Hoover, Panasonic and Eureka are all three highly designed and trustworthy vacuums? You have got to be kidding yourself. And the dirt finders are a joke whether it be the microphone or light sensor. And by the way, the Kirby Generation models do clean better than the older models, they have a better designed brushroll that has more aggressive agitation and they have better airflow as well. While I believe the Kirby is overpriced, it has way more airflow than the other vacuums you mentioned and will clean cirlcles around Filter Queen, Rainbow, Panasonic, etc! when it comes to vacuuming carpet. Having said that, it is terrible as a shampooer as all it does is brush soap into your carpet leaving a residue that attracts dirt. Those that use the Kirby shampooer regularly have tons of soap in their carpet which you will notice if you bring in a quality extractor because there will be tons of suds. It is also not a user friendly vacuum as it is hard for most to hook up the attachments. Also,the newer bags do hold dust better than the older single ply bags so they have improved in filtration as well. I wouldnt buy a Kirby new at the price they get for them and I would never use one to shampoo my carpet. But they do a great job of vacuuming carpet which is really all they were designed for in the first place. Shampooer and the other gadgets were added on to try and add value to the machine. And for those of you that didnt know it, Hoover is now owned by Dirt Devil so when you buy a Hoover these days, you are really buying a chinese made Dirt Devil with the Hoover name on it. At least the Kirby is American made

We have used Vacco/Merle West Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning for over 30 years. They have locations in Monrovia, Arcadia and Whittier. They are a Coit company. They use a hot water extraction method and put down walking papers if you request, while the carpet dries. Scotchguarding costs extra. They will measure off the rooms to be cleaned and give you a free estimate. That way you can decide if you want to do those extra areas yourself or have them do it. We usually have just the centers of the rooms and pathways cleaned. Here's their number (626)287-4983 I know there are also lots of other good carpet cleaners around. Seems like Stanley Steemer has been around a long time and would be worth checking out also.

With the system we use the felt (30 lb) goes down first and then the walls are framed on top. The denarco sure seal goes down in between the felt and the bottom wall plate. With the gasket in place, the felt actually "bonds" to the Advantech under the weight of the wall. Sill seal typically is either a closed cell foam or a fibreglass insulation. The weight of the wall ruptures the closed cells and when that happens, it looses its memory capabilities rendering it pretty much useless as a forgiving seal.. The fibreglass insulation just plan leaks. The beauty of the Denarco gasketing is that it is an open cell urethene impregated gasket. Being open cell allows it to open up to whatever gap needs to be filled (depending on the gasket size) and the urethene impregnation makes the gasket airtight when subjected to 60% compression. This allows for a forgiving seal as wood expands and contracts. Caulking under a sole plate is better than nothing, but pretty much a band aid, in regards to longevity. The only kind of caulking that is forgiving is Tremco Acoustical sealant. We call it "black death" because its so hard to work with, without getting it all over everything. 30 lb felt is durable enough to withstand most of the rigors of construction. Care should be taken to "orient" the staple direction for ease of removal later, and you should staple within the last 1/2" of the felt, otherwise too much debris gets under the lap, causing the staples to tear loose. 15lb felt isnt worth the effort.

I cleaned mine recently using a grout cleaner from Home Depot and it did get clean. If you do that, make sure to re-seal afterwards. The grout cleaner I used has bad vapors and you need to have a window open while you work with it. After doing two floors I noticed that someone on the cleaning tips forum had used a Mr.Clean magic eraser, so I tried that in the second bath. It worked fairly well, but not as well as the chemical cleaner. Afterwards, I used a white grout pen. Those things really don't go very far at all, but it was the only way I thought I could stay within the lines. Later, I read that you should put the grout colorant into a hair dye bottle. Duh. I didn't know you could hire someone to do this. Now that you say so, I'm going to pay myself a couple of hundred dollars. Again, don't forget to put a sealer on the grout afterwards to keep it clean for a while.