You are probably wondering why I am reviewing a vacuum on a blog that is supposed to be about veterinary information. Well anyone that has pets especially ones with long furry hair understands the need to have a good vacuum. I happen to have a long haired cat who also is unfortunately very messy. Not only do I have to worry about cleaning up her fur, I also deal with tracked cat litter and spilled food! So you can imagine I have to vacuum all the time. Before I got the Rainbow vacuum, I dealt with the upright vacuum cleaners which continuously would get clogged. Some vacuums I would literally have to disassemble just to unclog the fur and the food. I would also have to deal with loss of suction. This often would result in cat litter remaining in the head of the vacuum. Consequently, the next time I would use the vacuum, the litter would spread all over the floor like a seed spreader. So finally I said enough is enough! I needed to find a vacuum that worked. A friend of mine who use to sell vacuums door to door told me about the Rainbow vacuum. So I decided to do research on it. Majority of the reviews were good but the only problem was the price. A new one is anywhere between $1500-$2000. That price range is nowhere near anything I would consider paying for a vacuum. But with my research, I also discovered that rebuilt versions were available for a fraction of the cost. However, that fraction still cost me over $400! But I was desperate and still decided to go ahead with the purchase. It was the best decision that I made. I have had the vacuum for almost 2 years now and no more clogged hoses, no more spreading of the cat litter like seed, and no more loss of suction. Other neat features of the Rainbow vacuum include a pretty powerful suction, and it does not require any belts or bags. It actually uses a canister that uses water as a filter so there is no dust at all!
Even though this is a great vacuum, there are some things I don’t like about the Rainbow vacuum. One is that the design not aesthetically pleasing. It reminds me of a vacuum from 70’s. Luckily, I am more concerned with how it functions rather than how it looks. Also clean up can be quite challenging. The water canister needs to be cleaned after each vacuuming. You may empty it either down the sink or down the toilet but that may become a plumbing hazard especially if there is a large amount of debris. I am fortunate to have a wooded area in the back of my residence which allows me to dump the contents out. I then spray the canister out with a garden hose. You also have to be careful that you don’t leave the motor unit on the canister while it is full of water otherwise the motor unit will rust. The vacuum is bulky, heavy and comes with many parts so storage can be challenging. If you don’t have much room then this vacuum may not be for you.
Besides that challenges I have mentioned, I still think the Rainbow is a great vacuum. If you have many pets or pets with long hair that leave a large mess you should strongly consider it. Especially if like me had problems with your vacuum getting clogged with pet hair and debris. Is it the best vacuum for pets? Well for me it has been better than any upright I have purchased in the past. I would love to hear from others the success they had with other vacuums in cleaning up their pet areas.
Rainbow Canister Vacuum
469.99
Pros
- Powerful Suction
- No need for filter
- No bags or belts
- Multiple accessories
Cons
- Bulky, difficult to store
- Clean up can be challenging
- Can be pricey
I’d love a Dyson one day and have heard good things about the Shark. I settled on a Hoover T-Series WindTunnel Pet Rewind Bagless Upright Vaccum,
I have had both. But the shark is what I left behind when I got the rainbow! Love it!
This is fantastic site for vacuum suggest, I like the Dyson Dc24-Animal compact.
Yes, definitely who has pets with long furry hair need to have a good vacuum. Especially the best on pet hairs type of vacuum, I know the Dyson has the animal vacuum which is made for pet hairs. You mentioned price is $1500 to $2000 of a Rainbow vacuum, it is huge, but after using 2 years you still now happy with it, it is amazing info.
This is an awesome guideline for buying a pet vacuum. Thanks to admin for this wonderful article. I jsut love it !
I HATE my 2013 rainbow vacuum! Paid $3000 for the damn thing plus in order to get it for that price they wanted me to give them my Kirby vacuum to get the “discount “. The husband insisted and I thought the price was insane. Yeah it seemed to have great features, but the price is unjustifiable. now that Ive owed it for 3 years I feel I can give an honest review on the product. It’s junk. I have been extremely careful with it treating it like a diamond to take care of it because it’s so expensive I wanted it to last a lifetime like it should for that kind of price. It not only isn’t lasting a lifetime it’s not holding up after 3 years,in fact the first thing to break was less then a year after I got it. The canister base broke off, the button you push to release the canister cracked because it’s cheap plastic. Then the wheel fell off. Next the tab to put the cleanable filter broke so it doesn’t fit properly . Keeping it clean is a pain, I have to clean my vacuum every time I use it, not just the water basin but the actual vacuum needs to be cleaned out because the hose on the base is so tiny the dog hair clogs it up constantly. It has lost so much suction over the past 3 years I can’t suck up the sand off my hard wood that my kids dragged in last night I had to sweep instead. The wand now completely quit working so I can’t use it on my couch, it only works if the floor part is attached. I am so incredibly angry. I’ve been looking to buy a new vacuum already and feel sick about it because this was supposed to last much much longer, especially considering I’ve taken such good care of it! Do NOT waste your money. The water tank concept is great, but the quality is herendious! Maybe they used to make them out of quality materials and maybe that’s how they got a good name and why some people swear by them, they probably have an older version that was built good. But like everything nowadays they lower the quality and raise the price deceiving customers into thinking they’re getting as good of a product t asyhe one they bought 15 or20 years ago. Not the same thing as it once was!
Contact Rainbow. They are supposed to have a good warrenty.
Love my Rainbow, Super easy; maintenance! I have owned mine for 7 Years and would never go back to
a regular vacuum, I have pets and lots of dust and this takes care of the problems immediately. Many complain about
the maintenance but you have to maintain or it wont work, same with regular vacuums, that’s why so many of them only last for a couple of years.
My Rainbow is the best, it also purifies my air and keeps unwanted smell out, How does a regular vacuum do that… I doesn’t , it blows dirt and dust back
into the air polluting your house!
The Rainbow blows all other vacuum’s out of the water. The price is heavy but consider it the last piece of cleaning equipment you will ever have to buy.
Great article it helped me a lot,Thanks
I paid 1400 for the Rainbow and agree it was a good investment due to 5 cats and a dog dropping hair. You can even vacuum the pet if you use an attachment which allows airflow on the opening like for upholstery. Put just a drop of dawn dish soap in the water and it will help prevent fleas from crawling out as they get sucked up.
I’ve had a Rainbow vacuum for over 10 years.
Best purchase I’ve ever made! Absolutely great for pet hair.
I find it worth the money and the cleaning of it a very small price to pay!
I purchased my rainbow 30 years ago! I LOVE IT! I paid $1700 back THEN! My husband was a little angry and says I will have it as a companion in my coffin! But I bought one because my Mom had one growing up and it really is the best. My daughters hated it using it growing up- canister- bulky. But when they moved out on their own, THEY MISSED IT!!! Nothing cleans as well, and IT NEVER SMELLS!! Being able to quickly switch to attachments is a plus too! My rep when I purchased recommended spraying a little WD-40 in the water before using to capture airborne dust that isn’t water soluble. I also use essential oil drops. Even tho it is a little
heavy and you have to clean it each time, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Now we have cats- which I think I’m still allergic- and I’m hoping it will help me keep their dander to a minimum so I can keep them!!!