dlstewart's Full Review: Sharp Twin Energy EC-TU5007 Upright Vacuum
Our office does not hire an outside cleaning agency. Instead, one of the office workers (I’ll call her Clean Bee), comes in early before people arrive at work and whisks around the office emptying trash cans, cleaning the bathrooms ... and vacuuming the carpeted floors. Before you start designing your Worker Abuse Protest sign, let me assure you that Clean Bee is paid for this extra work. A month ago, the office even purchased Clean Bee a new vacuum cleaner – the Sharp Twin Energy Upright Vacuum (Model # EC-TU5007).
Circumstances – Why a new vacuum?
The company owned a Hoover Elite Supreme vacuum that had started to lose some of its ooomph. One of the office personnel has a Dirt Devil bagless vacuum at home that she likes, so she encouraged Clean Bee to try a bagless vacuum. Doubtful, Clean Bee did some research and decided to purchase the Sharp Twin Energy vacuum from an online store (cleanking.com) for $209.95 with free shipping. The vacuum arrived in a cardboard carton measuring 27" long x 16 1/2" wide x 14 1/2" high. Minor assembly was required to attach the handle, but I’m told it only took a few minutes.
Description & Features
This is a nice looking vacuum ... not that I think vacuums are pretty. First looking at this vacuum, it appears that the entire machine is made from plastic. Overall, the colors of this machine are a metallic silver, dark gray and light navy blue. The handle grip and body of the machine are silver, while the cord, built-in hose, attachments and back of the vacuum are dark gray. The bagless cannister handle is blue as well as a wide strip of blue along the front edge of the vacuum. (The blue color probably makes it easier to see where the vacuum is moving on the carpet.) A silver metal pole extends between the plastic handle grip and vacuum body. The bagless cannister is a tinted plastic.
This vacuum came with two extension wands, an upholstery brush, and crevice tool. The crevice tool snaps into place on the back of the vacuum so that it is always handy. Someone in the company has misplaced the upholstery brush, not that we have any upholstery to clean with it. A recessed hole in the back of the machine acts as a carrying handle.
* 15" wide metal agitator
* 6-stage filter system
* Selector for bare floor or rug cleaning
* Twin energy motor – 12 amps / 1300 watts
* Power supply is AC 120V, 60 Hz
* Protective motor bypass system to avoid breaking fan blades
* Bagless with disposal cannister that holds 2.3 liters
* Automatic height adjustment detects carpet height
* Edge cleaning
* Front headlight
* Cord length is 35 feet
* Quiet at 69 db
* Weight 21 pounds
* Dimensions are 16" wide x 14 1/3" high x 45 1/4" deep
Using the Vacuum -- My Experience
Clean Bee is not in the office every day, and sometimes I need to vacuum my work area. Not that I’m extremely messy, but part of my job involves ordering glitter for the art department. If you’ve ever done crafts, you know how messy glitter can become. I don’t like leaving my work area glitter decorated for long or else it is too easy to track glitter around the office. Today was one of those days I needed to vacuum my area.
I pulled the Sharp vacuum out of the supply closet and wheeled it down the hall toward my work area. It is very easy to maneuver. The two wheels are 2 1/2" in diameter and work well. I unwrapped the cord from the cord-wrap at the back of the machine. This is a long cord measuring 35-feet!
A plastic pedal at ground level, at the right of the machine, releases the vacuum from its upright position so that the handle tilts for easy pushing. The headlight automatically lights, though I found it useless in a well-lit building.
There is a large plastic switch at floor level at the left of the machine. This switches the option from bare-floor cleaning to rug-beating action. It’s simple to adjust the switch with the foot, or lean over to operate it by hand. The vacuum handle is easy to grasp and comfortable to hold.with the on/off switch on top of the handle. The on/off switch is a large round gray button. A touch of a finger moves the button to turn on the machine.
First I used the bare-floor option to clean the plastic chairmat in front of my desk. I couldn’t believe how quiet this machine operates. The vacuum easily cleaned the mat. With my toe, I flipped the switch to the rug-beating mode. The noise level dramatically increased. Still, compared to my Oreck upright vacuum cleaner at home (which sounds like an aircraft trying to takeoff), the Sharp Twin Engine is quiet by comparison. The vacuum beautifully cleaned the rug.
Then I ran into a problem. The machine bumped the bottom edge of a desk drawer, and the plastic grill section beneath the bagless cannister fell to the floor. I snapped the grill back into place. Three times I bumped the vacuum against furniture, and three times the grill fell off. Thankfully this piece snaps back into position. I mentioned this to the co-worker who owns the Dirt Devil bagless vacuum, and she said that the Dirt Devil was lower to the ground and more easily fit beneath pieces of furniture ... however, since the Dirt Devil was lower, it was more difficult to wheel around. So, perhaps it is a trade-off. The Sharp is built higher off the floor, making it difficult to clean beneath low pieces of furniture, but the Sharp is easy to push.
Since the vacuum did not reach under my desk, I needed to use the built-in hose attachment. A large plastic lever on the right side of the vacuum (about 16" from the floor), flips upward to change the airflow so that the hose attachment works. I was not impressed. The end of the hose telescopes for size (when it stays in place, which was not often). I found it awkward to use the hose and attachments. The air pressure was minimal, too. The hose opening is about 1 1/4" in diameter. It easily picked up small particles and dust. It resisted two out of four loose staples on the floor, finally sucking them into the tube. It did grab a Post-it Note sheet, but it ignored the torn edge of copier paper. When I placed my hand over the hose, the suction was very weak. I was not happy with the cleaning performance of the hose attachment.
The vacuum cleaner also has a built-in edge cleaner with brush along the right side of the machine. The name “edge cleaner” is a bit misleading since this edge feature is recessed. I had to use the crevice attachment for close cleaning against furniture or walls.
This machine is heavy and unwieldy to lift, even when using the recessed carrying handle. The handle is good for lifting the vacuum over raised doorway entries, but I would not want to wrestle it up and down flights of stairs. The good news is that this is a sturdy vacuum. It has never fallen over while in use.
Vacuuming Bagless – The Cannister
Using this Sharp Twin Energy is my first experience with a bagless vacuum. The office cleaner is very impressed with it. The first time she used the vacuum, she could not believe the amount of filth the Sharp pulled out of the carpet. I have to admit that it is eye-opening to see how much dirt gathers in the tinted cannister.
After my latest vacuuming adventure, I noticed the cannister looked full. Sure enough, I could see dirt near the “full” mark. So I pushed down on the button that released the cannister from the machine. The cannister has two parts: the cannister itself, plus an insert. The insert has a round disk at the top of the cannister (to hold in the dirt and refuse), and projecting from this circle is a straight piece of plastic that resembles a solid tube. It is necessary to remove the insert before emptying the cannister over a trash can.
I could not believe the amount of dirt, hair and who-knows-what that this vacuum picked up. Ick! The insert is designed so that the air flows in circular fashion around the cannister. A ribbon of lint material was wrapped around the insert’s straight tube. The lint had to be unwound from the tube by hand. When I upended the cannister over the trash can, most of the dirt fell out of the cannister. However, a tangle of lint and dirt remained at the bottom of the cannister and had to be manually scooped out and thrown away. This was not a clean-hands operation.
When I reinserted the cannister into the vacuum, I noticed that the outside of the cannister looked dirty. Examining the vacuum, not only is the outside of the cannister dirty, but the entire front area of the vacuum is a dusty mess from when the cannister was pulled free from the machine.
Claims & Comparison
Sharp says: “uniquely designed agitator creates more air flow while loosening deep down dirt”.
True ... this machine cleans carpets very well.
Sharp says: ׄ stage HEPA type-filter helps keep room air clean by filtering 99% of particles as small as 5.0 microns”.
The vote is out on this one. I vacuumed, sat down at my desk, and then I started to sneeze. So something was in the air ... perhaps those particles larger than 5.0 microns.
Sharp says: “Library Quiet operation is 15% quieter than standard upright vacuums”.
This vacuum is definitely quieter than my standard upright Oreck vacuum at home.
Sharp says: “Protective Motor Bypass System protects the motor and fans from damage caused by hard objects including coins and paper clips”.
It’s nice to know this feature is in place. I haven’t vacuumed up any coins or paperclips, so I just have to assume this feature works.
Summary
Would I buy this vacuum for home use? I would want to test drive other brands before deciding. I like the Sharp Twin Energy vacuum’s cleaning power on rugs and bare surfaces. Other vacuum cleaners I have used sound like jets leaving a runway, so the Sharp’s quieter noise level is appreciated. However, I don’t like the fact that part of this vacuum falls off when it bumps into furniture. The vacuum is built higher than the vacuum cleaners I’m used to, making it more difficult to vacuum beneath furniture low to the ground. Also, I was not impressed with the hose attachment, and its lack of air flow. If I were only cleaning large areas of rug or floor with little furniture, then this is a good vacuum. However, with my furniture-filled house, I’m not convinced this is the vacuum for me.
I’m recommending this machine, but with the caveat of please try it before you buy it.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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