way. That’s basic maintenance for a vacuum, especially when you have pets and humans with long hair. Shark wanted me to buy a whole new powerhead, lol. Good thing my dad and I are handy and jerry-rigged the Shark back together. My mom bought two Dysons. A (I think) DC40 then one of the pet ones with a ball. They were both crap too. The switched kept going out, luckily our vacuum shop doesn’t gouge people on repairs. I took my commercial Sanitaire (not suggesting this beast to average consumers), but the amount of sand it pulled out of her carpet was fascinating. So the Dysons were just sweeping the surface of her carpet. I’m sure the people here will recommend either a Miele or a Sebo. Other good vacuums exist too. I mainly collect and repair older vacuums as a hobby. So I’m not the one to ask. I do know bagged is better and cleaner than bagless, and direct air cleans deeper than a bypass machine. Air flow is what cleans, not suction.

if i can make a suggestion it would be just purchase a commercial vacuum. you’ll be paying much less than you would for a dyson and you’ll be able to easily and cheaply repair it yourself. they’re loud as shit but work well and very simply. i have a sanitaire and it’s been going strong for two years. i had to replace a belt because i accidentally damaged it and i got two for $7.