Why don’t we have silent vacuum cleaners yet?

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Mostly-Useless_4007@reddit

I was in Costco this weekend and an employee was cleaning. His backpack vacuum made zero sound. I was a bit shocked, but these do exist.

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Zoroark2724@reddit

There was some sort of test done, where people were given one vacuum that was really loud, and one that was really quiet. Both had the exact same amount of suction.

When people tried the vacuums, they said that the louder one was stronger, therefore the better vacuum.

So it is possible to have quiet vacuums, but people associate loud=stronger, so companies make their vacuums loud to make it seem “better” because of that.

In Japan, on the other hand, vacuums are quiet because it’s necessary that they’re quiet for apartment living.

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Mxysptlik@reddit

This is the correct answer. People are dumb.

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maximumdownvote@reddit

You can pretty much answer every question and problem in modern society with, "yeah that's bs. But people are dumb, so..."

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TesuraGrimm@reddit

I have extremely sensitive ears. Have to wear earplugs every time I use any vacuum, air compressor etc.

I learned about that test probably 10 years ago or so. I am still furious over how people judged them.

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SEND_MOODS@reddit

Marketing psychology is such a neat field. It's consistently frustrating but also almost inspiring how dumb humans can be.

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BaconWrappedEnigmas@reddit

The Burger King 1/3 pounder failing because people thought it was smaller than the 1/4 from McDonalds is another great example

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WastePermission9620@reddit

Now tbf, quarter pounder does sound cooler than third pounder.

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EliaGenki@reddit

Royale with cheese sounds even better

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ElectricalGas9730@reddit

Technically better than a half pounder, because two patties are better than one.

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Artsy_traveller_82@reddit

Lol! That shouldn’t even make sense but there is a marginal textural difference between biting into two patties and biting into one twice as big.

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movie_man@reddit

Of course there is. You get twice as much “outside”, which has been cooked directly on the grill.

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Artsy_traveller_82@reddit

In Australia we just stuck with the double 1/4 pounder and left it at that.

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BaconWrappedEnigmas@reddit

Honestly I feel like that’s cuz somehow people would be dumb enough to think 1/2 is either smaller or way too much meat

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Nah, it’s largely because it fits the Aussie sense of humour. Mathematically you’re SUPPOSED to reduce fractions to their simplest form, but double 1/4 pounder has a nice goofy ring to it. We even had an ad about it.

“I’m a genius Suze! I just invented a double 1/4 pounder with cheese”\ “You should call it a half pounder.”\ “Why?”

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AVEnjoyer@reddit

Nah it's because 1/4 is the menu item and double is a mod. You can also double Big Mac, cheeseburger whatever else

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turnsout_im_a_potato@reddit

a double cheeseburger is also a menu item, a double big mac is not. the double quarter pounder has its spot on the menu, and its own special box

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AVEnjoyer@reddit

I get double Big Mac all the time when I want to take down a big big burger

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Way2trivial@reddit

At least they have an excellent humorous response to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMNqJQaf08E

"Turns out, Americans are just terrible at math, like really bad"

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JustPlayDaGame@reddit

this is fucking hilarious lol

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repocin@reddit

Ugh, same. I hate how loud vacuum cleaners are, especially when people put them on max when it isn't necessary.

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gc3@reddit

But Japanese vaccums with a plug adaotor

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Jeeperman365@reddit

Probably the same people that think making their cars loud adds extra horse power.

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BrowningLoPower@reddit

I hate how true this is.

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agent674253@reddit

Remember, a 1/3 pounder is smaller than a quarter-pounder (with or without cheese)!

/s

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Way2trivial@reddit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMNqJQaf08E

"Turns out, Americans are just terrible at math, like really bad"

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Xenozip3371Alpha@reddit

It's the same reason air spray has a scent, people didn't think the scentless one was doing anything.

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fluiflux@reddit

In the EU, the power of (household) vacuum cleaners is limited by law to something like 2kW or 2.2kW, for this exact reason. They only get louder and the manufacturers were unnecessarily waging a power war, with more power (and power consumption, and noise) with every new model. The EU put a stop to that, and ever since, the vacuums are vacuuming without an unnecessary power overhead.

My Miele is probably around 30 years old and will outlive me (bought it used around 15 years ago for 5€). It's a beast, and consumes only 1200W.

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thunder_y@reddit

I heard this from someone working in the car industry: a big car manufacturer had complaints on a premium model that it was too slow. They made the exhaust louder and the complaints were gone

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thissucksnuts@reddit

Why did BKs 1/3lb burger fail? Cuz McDs already had the 1/4lb for the same price.

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duke113@reddit

I think there was a car manufacturer who specifically changed the sound profile of the doors closing to sound more "premium". People like a heavy sounding door

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bizwig@reddit

Rolls Royce removed sound deadening on its Ghost because during testing drivers were terribly bothered by a near silent car. I don’t know why that would bother anyone, or why they got the veto over drivers who weren’t bothered.

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Toeffli@reddit

The sound helps you with keeping a constant and steady speed. when you are not using cruise control. Otherwise 130 km/h and 150 km/h are nearly indistinguishable apart from speedometer.

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riarws@reddit

I don’t know why it bothered drivers. It certainly is a problem for blind pedestrians!

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bizwig@reddit

Why? It’s the interior that’s quiet, not the exterior.

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riarws@reddit

I misunderstood and thought the quiet was more extensive.

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Vespasian79@reddit

The door at least makes sense to me because when closing it I can audibly hear if it’s closed fully or not ya know?

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bent_my_wookie@reddit

Harley Davidson has even patented the literal sound of their engines.

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Compayo@reddit

Make it sound like a gigantic Cadillac from the 70's.

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StormFallen9@reddit

They also program in "gears" to CVTs to give cars the Fun Noise™️ even though it's less efficient because people like it that way

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SEND_MOODS@reddit

Lots of vehicles play fake engine noise over speakers, because the cabins are so well insulated that they can't hear the actual engine, which makes people think the engine isn't powerful enough.

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whitestone0@reddit

Car companies spend a lot of money in R&D to engineer the sound of everything on the car, including door sounds. It's just not for luxury cars

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Zealousideal_Cod5214@reddit

Ah, so it's the 1/3 pound vs 1/4 pound burger thing all over again...

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ortolon@reddit

Louder suction is somehow more satisfying, I agree 😉

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ortolon@reddit

It's like antiseptic that stings.

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RogerGodzilla99@reddit

There was a very similar issue with continuously variable transmissions when they were first becoming popular. A continuously variable transmission makes the engine more efficient by keeping it at its peak power point or its peak fuel efficiency point. When people were driving them, however, they thought that the car was broken and couldn't articulate why. The reason was because the car sounded like a constant hum when they were expecting it to do the multi-step vroom, vroom, vroom that it normally does when accelerating and shifting gears. Because of this, I do not know a single modern day car with a continuously variable transmission that does not have software locking it into specific bands, which reduces the lifetime of the CVT and removes the only reason why you would want a CVT.

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Kytzer@reddit

Can I get Japanese skincare products and Japanese appliances without Japanese work culture?

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murphsmodels@reddit

No. It comes built in.

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CeruleanFirefawx@reddit

This reminds me of when people said the “quarter pounder” was larger than the 1/3 pounder at McDonald’s lmao

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JohnMaddensBurner@reddit

This was an A&W executive’s reasoning for their failure btw. That’s where this narrative comes from.

Which is crazy because A&W has never been a successful company in my lifetime. People weren’t buying their burger because nobody cared about A&W.

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murphsmodels@reddit

I always went to A&W because their root beer from the tap tastes better than bottled or canned, and I could buy a gallon of it in a little keg.

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turnsout_im_a_potato@reddit

i believe culvers was created by a couple who had franchised an a&w and though, ya know, i bet i could do this better.

iirc thats why culvers logo is the way it is, the circle around culvers name was a piece of the a&w logo

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TFielding38@reddit

It was A&W that had the 1/3 pounder burger. A couple years ago they brought it back as the 3/9th pound burger.

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CeruleanFirefawx@reddit

You are correct! They were competing with McDonald’s, though. That was my confusion. Still hilarious.

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TuvixHadItComing@reddit

Similarly:

Febreeze originally was unscented and worked just as well. But people testing it were like "yeah I don't smell anything, how do I know it worked?"

Not smelling anything is how you know it worked! But they ended up adding a (nice, though a bit strong for my taste) scent to it. So Febreeze magically neutralizes odours except for itself.

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Dayv1d@reddit

Thats what i expected buying a new vacuum recently, but the louder miele was DEFINITELY more powerful, than the allegedly even (more expensive) "quiet" version, so im not sure about that

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iimuffinsaur@reddit

Bruh so instead of forcing myself to get used to vacuums japan got the good ones 😭

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afcagroo@reddit

I worked at a company that made a low cost PC for developing countries. It did poorly in initial trials. People thought that since it was very small, it must be wimpy. So we put it in a much bigger case and it tested much better.

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Bionic_Ferir@reddit

Honestly it just takes Dyson ONE GOOD ad campaign to stop this.

New Dyson silent suck, our most powerful and quite vaccum.

Boom done.

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YesterShill@reddit

Same reason Americans thought a 1/3 lb burger was smaller than a 1/4 pounder.

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seang239@reddit

They brought it back as the 3/9 lb burger.

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flip314@reddit

But the McDonalds 4/16ths is even larger!

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temujin_borjigin@reddit

Do they still call that a third pounder or is it a three ninths pounder?

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foxbeswifty32@reddit

Similar to loading screens. A lot of loading screens aren’t technical limits, they’re psychological ones. Devs include them because users expect them.

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Boomerang_comeback@reddit

I believe this. I had a vacuum built-in to the house where I lived once. You just hooked the hose up to the receptacle on the wall. Everything would just end up in a basement canister.

It was completely quiet, and it worked great, but I always felt like it wasn't very powerful. I just couldn't get used to it.

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Maybeitsmeraving@reddit

Omg, those old Rainbow vacuums. Those things were excellent.

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Marquar234@reddit

At least one study found that people thought that bad-tasting medicines were more effective.

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Maybeitsmeraving@reddit

I'm convinced this is a thing with shoes. I sold shoes for almost a decade and people would preferentially buy the UGLIEST shoes, because they were SO comfortable. I tried on basically everything we carried. We definitely had shoes just as comfortable or more that weren't as ugly. But the ones that really looked comfortable were consistently picked out as most comfy.

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ruminajaali@reddit

Just like the association with soap lather and cleanliness. Soaps are given lather to appeal to humans

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Cereborn@reddit

I’ve heard this before and I want to know who the hell was in that focus group.

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ThePantyArcher@reddit

I don't believe you.

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_dontseeme@reddit

Similar to the ingredient added to toothpaste to make it foam bc it makes people think it’s working better. This ingredient also destroys the caps on your taste buds, making butter things taste more bitter until they’re restored.

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Basil_9@reddit

Where can i buy one of these japanese vaccums?

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Andthentherewasbacon@reddit

I love the answers under this one haha.

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Immediate_Fortune_91@reddit

People equate quieter with being weaker.

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quad5914@reddit

They do exist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W2cVKbWqUA&t=429s

Not sure about the louder=perceived as more powerful study but I don't doubt it

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ortolon@reddit

In the 70s, central vac systems were all the rage. The motor and fan unit was outside, and tubes ran into each room through the walls. You'd carry the hose unit to each room and connect it to a receptical in the wall. All you heard was a quiet "whoosh" down at your feet.

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Pispri@reddit

That’s called a brush or broom

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McKayha@reddit

It can be done, but you gotta take size into consideration. I've designed axial and centrifugal impeller and compressors for the last few years and I can absolutely make you a quiet (sub 70db) vacuum cleaner that performs much stronger than Dyson. But it has a diameter of 160mm. Including a much bigger but lower rpm 24volt motor. Maybe for 2 lbs heavier than Dyson.

But do you think the number one purchaser category or vacuum would want something this big?

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djmere@reddit

How much for one with a similar charging stand?

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WhyWontThisWork@reddit

I'm in

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sudowooduck@reddit

Central vacuums are about as quiet as a vac can be. You hear some rushing air but almost nothing else. The motor and canister are typically in the basement.

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I-own-a-shovel@reddit

Yeah you hear nothing on the second floor, but on the first floor it’s still kind of noisy, not too too bad, but would definitely wake up someone. And for the people in the basement it’s noisy as fuck. We had ours a closet and it was annoying af to be in the basement while it was running.

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skintigh@reddit

Mine isn't nearly that loud, yours may be worn out.

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I-own-a-shovel@reddit

It was like that since day one, but it’s more than 20 years old now, so perhaps newer models are quieter now

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Basic_Dentist_3084@reddit

I think there is something wrong with your vac system. Our’s we can’t hear on the first floor at all and in the basement it’s only noticeable when you’re in the maintenance room.

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I-own-a-shovel@reddit

Perhaps, it’s a 23 years old model we got it brand new with the house when it was built. It was always like this.

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Xelikai_Gloom@reddit

You’re at a store, and there are two vacuums. One makes normal noises and costs $230, the other is silent and constant $450.

Which vacuum are you buying?

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ground__contro1@reddit

I’d need to read some reviews on longevity before spending 450 but I’d consider it

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fonk_pulk@reddit

$450. I usually wear ear protection when I vacuum and a silent one would be great.

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D-F-B-81@reddit

You do realize youre part of the minority on this one right?

I love to spend money on quality, but thats not even a thing nowadays.

Bought Samsung appliances. (Years ago)

Top end. Gorgeous units. Broken within 13 months. One month out of warranty...

I could have bought 8 cheap ass old school dial machines and paid for storage of 7 of them, and just replaced those with the extras I already had and it would have saved me money in the long run.

Also, the vast majority of americans dont have more than a month or two bills set aside for emergencies.

So yeah.. im buying the 230 one so I can have clean clothes for a little bit, because the car needs work and I need the car to get to work. The kids need to eat, and theyre growing so the eat literally more and more everyday. But I cant get a raise. Can't have a second job due to time restraints ( see : children)

So what do you do?

Imagine yourself in that scenario (of which more people are living than not) and ask yourself are you spending 450 on that vacuum when you cant afford it, or buying the cheap one and stealing earplugs or buying super cheap ones to compensate?

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bedir56@reddit

I love to spend money on quality, but thats not even a thing nowadays. Bought Samsung appliances. (Years ago)

Samsung doesn't make quality appliances.
You're missing the point of the discussion. It's not about paying extra for "quality" (longevity) or about how many people can afford the more expensive product. It's about paying extra for added value, in this case in the form of quietness. Everyone is willing to pay extra for added value to some extent (otherwise we would all have the cheapest most basic version of everything) but not everyone values the same qualities.

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D-F-B-81@reddit

1: Yes. We know that now. Not the case 15 yrs ago when I bought my first house and splurged on "brand new, top of the line" appliances...

2: Those appliances were bought with the same initial thought... that there was added "value" to those particular model numbers because they fit what we wanted the best. Whether it be quietness, efficiency, or just looks cooler...

The exact same as spending more for a quieter version.

Kind of like how, with a vacuum, im gonna spend 50 more bucks on a model thats "better" for pet hair because I have pets... Theres more value in that aspect of the product, than the other features, to me. But im also only going to do that if I have the expendable income to do so. Im not going to just "not vacuum" my house because I cant afford a "pet hair" vacuum. Im gonna buy the cheapest one available to me, and deal with it.

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bedir56@reddit

It's perfectly fine that you value how well a vacuum performs with pet hair or even just the price of the product. That just means that you're not the target audience for a more expensive vacuum. No one is forcing you to buy something you don't want.

But this does not have anything to do with the original question. It's fair that you wouldn't pay more for a quiet vacuum but why argue against someone else that would pay extra? Should they not be allowed to buy what they want because of your values or your economic situation? In that case, there are millions of people who can only afford a broom for cleaning so no one should buy a vacuum.

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iceunelle@reddit

The silent one, hands down. I have tinnitus and I’m VERY cautious about exposing myself to noise. I wear earplugs and over ear headphones currently when I vacuum.

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SAD-MAX-CZ@reddit

You need silencer on suck pipe, out pipe, and sound insulation around the entire thing. Also super optimized suck fan, with slow speed (3000 or 3600 rpm) induction motor. Those are big and expensive, used only in industrial settings, and still pretty loud.

Or get a central vacuum system, that moves the noisy bits elsewhere and allows those big heavy silencers and sound insulation.

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ghoti00@reddit

Why don't we have self-cleaning floors yet?

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Thexorretor@reddit

We literlally do. Robots will vacuum and mop your floor for you.

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ghoti00@reddit

No we don't. That's a vacuum.

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Soft_Refuse_4422@reddit

I bought a Tineco S11 a few years back because I wanted a battery vacuum but couldn’t afford a Dyson. Pretty quiet, I even used it with infants sleeping in the house. Quiet vacuums exist but even on max power it’s not as strong as my plug-in vacuum (which I only bust out a couple times a year)

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Scav-STALKER@reddit

Have you ever looked at or thought about how a vacuum works? To move air quickly enough to pick things up is gonna cause noise, and if it’s got spinning rollers those are gonna make noise.

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ForeskinAbsorbtion@reddit

Have you ever thought that someone already solved this problem? I mean cars are pretty quiet considering you're literally exploding gasoline in an enclosed space hundreds or thousands of times per minute.

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Scav-STALKER@reddit

What a horrible comparison

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ForeskinAbsorbtion@reddit

Not at all. You're talking about moving air quickly. Quiet vacuum cleaners have already been invented.

They have made cars very quiet despite it literally being many explosions. Listen to a drag car.

Just look stuff up before you think something hasn't been done.

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Scav-STALKER@reddit

I’ve never heard a drag car that was close to quiet, but apparently the quiet vacuums aren’t quiet enough for OP thus my comment.

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SEND_MOODS@reddit

Cabin insulates you from engine noise, and there's a ton of mass in the engine to absorb those sounds. The explosion happening in an enclosed space actually helps reduce the sound signature

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ForeskinAbsorbtion@reddit

Listen to a car without an exhaust. Your ears will hurt. There's a lot more than mass and the cabin to quiet a car.

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iheartnjdevils@reddit

And fucking leaf blowers. And lawnmowers while we're at it. My windows face our community garden area and on the other side of the fence are like 5 houses that spawn the building. Between how awful the sound carries in this open space, shitty windows (I hate renting) and the fact they each do their lawn a different day, it feels like that's all I ever hear.

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Ok-East-515@reddit

Lawnmowers should become loads more quiet when (or if?) they're made electric.

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Commander1709@reddit

And electric leaf blowers are already a thing, I see them occasionally. And yes, they're much quieter.

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74orangebeetle@reddit

My robot vacuum lets you adjust between several settings, do you can choose between more suction or less noise.

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foxbeswifty32@reddit

Similar to loading screens. A lot of loading screens aren’t technical limits, they’re psychological ones. Devs include them because users expect them.

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Defiant_Print_2114@reddit

Use a manual push sweeper. Clean floors and a light workout. Boom!

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Jg6915@reddit

Because big noise = big suckk according to dumb people. It’s the same with everything that produces “power”. A loud car will have people thinking it’s got a powerful engine, a loud vacuum will have people thinking it’s got the best suction power, even speaking loudly is considered better because reasons.

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dunnodudes@reddit

They would suck

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AnAntsyHalfling@reddit

It's the same reason Febreeze is scented. People associate the louder sound (perfume in the case of Febreeze) with cleanliness despite quiet versions (scentless versions) working just as well.

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TrippingFish76@reddit

damn now i want scentless febreeze

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AnAntsyHalfling@reddit

It's still made. If you're in the US, you can order it from Walmart online

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randomdud@reddit

I've seen it in store!

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AnAntsyHalfling@reddit

Today I learned

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3y3w4tch@reddit

I honestly had no idea that this existed. That’s actually really good to know. Ty

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mildlyhorrifying@reddit

Zero Odor. Smells faintly of bleach at first, then odorless.

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SEND_MOODS@reddit

Febreze seems a little easier to explain logically. I dislike bad smells while I do like good smells. The febreze is acting as a scentless febreze plus a candle.

The vacuum is people working actively against their own interest.

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TootsNYC@reddit

Europe has noise requirements; my Miele is pretty quiet!

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Turbulent-Name-8349@reddit

Not my Miele vacuum cleaner, still way too loud.

I've worked with people whose job was to make fan blades quieter. It's quite an art.

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PlaceboASPD@reddit

They do, just expensive

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cleveraccountname13@reddit

Meihl makes quiet vacuums that are very good. And very expensive .

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caddyshackleford@reddit

It’s a shopvac but dewalt stealth sonic

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fieldsofanfieldroad@reddit

Do you understand how air works?

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feel-the-avocado@reddit

Central vacuums are pretty much silent because the motor and waste bag is out in the garage.

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todo0nada@reddit

Cost is a factor.

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Mand372@reddit

Because people wouldnt buy em enough.

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SisterSparechange@reddit

We do! I worked in a 24/7 call center and the maintenance people had quiet vacuums because they had to vacuum while we were all sitting there on the phones with customers.

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