A Clean Like No Other There are things about this vacuum that I LOVE and HATE! It is heavy but luckily I have a single story home so no upstairs. The suction is GREAT! You are going to read other reviews about this vacuum not filtering well. To me, that’s the best thing about this vacuum. The filtration is excellent if you use the machine properly! I read others saying that you have a mess to dump out at the end and have to go outside or dump it down the toilet with a strainer etc. I don’t have any of these problems because I change the water FREQUENTLY and just dump it down the sink when it looks like dirty mop water.When I first got the Rainbow, I had to change it about 5 times vacuuming my 1400 sq ft house with wall to wall carpet, now I can vacuum the whole house on one fill of water without having to change the water so often. If you continue vacuuming with a basin full of “MUD”, this is when you are going to run into problems like water has to be taken outside and dumped because it’s too thick to dump down the sink or in toilet, the dirt that you’re vacuuming up will bounce right off the mud, go into the hepa filter or back out into the air (if your model doesn’t have a hepa). It is an added inconvenience to stop and dump the water down the sink every 10 min’s or so, but hey, you can dump it down the sink and don’t have this pot of mud to deal with, put fresh clean water in and continue vacuuming. I know there is controversy regarding water capturing dirt. I say water does capture the dirt and very well! If it didn’t, I would have a NASTY hepa filter after three years and the thing is still snow white on BOTH sides. I’ve never seen any other vacuum cleaner’s hepa filter stay clean that long. No, you can’t vacuum non wettable dirt like talc powder or fireplace ashes or drywall dust (those materials are not wettable) and will go straight onto the hepa, but most household dirt doesn’t contain these materials. Drywall dust is TERRIBLE for ANY VACUUM!!The machine still smells fantastic! I’ve taken care of it though. It also works as a blower. I cleaned the refridge coils and the design of the coils were such that they couldn’t be reached even with the smallest attachment. So I turned the hose around to the blow and placed the Rainbow so that when I blew the dust out, the Rainbow intake would capture it. It worked! It also has an air cleaner though I’m not completely sold on the low speed air cleaning feature. It doesn’t seem to move much air. I also am not crazy about the power nozzle. It looks nice but something about the way it’s designed seems to choke off some of the airflow. I think there are a couple of better power nozzles on the market that will fit the Rainbow that are much better, though this one still works decently, just not overly impressed by it. There is an optional 14 foot wet/dry hose you can purchase and this thing is WONDERFUL. I have high ceilings and I can get on a step ladder in my house and get way up on the kitchen cabinets, ceiling fans, and any other high areas that collect dust while the rainbow sits on the floor. You can’t do this with the standard six foot wet/dry hose that comes with it. The wands are stainless steel and will not rust inside. You can buy essential oil scented and put a couple of drops in it and it smells AWESOME while cleaning. Even though you’re changing the water often these bottles of scented oil last FOREVER it seems. You can also put these drops of oil in a regular vacuum bag but it just doesn’t smell as good to me. Something about the dust in the bag mixing with the smell of the oil isn’t the greatest.Conclusion: Would I pay 1700 dollars for this vacuum brand new? NO! Do I recommend this vacuum? YES!!! If you think you are the type of person that can deal with the extra maintenance, then I say get on refurbished from a REPUTABLE vacuum shop ONLINE or LOCALLY for much less money! I wouldn’t buy one from someone “just selling” their Rainbow because if that’s the case, it hasn’t been cleaned and refurbished. There are even vacuum shops on the internet that recondition Rainbows with original Rexair parts. Other vacuums may work good and are more convenient, but there’s no other clean like using this machine if used properly.

Rainbow vs. Dyson The only way you can truly judge the effectiveness of any vacuum is to use it in your own home.I’ve owned a Rainbow E Series vacuum for the last 12 years. Vacuumed dirt gets trapped in the water basin and it’s true there is no dust of any kind that comes out of the exhaust. I’ve always felt suction was ok because it would pick up anything off hard floors and there would always be carpet filth after vacuuming the carpet.A friend of mine recently bought a Dyson DC07 Absolute so I borrowed it to compare to my Rainbow.NO COMPARISON!The Dyson suction was so tremendous I had to empty the canister 9 times just from vacuuming the carpet! I couldn’t believe the amount of filth the Dyson pulled out and the Rainbow was leaving behind.I will say the Dyson suction may be a little too powerful. If you have older carpet, like I do, it tends to rip out carpet that may have been hanging on by a thread.The Rainbow is easier to clean up. I pour the canister contents down the storm drain and hose out the inside. The Dyson has fine dust clinging to the inside of the canister. This had to be dusted off over the trash can. I’m very allergic to dust so I had to make sure not to kick up any dust when cleaning. I found using a Swiffer Duster did the job well.The Dyson as constructed can not reach under furniture less than 9 inches above the floor without using hose attachments. The Rainbow’s reach was about 4 inches.I paid $1200 new for my Rainbow and the Dyson sells around $600. Overall I think the Dyson is a much better value and would replace my Rainbow for a Dyson.