Household vacuum cleaner recommendation

[Frank Drew]

Preferably under $200, preferably upright, low pile carpets and hardwood, but no pet hair. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've looked around a bit and at the $400+ end I see Miele and Dyson, and in my range there's Eureka, Shark, Hoover and some others. Any thoughts? TIA.

[David Weaver]

I can't make any recommendations 200 or below. I really like the prochem PV 12 (which is an automatic height adjustment version of the Sebo X automatic). It's not too piggish on power, it's quiet, etc. Parts for it are readily available, and the beater brush is very easy to change when the time comes to do it.

It's about $470 shipped, though (but made in germany). We've been using one heavily for about 8 years after using cheapie vacs for a while, and it's no contest. We'd get about 2 years per out of the cheapie vacs before they'd have some kind of problem.

It has a self retracting hose for attachments (the vacuum itself retracts the hose with suction when you put the head back into its clip), the height adjustment is automatic, and it has a rubber strip halfway back under the brush so the brush never slings dust backwards where you already vacuumed when you go on to hard floors.

The sebo automatic (same thing) is nice, but for whatever reason, sebo has decided that they'd price their vacuums to the moon here, literally more expensive here than they are in europe after a VAT is added. When I got the prochem, the vac labeled sebo was $779, and the prochem version of the identical vacuum was $429 or something.

I wouldn't put the dyson stuff in the same class, it's bulky, and the sebo versions of vacs are a little more classic and less bulky. They can get under a lot more stuff, and can lay flat and still vacuum.

There are decent alternatives for bags and filters for the sebo vacs, too, all the way up to charcoal activated filters if you don't like any smells at all when you run the vac. (the german parts are a tad expensive, like $2 a bag, but the US made aftermarket stuff is about half that or a little less).

Same vac is sold as Prochem PV12, Windsor Sensor, Century 400, Sebo X4 Automatic, and sears has one of their kenmore labels on it. They are all wildly different in price, where the price is low for commercial vacuums and higher for retail vac store labels.

[Dennis Peacock]

No affiliation but I am an end-user of Riccar vacuum cleaners....American made as well.

http://riccar.com/index.asp

[Jerome Stanek]

I have used a sanitaire vacuum on the job cleaning CVS Pharmacys after construction and before the gondola goes in for years. It still is the same one and takes a beating. When we stay in Motels that is the one most use also.

[Bruce Page]

Probably not under $200 but the Dyson is the best home vac I have bought, and I've bought several brands over the years.

[Jerome Stanek]

If you watch the Woot web site they have refurbised Dysons for under $200 bout once a week

[DOUG ANGEL]

+1 on the rebuilt Dyson

[Curt Harms]

We bought a Shark on something of a whim. Pretty light and maneuverable, it sucks lots, doesn't work well on carpets with long knap (I think that's the proper term). there's an electronic overload that will stop the beater. It doesn't do bad vacuuming these near-shag rugs with the brush turned off. There's a 3 position switch - off, suction, suction plus beater brush. We have a lot of pet hair. SWMBOs biggest complaint is that the cannister is kinda small but that may not be an issue if you don't have critters.

[Joe Kieve]

Don't have any complaints with our 2 month old Shark Navigator. Got it at WalMart for about $129.

[Rod Sheridan]

Find a used Kirby...............Rod.

[Matt Meiser]

Check Big Lots for refurb Dysons. That's where we got ours and its been so long I can't remember when we got it--at least 5 years, probably considerably more.

We got some new carpet that it too thick for the Dyson. In fact we were warned it could actually damage the carpet and besides my wife really wanted a second now that we live in a 2-story house. We bought this Bissell and it works well but you can tell its more cheaply made than the Dyson so its hard to say how it will last. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00284BM3U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Myk Rian]

My Wife has tried many vacuums over the years. One Rainbow we had lasted 30 years. She now has a Dyson and likes it.

[Rich Enders]

Check out the Bissell PowerClean One Pass.. About $110 at Kohls. A clear dust canister that is easy to remove, empty, and even wash. A self retracting power cord which works flawlessly. Two height settings, plenty of suction, and the usual accessories which are all conveniently stowed on board. It is by far the best vac we have ever owned. We have an in wall system in the house, but the "vacuumers" reach for the Bissell first. It is 2-3 years old now and no issues.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Do you have any carpeted stairs?

My wife's friends were all buying Dysons and she jumped on the wagon. It cleans well but isn't too handy for vacuuming carpeted stairways. I am fan of canister vacuums if you have carpeted stairways.

We have a DIL and 3 grandkids living with us temporarily and she bought a Shark upright. Both the Dyson and the Shark work well.

[Brian Elfert]

Great thread for me as I don't own a vacuum cleaner and I am moving into a house in about 10 days. My previous house had central vacuum so I didn't need another vacuum cleaner. I can install central vac for not much more than a good upright, but no time right now.

Miele scores real well on Consumer Reports, but not cheap. I talked to a Miele salesperson and he said about the only reason to get a canister is if you need to get under low furniture with the brush head. Nothing mentioned about the stairs issue. (I will have carpeted stairs.)

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Check out vacschool.tripod.com/index.html (http://vacschool.tripod.com/index.html) for some great tips on what to look for when buying a vacuum. They do not sell vacuums on this site.
Another great site is an old vacuum cleaner forum that used to be called whatsthebest-vacuum and is now called abbysguide.com/vacuum/discussions

We have several different vacuums collected over the years. The cheap, lightweight canister purchased when 18 and just out of the house is great for vacuuming the stairs, bathroom rugs and under beds, yet is not good for large areas where pet hair & farm dirt can get tracked in. The powerful upright vacuum is great for everything else including cleaning the car interior, but because it has such strong suction power, it is too strong for a floor mat and too big to vacuum under the bed.

At one point it looked like the sturdy upright was going to fail so we tested all the big name brands. One surprising thing we found on several of the newer vacuums is they vented the exhaust in front of the upright. Try catching that pet hair on the vinyl kitchen floor if the exhaust keeps blowing it away! (Thankfully we didn't need to make a decision on which vacuum to buy as we were able to fix the old upright. It seemed to be much more powerful than the new ones we were looking at.)

[Tom M King]

I wish it was legal to make one that drew more than 12 amps. No idea about under 2 bills, but my Wife loves the Miele, and I like the Oreck backpack for hard floors, even best for bare floors before finish. We have a pile of less than 200 dollar vacuums up in the loft over the barn that lasted a year or so with pet and horse hair, but had this or that play out on them. I probably have enough parts from several to put some together that would work, but never any time to do that sort of thing. I'm pretty sure the Miele is about 8 years old, and still like new. It's like the engineers at Mercedes, BMW, and Audi got together and designed a 12 amp vacuum.

[Roger Feeley]

Sanitare is good and basic. We had one for about 25 years and it finally gave out.

Now we have two used Kirbys that I found at two different thrift stores. I have about $35 in each. I paid $2 for one because the beater bar was missing. I offered the lady $2 for the cord and she sold it. I paid $35 for the other one and it works fine.

[Harold Burrell]

I used to be a vacuum cleaner salesman...

(Yep...sure was...believe it or not...)

I sold Compacts back in 1980. $729.95. I did the whole "demonstrations in your house" thing. I was pretty good at it too. I learned quite a bit about vacs, in fact. One thing I learned was that just because you spent a lot of $$$ on a vacuum didn't mean it was good.

Anyway...I said that to say this...

Of all the vacuums that I have seen through the years, only a very few have impressed me. The Compact, Filter Queen and...the Shark. Yeah...we just bought a Shark for the church. I am amazed at how good it is. Granted, it is not particularly "sturdy". I mean, the whole thing is plastic. But I have never seen anything that reasonably priced that even comes close to its design and features. Seriously...it has the suction of a shop vac.

[David Weaver]

Filter Queen and Rainbows were all over the place out my way. My mother had one. Man was it heavy!! We had to get a second vacuum to do the steps.

[ken masoumi]

My wife and I are in the market for a household canister vacuum as well,she's under the impression that we should be able to get a decent one for around $250 to $300,but when we ask around or do more research ,everyone seems to talk about 2-3 brands that are all like $450 or more.
I have narrowed it down for her to :
1=Miele S2121,-S4212.
2=Panasonic MCG917(which is the old Sears Kenmore).
3=Electrolux Sanitaire.
I have heard good things about Kirby, Royal RY,Filter Queen,but they seem to be way too heavy for my wife
to carry on the stairs,they also look Dated.
I have also realized that when shopping for a vacuum,you must first decide whether to compromise on doing bare floors well but not so great on carpets or carpets well and poor performance on bare floors,I have not seen a vacuum yet that does both equally well.

[David Weaver]

We used to have a canister, but I wouldn't go back after getting one of the rebadged sebo automatics. It automatically drops to floor height on the fly on bare floors, the beater brush still keeps spinning (which can knock some dirt off of the floor that's lightly stuck) and the hard floor strip behind the beater brush creates a seal between the vacuum and the floor keeps any of the dirt from getting away. It doesn't do an absolutely perfect job on floors, but it does an awfully good job, like 99%, and the hose is self retracting so you can easily whip out out and clean up anything in a corner and put it back on its carrier and it sucks the hose back into the apparatus without you having to do anything.

It's fantastic on carpets, and weighs 16 pounds (so you can handle it fairly well), the self retracting hose on it will reach most things except high mantles (but you can get an extension if that's important), the attachments are on board (in the 16 pound weight), and the cord is 40 feet long. It has an exhaust filter, and a prefilter for the motor (so the motor is always running in clean air) to go along with the bags.

(well, I don't know if the windsor sensor or prochem 12 vac labels are available in canada).

We had a vac store canister that my wife got from a vacuum dealer, but donated it to the goodwill.

(the only caveat I'd have is if you have several sets of stairs, then a canister might be more handy - I'd almost buy a separate cheapie canister just for that, though, if the stairs are too small too use a light weight upright.

[Curt Harms]

Do you have any carpeted stairs?

My wife's friends were all buying Dysons and she jumped on the wagon. It cleans well but isn't too handy for vacuuming carpeted stairways. I am fan of canister vacuums if you have carpeted stairways.

We have a DIL and 3 grandkids living with us temporarily and she bought a Shark upright. Both the Dyson and the Shark work well.

We find the Shark works pretty well on carpeted steps. The canister/motor assembly detatches from the frame so it's fairly small and light. We got a small air powered beater brush attachment as part of the package. I was pretty sceptical about the torque generated by such a small simple device but that little rascal does pretty well.

[Bill Bukovec]

Took our 3 year Dyson to the Dyson repair shop to get a new switch. The guy practically ripped it out of my hands because he was so eager to fix it. For free. Plus he said the beater bar was a little worn so he replaced that for free too. Never had better customer service, ever!

Buy the best, you only cry once.

Bill

[Frank Drew]

Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions; I hadn't thought about refurbished but I've bought other remanufactured products so I'll certainly look into it for vacuums; nothing wrong with saving money while getting a better quality product.

[Jim Becker]

We've been using a couple of Shark vacuum cleaners for the past few years...purchased from Costco. They do a good job for us.

[Greg Portland]

Preferably under $200, preferably upright, low pile carpets and hardwood, but no pet hair. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've looked around a bit and at the $400+ end I see Miele and Dyson, and in my range there's Eureka, Shark, Hoover and some others. Any thoughts? TIA.
The problem with cheapies is that in addition to breaking they also blow dust past the seals. +1 on the Sebo recommendation for an upright. Miele makes a great cannister vacuum but I'd pick Sebo if I wanted an upright. Dyson does a good job cleaning but is not as nice as the Sebo or Miele (in terms of noise, weight, and accessories). Of course, the Dyson is less expensive.

[Greg Portland]

My wife and I are in the market for a household canister vacuum as well,she's under the impression that we should be able to get a decent one for around $250 to $300,but when we ask around or do more research ,everyone seems to talk about 2-3 brands that are all like $450 or more.
I have narrowed it down for her to :
1=Miele S2121,-S4212.
2=Panasonic MCG917(which is the old Sears Kenmore).
3=Electrolux Sanitaire.
I have heard good things about Kirby, Royal RY,Filter Queen,but they seem to be way too heavy for my wife
to carry on the stairs,they also look Dated.
I have also realized that when shopping for a vacuum,you must first decide whether to compromise on doing bare floors well but not so great on carpets or carpets well and poor performance on bare floors,I have not seen a vacuum yet that does both equally well.
We've been using a Miele canister vacuum (with HEPA) for 7 years and have no complaints. This is over a variety of carpet piles and hardwood floors with pets and kids in the house. I have bad dust allergies so using a good vacuum regularly is a must. I would encourage you to go with a HEPA option from Miele or Sebo. Rainbow, Kirby, etc. are also good but much more $$$.

[ken masoumi]

We've been using a Miele canister vacuum (with HEPA) for 7 years and have no complaints. This is over a variety of carpet piles and hardwood floors with pets and kids in the house. I have bad dust allergies so using a good vacuum regularly is a must. I would encourage you to go with a HEPA option from Miele or Sebo. Rainbow, Kirby, etc. are also good but much more $$$.
Good to know you have had good performance from your Miele,I don't hear negative comments on Miele,and Shark vacuums,but there's a significant price difference,if I wanted to spend no more that $200,I would seriously consider a shark vacuum.

[Tom M King]

The 3M bags work fine in the Miele. I'm not sure if they are HEPA or not, but Amazon sells them a lot cheaper than buying the Miele brand.

[Curt Harms]

Good to know you have had good performance from your Miele,I don't hear negative comments on Miele,and Shark vacuums,but there's a significant price difference,if I wanted to spend no more that $200,I would seriously consider a shark vacuum.

Shark can have HEPA filter. It has two filters - a washable foam filter then a paper cartridge filter after that. At least some of the cartridge filters are HEPA rated.

[Brian Elfert]

Home Depot has a special buy right now for $128 on a Shark Navigator Pro. The model number is NV80, but I can't find much information on it. It seems like it might be an old model although with over 1,000 Home Depot stores I can't imagine Shark having 15,000+ leftover vacuums.

I'm debating between this and a Sebo based vacuum like the Century 400 for $400. I might get a central vacuum down the road and the Shark could be a short term vacuum although I am debating if the central vac has enough advantages. I could really use the extra $250 for an over the range microwave right now. I really prefer to buy stuff that will last from a 1st world country versus disposable stuff from China.

[Greg Portland]

Shark can have HEPA filter. It has two filters - a washable foam filter then a paper cartridge filter after that. At least some of the cartridge filters are HEPA rated.
Just because the filter is HEPA rated that doesn't mean the vacuum is HEPA rated. The Shark is a good competitor against the Hoovers and other cheap vacuums. I've heard plenty of stories about Sharks breaking down but they certainly seem more reliable and better performing than other options @ that price point.

[David Weaver]

Home Depot has a special buy right now for $128 on a Shark Navigator Pro. The model number is NV80, but I can't find much information on it. It seems like it might be an old model although with over 1,000 Home Depot stores I can't imagine Shark having 15,000+ leftover vacuums.

I'm debating between this and a Sebo based vacuum like the Century 400 for $400. I might get a central vacuum down the road and the Shark could be a short term vacuum although I am debating if the central vac has enough advantages. I could really use the extra $250 for an over the range microwave right now. I really prefer to buy stuff that will last from a 1st world country versus disposable stuff from China.

Without a doubt I'd go for the century vac in the long term and skip the idea of a much more expensive central vacuum. There is literally nothing that I don't like about the prochem version (same vac) after 8 years. It's seen nothing other than one new beater brush, a set of filters and several dozen bags. (of course, I changed the beater brush, it's an easy process, the vac. has a pushbutton beater release). I'm not sure what's different about the sebo belts, but no new belts have been needed in that span, and I've seen that sebo advertises a lifetime warranty on the belt.

I bought a german-made vac for the same reason you're considering the microwave, I got tired of sending money to people to make garbage vacuum cleaners in the third world. Vacs that last two or three years and are miserable to use almost right away because of broken switches or accessories, and fading suction. I didn't buy a sebo only because they have a crazy idea about pricing over here whereas they don't in the rest of the world. I don't understand how the vac sells for much less in the UK and continental europe despite having a high VAT there and not here. Getting a different paint scheme to avoid that has proved to be no problem.

[Brian Elfert]

Without a doubt I'd go for the century vac in the long term and skip the idea of a much more expensive central vacuum. There is literally nothing that I don't like about the prochem version (same vac) after 8 years. It's seen nothing other than one new beater brush, a set of filters and several dozen bags. (of course, I changed the beater brush, it's an easy process, the vac. has a pushbutton beater release). I'm not sure what's different about the sebo belts, but no new belts have been needed in that span, and I've seen that sebo advertises a lifetime warranty on the belt.


The Century 400 model only has the manual height control. Is it worth spending an extra $60 for the automatic height control on the Prochem PV12? It seems like another thing that will break eventually. Consumer Reports seems to prefer manual height control.

I can do a central vacuum for not a whole lot more than a Prochem PV12. I figure under $700 if I install central vac myself. A central vac is a pain for a simple cleanup and sometimes for cleaning carpets, but it works great for dusting window sills and things like edging carpets that require use of a hose. I'm wondering if I really want to go through installing a central vac in an existing house. Much easier in a new house like my previous house.

[David Weaver]

You'll like the hose on a century, the self retract. It's at hand (without doing anything) for stuff like sills and edges of carpets (and under kitchen cabinets, etc). You pull it off and it doesn't suck itself into the vac, but as soon as you put it back in the holder, it retracts completely.

The auto height adjust is a very nice thing to have, but you don't need it, especially if you're not going over a multitude of surfaces. I was concerned about the height servo because the first vac I actually got was a used SEBO where the vac shop selling it wasn't truthful about its condition, and the height adjust didn't work. I considered replacing the servo before I got sense and forced them to take it back (they claimed it worked properly when they sold it).

The servo module price at the time for height adjust was $37, but I haven't had any trouble in 8 years or so with mine, and it's always dead on where the height should be and constantly adjusting for conditions. The only quirk is that when it lowers itself on bare floor, a warning light comes on, but it's done that for 8 years now, and it's not like it's being restricted (or even being put under strain), it just thinks it's run into an obstruction but continues to operate.

If we only had one type of surface and one bare floor, I probably would just stick with manual height (we have five or 6 different surfaces and some rooms with area rug and hardwood, so it's a nice feature to have).

[Brian Elfert]

I kinda hijacked this thread a bit. I ended up getting a brand new Century 400 UVAC with the manual height adjustment. Total cost was $403. I hope it might be here this week yet.

For the OP, I think the Shark Navigator Pro for $128 at Home Depot is a good deal for an inexpensive vacuum. If you don't want to travel to Home Depot they also have it online with free shipping.