Let's talk vacuums

[ptuga72]

I have convinced my husband to buy us a new vacuum when his bonus comes in the spring. Any suggestions? Any comments/thoughts on the difference between bagged and bagless?

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Carpet, hard floors or a mix? I really prefer bagged vacuums, but they seem to be a dying breed. It's hard to find them except at the extreme low and high ends of the range. We currently have more hardwood and tile than carpet, and I'm using a Bissel pet-hair-marketed vac. It does fine. Nothing exciting, but gets the job done. It is a bagless, but it has an emptying mechanism that doesn't mean you are up to your elbows in it pulling out debris (with a lot of cat hair this is a real issue). Still raises a lot of dust when you empty it, though.

I guess the things to think about are: bagged or baglesss, cannister or upright, attachments, length of power cord, filtering, power, ease of conversion to tools if it is an upright. Not necessarily in that order.

[ptuga72]

Carpet, hard floors or a mix? I really prefer bagged vacuums, but they seem to be a dying breed. It's hard to find them except at the extreme low and high ends of the range. We currently have more hardwood and tile than carpet, and I'm using a Bissel pet-hair-marketed vac. It does fine. Nothing exciting, but gets the job done. It is a bagless, but it has an emptying mechanism that doesn't mean you are up to your elbows in it pulling out debris (with a lot of cat hair this is a real issue). Still raises a lot of dust when you empty it, though.

I guess the things to think about are: bagged or baglesss, cannister or upright, attachments, length of power cord, filtering, power, ease of conversion to tools if it is an upright. Not necessarily in that order.

We are 90% carpeted, but I do like to vacuum the plastic mats that the bird cages are on. We currently have a low end (read: cheap >$40) Bissel and it hasn't lasted us very long. I am hoping to convince him to go with a bagged model or at least a bagless with a water filter. We have a long hair cat and 2 plucking parrots, so I really need to vacuum everyday. I was looking at the one you have, has it lasted long? Is it heavy/hard to carry up and down stairs? Do the attachments really work (our current vacuum doesn't work once the hose is out to use an attachment)?

Sorry for all the questions, but I am so done with a vacuum that only puts lines on the floor instead of actually cleaning.

[a.susz]

can't go wrong with an oreck, when i had carpet it was just so nice to just pass over spots once, and our oreck was pretty old, just the standard, no crazy name to it. but still incredibly powerful. the bags were a plus too, nice to not have dust coming back out to be cleaned again.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I was looking at the one you have, has it lasted long? Is it heavy/hard to carry up and down stairs? Do the attachments really work (our current vacuum doesn't work once the hose is out to use an attachment)?

I have only had it about a year and this is the part where I confess we actually have a service come in and vacuum and dust on alternate weeks, so it isn't getting used that intensely -- I keep separate small vacs near the cages and litterboxes for quick pickups (stick vac thingies). I did have to replace the belt early on, but it actually wasn't really meant to vacuum up socks, so I wouldn't hold that against it. The attachments do work fine and the coversion is reasonably easy, plus the one I have can covert easily to a handheld cannister, which might be nice for stairs (unlike my condo where stairs were the bane of my existence, the house has only two steps in it, down to the bonus room!

I'll note if there is no suction through the hose when you detach it from the main body, there is no suction going through the main body either. On virtually all models like that, the hose you detach is THE hose, what you see is what you get.

Sorry for all the questions, but I am so done with a vacuum that only puts lines on the floor instead of actually cleaning.

That sucks. Well, actually, it fails to suck...

Have you already tried the obvious things -- cleared out any blockages in the hose, cleaned or changed out the filters, checked the belts for slippage? A blocked filter can seriously cripple performance since the air that goes in at the business end has to go out through the filter, it's not going to go in any faster than it can go out. Not to talk you out of a new machine, but if you invest in a pricier one read and save all the instructions about maintenance and make sure to keep the filters clear... these days most need to be either tap-cleaned, washed or replaced regularly.

[kiwismom]

I used to sell Rainbow vacuum cleaners. Sure they are very expensive but they will last 20 years or more and their trade-in value is high. They use water for a filter so no dust. Just dump the water clean or rinse out the bowl and you are done. Also the attachment just snap on. It is a canister type vacuum and you can also vacuum up water with it. Mine also has a separately purchased carpet cleaner which is awsome! Whatever you get just be sure it is hepa filter rated. That will keep down the dust.

[kellybird]

Okay you have come to the right person lol. I currently own 6 vacuums! They are all a sears Kenmore canister. I just bought 2 new ones. I have one upstairs, one for the dog/birds, one for the basement, two work vacuums (one is pretty much shot) and another one that is going in the garbage but it still works so may use it for parts. I am vacuum obsessed! I do house cleaning for a living and so does my mother we will never buy any other vacuum. It has to be a canister, have the quick release feature. Works awesome on hard woods, tile etc. and carpets. Great suction. It does have bags and I perfer this because of the dust, easy to remove and throw away. There is a new cheap one they sell its teal/white and its under 200.00 has same amount of suction as the most expensive. Its nice and small and works great. I got mine on sale for 175.00 I think. HTH, Kelly

[lotus15]

Ask any Miele owner... it is the best vacuum EVER. I have used Kenmores, Dysons, Orecks, Shopvacs, Sharks... I will never use another now that I have a Miele.

[Natacha]

Ask any Miele owner... it is the best vacuum EVER. I have used Kenmores, Dysons, Orecks, Shopvacs, Sharks... I will never use another now that I have a Miele.

After having broken a few uprights, we got a shop vac. While it's good for the heavy duty stuff, I long for another everyday-use vaccuum. Seriously considering a Miele..and apparently there will be a Miele store opening close by soon

[Mom2Rico]

I got a Dyson Animal of the ball variety and I really like it. Picks up everything, and I like canister uprights. I also have a Tristar that I've had for a number of years and it works well too, but since it's a canister vac it's always bumping into things. Since getting the Dyson, the Tristar has been demoted to a basement vacuum.